10 Things You Experience When Living in the Country

For at least 15 years of my life, I've lived in the outskirts of town...better known as, "the country." While I couldn't have picked a better place to have a bonfire or learn how to drive, there's some other things you'll experience while living out in the sticks. 

I've put together a list of 10 things you'll only experience if you live in the country.

1. Leave a little early in case you get stuck behind a tractor.
I'd say there's about a 5/10 chance you'll get stuck behind a tractor on your way to school or work. I wish I had a dollar for every time I had to go to the office for being late due to a tractor-jam.

2. Bonfires are open invitations to your neighbors.
If your neighbors see a bonfire glowin', they'll mosey on down with a cooler in tow. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but some of them expect s'morez and hot dogs.

3. Lawnmowers are a perfectly acceptable way to get from point A to point B.
I can't count how many times (prior to getting my license) I drove down to the auto shop to get a coke on the lawnmower. No one ever took a second glance. Totally normal.

4. Your party will get busted before it even begins.
Word travels fast in a small town. I'd say about half of my parties ended up getting busted because word got back to parents. It was a rough time. Somehow we still ended up throwing our guts up in a cornfield from drinking too much vodka.

5. Getting something as simple as milk means a 25-minute commute.
There's no such thing as a quick trip to town when you live way out. If you run out of milk or sugar, you better call your neighbor. Shout out to Drew for bringing me eggs, milk, and sugar NUMEROUS times when I was in the middle of cooking and realized I forgot something. You da realest.

6. You'll lose your pet in a cornfield a time or two.
There's nothing like letting the dog out and then coming back to see she has disappeared. If you live along a cornfield or bean field, you're going to lose them a time or two. I can still feel the scratches from the corn stalks.

7. No garden is safe.
If you want a garden, go for it. Don't let me stop you by any means...but just know that's asking for a slew of animals to come feast in your lawn. We had a pretty impressive garden one year and lost about half the crops to raccoons, deer, groundhogs, and other mammals. Nothing was safe.

8. Your car will never stay clean.
Between the gravel roads and farming, your car will constantly be coated in a layer of dust or pollen. You can wash it all you want, but there's honestly no point.

9. Busch Light is considered water.
Don't be surprised when you see your neighbor hammering a Busch Light at 9 a.m. He's probably a farmer that just got done working 10 hours strait...so let him live. It's basically considered water out in the country.

10. You'll know where your food comes from.
Odds are, you'll probably end up eating one of your neighbors animals or kills. Whether 'ol Harry down the road shot a 12-point buck and has lots of leftover meat, Joe up the street just slaughtered a hog, or Nancy next door make some fresh zucchini bread, you're not likely to go hungry. We had to end up buying a deep freezer to store all our meat.

I'm sure you can experience things like this in town too, but you're much more likely when you live out in the good 'ol country. I've also lived in the city, and I have to admit it's much more convenient. I'm currently living in the outskirts again, and I enjoy the peace and quiet. I just make sure to double-up on milk and eggs when I'm at the store.