Rural enough?

How rural is rural enough? Where does one draw the line? Some folks wouldn't be satisfied until they had a planet to call their own. Back in the realm of the possible, how do we decided if we are far enough from people to be comfortable?

One of my friends had a very simple requirement. He had to be far enough out in the country to be able to pee of his front porch without anyone taking offense. Eventually he found such a place. One day someone bought the land next door and built a cabin. Lucky for my friend his neighbor wasn't the type to complain about anything someone did on their own land.

Two families I know life far enough off the road that they are actually on hiking trails. I went to visit one of those people in the hills of northern Vermont. They heard my diesel 4X4 coming and just assumed it was the trail crew coming up to fix recent rain damage. During good weather they could drive close to the house. In the winter my friends would hike in pulling supplies on a toboggan. They were off grid of course, and beyond the reach of cell phone towers. However, they did have satellite Internet running off solar electric panels.

As for myself, I used to say I was far enough out in the country if I could have my own shooting range. I loved being able to just walk outside and do a little plinking. One day land was developed downrange. A single log cabin was built at the end of a 1000 foot driveway coming down from the top of the hill. They are far enough back as to be out of sight, but just close enough to stop any stray bullets. I feel a bit crowded. What was once a rifle range is now an archery range.

To many the gold standard is to have a good sized piece of land located where they can't be encroached upon by new construction. That can be achieved by living on the last bit of private land surrounded by National Forest. Almost as good was the hunting camp my dad had. It was up 9 miles of dirt road on paper company land. They'd stopped giving out leases so that no new structures could ever be built.
For some a private island does the job.

Of course, rural living has a flip side. My paramedic buddy defines rural as being too far out in the sticks for effective emergency medical care. He's got a point, like it our not. If you have a heart attack in the middle of a good sized city there's a fair chance of getting effective medical treatment. Where I live. . . we just die.

There are many reasons to move out to the country, privacy, security, sustainability, or sometimes just a desire to be closer to nature. It's not for everyone and not without cost.

-Sixbears