Allen but one of the good ones on Nostr: I tried rural life for about 10 years. Family and I were very happy when that ended. ...

I tried rural life for about 10 years. Family and I were very happy when that ended.

It has many positives, to be sure. It's so quiet. The air is clean. You're exposed to more nature than you ever wanted to know about (mostly in the form of tiny creatures that would've had you calling an exterminator in the city but that you soon learn to appreciate). You get more exercise, you become more self-sufficient (most services you might have used will now refuse to travel so far...). So much beauty, outside every window. The Sun seems to shine brighter, the stars are crisper.

But the downsides are many. No municipal services, so you have to pump your own water from underground (we had a river a kilometer away but it was extremely polluted, mostly with raw sewage).
When it breaks, or there's a drought, you have to take a long drive to somewhere that will sell you water, 5% of which is for drinking, 5% for washing with a cloth and a bowl, and 90% for flushing the toilet (if you didn't leave it too long and now it's clogged).

Power outages.

Snakes (nowhere near as bad a problem as you'd think at first, although the spitting cobras are no joke. More of a threat to your dogs than to you. Had a few neighbours lose beloved pets to puff adders)

When somebody gets sick, there's no ambulance service and it's a 45 minute drive to the nearest hospital. Same with dogs, although credit to rural vets who are pretty amazing.

Basic groceries, like break and milk, are a 20 minute drive (one way, highway speeds) to the filling station, at convenience-store prices (double the distance if you want a proper supermarket).

Terrible unmaintained gravel roads once you leave the highway. Doesn't matter whether you drive a little city bug or a big expensive 4WD, every car in the neighbourhood rattles to pieces within a few years.

Everything is much, much harder when you leave the city.