Urban Community Vs Rural Community

The two major communities that individuals live in are urban and rural. Both types have both positive and negative aspects. The focus of this paper is on rural communities. From my research rural environments are not as popular as urban ones; however, the citizens who live in these communities are very happy with the lifestyle they chose. The word rural is generally associated with communities that lack accessibility to public services such as transit, shopping, and entertainment. This is generally used in communities where farming is a primary occupation. In my study I interviewed three individuals who identify as living in a rural community.
The individuals I interviewed were from different walks of life; however, they all had similar experiences

living in a rural environment. These three people told me what rural living is to them. The first person I interviewed was a sixty year old African American woman. She was born and raised in Macintosh, Al. She did not complete high school and does not currently hold a job. She lives in what would be considered a low income community. The second person I interviewed was a thirty three year old Caucasian male. He was raised in Atmore, Al and currently still resides there. After completing high school he immediately went to work at a plant near his home. He works long hours but is able to raise his family in a lower middle class community. The final person I interviewed was a forty two year old Caucasian male. He was born and raised in Scooba, Mississippi and moved to Wilmer, Alabama to open a plant nursery. He has a large income, however lives in what is considered a low income community.
The first question asked during the interview was “What defines rural living and lifestyle in your own words?” I received similar answers from all three individuals. The sixty year old female said she felt a sense of community in her town because they all are close knit. Although they live farther apart than most people, they all are there to help. She said having all of her children living with her also helps keep her company. The second individual said that he likes the sense of community he has in his rural environment; however, he does not like the long drive he must make to get to work in order to make a decent living. The final person I interviewed said he likes the leisurely lifestyle that comes with a rural environment. He said it is peaceful and makes for a relaxed lifestyle. He also noted that due to his profession as a nursery owner there is always things to do that keeps him busy.
Rural communities are known to be poorer than that of urban.

Rural children have had higher poverty rates for decades. In 1970, the poverty rate was 20 percent for rural children compared with 12 percent for urban children. Although the gap narrowed in the 1970s and 1980s, the rates have diverged since the early 1990’s. The rise of child poverty in rural America is consistent with the growing income gap between urban and rural families over this same period (Bilsborrow, 1987). These poor communities also tend to struggle with easily obtained drugs such as methamphetamine and crack cocaine. Substance abuse can be especially hard to combat in rural communities due to limited resources for prevention, treatment, and recovery. Substance abuse results in increased illegal activities, as well as physical and social health consequences, such as poor academic performance, poorer health status, changes in brain structure, and increased risk of death from overdose and suicide (The Association for Better Living and Education International, 2009). When asked about how the use of drugs corresponds with living in a poor community, I found that drugs have impacted the life of all three of these citizens. The first person I interviewed made note that two of her sons overdosed on crack cocaine. She blames this on the lifestyle that comes with growing up in such a poor community. Although she educated her children of the dangers of drugs they fell into peer pressure when they dropped out of

high school. They used dealing drugs as a means of income and ended up using as well. She wishes there was something that could be done to prevent this issue. The second individual stated that some friends he graduated with are now in prison because they were arrested for cooking meth. The third individual had to deal with this differently because he said his issues with drugs come with the theft of his personal belongings. He said that his wealth in such a low income community makes him a target to drug addicts who are looking for something to trade for drugs.
Education in rural environments was another area where all three people I interviewed felt needed reform in some sense. The first lady I interviewed said that she didn’t feel her children learned anything in school. Most of her children dropped out before graduating because they couldn’t pass the graduation exams. She said all of her children have issues reading and using math throughout their entire education. She noted that she feels her children were just passed along to the next grade to keep from having to deal with them. She contributes this to the reason her children are involved in drugs. My second subject said he was happy with the education he and his children received, but noted the classes are small and the teachers may not be the most qualified to do their jobs. He said that he feels he is no worse off with his education than anyone else he knows. The final subject I interviewed said that he is not happy with the education of the rural environment and has placed his children into private school. He said that he wants his children to be prepared for college when they graduate and doesn’t want them to fall into the work force like many of the other children in the community he resides in do. Imaginative rural educators face many challenges, including declining funding because of local taxpayer resistance, sentimentality about the old ways of doing things, reluctance to meet the needs of language-minority students, difficulty attracting able new educators as older ones retire, and problematic state and local policies. For example, rural superintendents often also serve as school principals and bus drivers, while at the same time managing as many state and federal programs and filling out the required reports as do the thousand-person staffs of urban districts. This added load wastes valuable energy and causes many qualified leaders to avoid or leave rural leadership jobs (Goldring, 2002).
The final issue about living in a rural environment I asked my subjects about was the lack of readily available healthcare and public transportation.

Because rural environments are not as densely populated as urban ones, public services are not as readily available. This requires people to find other means of getting where they need to go and also effects the way they take care of themselves in regards to health. When asked about how she was effected by the lack of healthcare and transportation, my first interviewee stated that it is a constant struggle for her. She said that because she does not work she cannot afford a car to get around with. She said it makes things especially hard when trying to get groceries. She tries to ride to town with some of her friends whenever possible, but if she cannot find a ride she has to walk where she needs to go. She said the lack of healthcare and transportation was a big problem when her husband had a heart attack. She said they had to bring in the helicopter to get him to the hospital in time and it came with a large bill that she doesn’t know how they are going to be able to pay. The second person I interviewed said that the lack of transportation required him to buy a vehicle. He said it was expensive; however, due to where he lives he has to have a four wheel drive to get down his road. He said that he has to drive over an hour to get him and his family to regular doctor and dentist appointments. Because of the lack of access to

these services he has to take off work in order to get this done. The third person I interviewed said that he has no issue with this because of the nature of his work. He said he and his children all have vehicles and are able to make their visits to the doctor in order to maintain their health. Evidence indicates that rural residents have limited access to health care and that rural areas are underserved by primary care physicians. Rural individuals must travel substantial distances for primary medical care, requiring significantly longer travel times to reach care than their urban counterparts. Furthermore, some rural areas have a higher proportion of uninsured and individually insured residents than urban areas (Scales, Streeter, & Cooper, 2014).
All communities have their positives and negatives. From what I gathered from my study on rural environments I have found that the main positive attributes of living rural is the sense of belonging as well as a quiet lifestyle. The main negative aspects I have found seem to be poverty, lack of transportation and healthcare, more prominent drug use, and poor education. In my personal opinion the negative aspects of rural living seem to outweigh the positive. I believe that in order to prefer this living over urban, one must have been raised in this environment from birth.