Eek! Moving to the country jitters!

[LMK17]

Alrighty, at the risk of sounding like a total wuss.. I really want to move out to the country, but there are definitely a couple things that make me nervous!

Some background: I grew up in rural PA. My family didn't farm, but many of our neighbors did. Our area was kind of mixed residential/agricultural, and I loved it. And we had the typical small-town "limitations"- had to drive aways to get to the store or doctor's office and all that-- But then I grew up and moved smack dab into the suburbs. Cookie cutter houses, HOAs, postage stamp size yards, we've had it all for the past 10 years or so. Although I find this place suffocating at times, I definitely take comfort in some of the amenities that are right down the street. Like medical facilities.

We've had 2 pretty severe injuries here. One time, DS badly broke his elbow, and another time, part of DD's finger was amputated in a door. Whooo Boy! Was I ever glad to be fewer than 15 minutes from a children's hospital in both cases!! Out in the country, though, there are arguably more dangerous things, and we'll be that much farther from medical care in the event of an accident. Freaks me out! I mean, what if one of the kids gets bitten by a rattlesnake and we're more than an hour away from University Hospital? Or someone gets kicked by a large animal and we're out of cell phone range?

Not to mention, just the idea of venomous snakes on our property (the nonvenomous ones are fine with me) and scorpions taking up residence in my shoes (or my bed! Eek!) gives me the heebie jeebies.

Truly, I want to move out to the country, but I am nervous about these things. Anyone care to talk me down?

And now I feel like an official wuss...

 

[animalmom]

Nah, not a total wuss, you sound like a mom.

We live rural and have found that there will be at least on of the little hospitals in the area that is set up to handle snakebites. Most of the rural hospitals can handle every day type of things such as broken bones and are usually pretty good at it seeing they know their client base is rural. What your rural hospitals can't handle are major neurological events and gunshots beyond the in-and-out.

One of the rural hospitals is 30 minutes away and the other one I can make in 20 minutes if sufficiently motivated (Fast and Furious has nothing on me.)

I hear you loud and clear about the benefits of living in the city. I lived in Dallas before moving here and while I totally love my rural life there are times when I remember how easy it was to go "someplace". To go "someplace" now is at least a 45 minute drive.

When you finally pick your town go chat with the local doctor to see what he/she can do in the office. Our local DR has a mobile Xray unit, can do simple surgery in the office and is a whizz at getting referral appointments quickly. The go over to the closest hospital and chat them up as to what they can do and what events make them send you off to a "Tall" hospital.

I can't swear that all the rural hospitals do, but both that are near me have helicopter ambulance as well as regular ambulances.

Living rural is different. I miss the variety of restaurants most.

 

[promiseacres]

Planning when you live in a rural area is key. I only get groceries every 7 to 10 days wish it would be closer to 14 days but only can store 6 gallons of milk.... between my 2 fridges.
Yes accidents do happen but our rural hospitals are more than willing to get you to a bigger more equipped hospital ASAP if needed. I guess I think about all the people and how they can be our biggest threat.... I will definitely take country living any day.

 

[AClark]

I grew up in a very rural area, nothing but farms and cattle ranches.
If you have a major medical issue, our rural hospital would helicopter you to the big hospitals in Tucson. They can triage and all that at the small hospitals and keep you stable to get to a big one. Try not to discredit small hospitals, they are pretty good. I fell through a window as a kid and cut my arm very badly (in the top of my arm and out my elbow) and they fixed it up without sending me out anywhere.

That wasn't an equipped hospital either, they ship you out to get MRI's, or anything broken beyond needing just a cast, and they have no maternity ward or anything.

If anything, rural hospitals are more used to seeing farm related accidents and are well versed in treating them or shipping out as need be.

 

[LMK17]

Nah, not a total wuss, you sound like a mom.

We live rural and have found that there will be at least on of the little hospitals in the area that is set up to handle snakebites. Most of the rural hospitals can handle every day type of things such as broken bones and are usually pretty good at it seeing they know their client base is rural. What your rural hospitals can't handle are major neurological events and gunshots beyond the in-and-out.

Living rural is different. I miss the variety of restaurants most.

I grew up in a very rural area, nothing but farms and cattle ranches.
If you have a major medical issue, our rural hospital would helicopter you to the big hospitals in Tucson. They can triage and all that at the small hospitals and keep you stable to get to a big one. Try not to discredit small hospitals, they are pretty good. I fell through a window as a kid and cut my arm very badly (in the top of my arm and out my elbow) and they fixed it up without sending me out anywhere...

If anything, rural hospitals are more used to seeing farm related accidents and are well versed in treating them or shipping out as need be.

@animalmom Thanks for the kind words.

That's a good point about rural hospitals being well equipped to treat "farm life" injuries. I should've considered that. Back in PA, I spent some time working in the local hospital. It was pretty podunk, but it had Level I Trauma status... And they did a brisk business in hunting injuries, ATV accidents, and the like. They had a patient there when I was working who had sustained a horrific logging accident; he'd been crushed from the waist down by logs rolling off their skids. Amazingly, they had patched him up, and he was expected to recover. I'm sure they could handle most anything my children could throw at them. ::deep breath:: LOL

As we rarely eat out, I won't miss the restaurants one bit. I am worried about stuff like garbage collection (always had city-provided garbage) and potentially having my own water well (what if it goes dry?!).

...I guess I think about all the people and how they can be our biggest threat.... I will definitely take country living any day.

Well, that's true enough! I do hate to be anywhere there are crowds, and I don't even feel totally comfortable in our front yard with so many random passersby. Having wide open space to ourselves and getting to know the relatively few neighbors will be nice!

 

[Baymule]

Rural garbage pick up is generally once a week, most provide you with a cart with their name on it. There is no pizza delivery. there are no street lights. You can see the stars and the moon is beautiful.

If you are scared of a scorpion in your shoe, then shake your shoes before you put them on. If a scorpion falls out, use the shoe to smash it. Scorpions can live in a city too, so don't think rural areas have all the rights to scorpion populations.

Snakes are not as bad as you think. They can certainly live in towns and cities too. This rattle snake was killed across the street from our old house, just blocks from downtown.

 

[Reindeermama]

We keep a bleach in a squirt bottle. I don't remember who told us, but it takes the sting out of scorpion bites. We keep sticky boards under the bed to catch scorpions. We also have them spray for scorpions every quarter. Someone said they don't like the smell of lavender. I don't know this, because I have never tested it out. They also say that about snakes.

I keep a full bore first aid kit, and snake bit kit on hand.

You can pay for a membership with Halo Flight. It is $25.00 dollars, so you can call them in case of emergency.

Take a first aid class.

Ask around to see what local carrier has service in the country. We always keep a land line. It is only $25.00 for basic service. We also carry short wave radios. That way if someone is off by themselves they can contact the others.

 

[Reindeermama]

Planning when you live in a rural area is key. I only get groceries every 7 to 10 days wish it would be closer to 14 days but only can store 6 gallons of milk.... between my 2 fridges.
Yes accidents do happen but our rural hospitals are more than willing to get you to a bigger more equipped hospital ASAP if needed. I guess I think about all the people and how they can be our biggest threat.... I will definitely take country living any day.

My Husband's grandma froze milk and kept it in the freezer. It actually works.

 

[Reindeermama]

LMK17, as far as your well running dry, we put in a water catchment system on an 680 sq. ft. cabin . It was 5000 gallon storage tank that if it the it overflowed went into another 1500 gallon tank. Sometimes they both overflowed. It cost $8000. for the catchment system, but was well worth the cost. Also our sink, baths, and washer water is not hooked up into the septic, but drains outside affording with piping a great watering system for the yard, and gardens.

 

[LMK17]

...You can see the stars and the moon is beautiful.

If you are scared of a scorpion in your shoe, then shake your shoes before you put them on. If a scorpion falls out, use the shoe to smash it. Scorpions can live in a city too, so don't think rural areas have all the rights to scorpion populations.

Snakes are not as bad as you think. They can certainly live in towns and cities too. This rattle snake was killed across the street from our old house, just blocks from downtown.

Yes, I'm really looking forward to being able to see the stars so much better! DS and I enjoy stargazing-- he's had his own telescope for a couple years now-- and we've talked about putting in a little backyard observatory.

Oh, yes, scorpions and snakes can definitely be in the city, too! I've noticed a trend, though. Once an area is freshly cleared and a new subdivision goes up, both snakes and scorpions tend to be a problem. By the time the neighborhood is firmly established, though, most of the critters have been slowly killed off or relocated or whatever. I have friends who have found both venomous snakes and scorpions in their subdivision homes, but the neighborhoods were all newer. Our neighborhood is about 20 yrs old now, and I've never seen a single scorpion or venomous snake, though some folks who have been here from the beginning told us they once found a rattlesnake hanging half out of their air conditioner unit. It had climbed up there and been decapitated by the fan when the a/c kicked on!

Since I feel pretty "safe" from venomous snakes here, I do try to make my yard a haven of sorts for the neighborhood critters, and we do have some snakes. I've found at least 4 different species in my yard over the years, and I found 2 snakes when I was cutting the grass the other day!

We keep a bleach in a squirt bottle. I don't remember who told us, but it takes the sting out of scorpion bites. We keep sticky boards under the bed to catch scorpions. We also have them spray for scorpions every quarter. Someone said they don't like the smell of lavender. I don't know this, because I have never tested it out. They also say that about snakes.

I keep a full bore first aid kit, and snake bit kit on hand.

It is only $25.00 for basic service. We also carry short wave radios. That way if someone is off by themselves they can contact the others.

Interesting tip about the bleach for scorpions! I'll have to read up on that. Thanks!

You might want to research the snake bite kits a bit, if you haven't already. Obviously, it comes down to a judgement call, but some authorities say those kits can do more harm than good by concentrating the venom near the bite sight instead of letting it circulate and "dilute" a bit.

Good point about the landline! We had one here for years but dropped it because we never used it. Being in the country, though, it might be good to have. And I like the idea about the radios! I can see myself and the kids maybe carrying walkie talkies when we're scattered around the property.

...Also our sink, baths, and washer water is not hooked up into the septic, but drains outside affording with piping a great watering system for the yard, and gardens.

We've talked about trying to hook up some sort of gray water recycling system! How did you guys do it?