Excavation on our mountain land started this week. Even though it’ll be years before we could move there full-time, I’ve started thinking about how I might adjust to living in a remote area. What things do I take for granted now? What do I value today that I might not realize? I’ve organized my thoughts into the five categories below.
Social isolation
I’m concerned about feeling more socially isolated since I’m already dealing with some now. I’ve moved around a lot since college, changing states and cities every 2-3 years for school or work. This has made it hard to maintain old friendships and create new ones, so I imagine moving to a remote area might make this even harder.
Remote areas will also have fewer options for cultural activities and community events. I wonder if I’ll miss the variety we have now. In our suburb, we can choose from events like Tai Chi and pottery classes, festivals, local talks, and even day-long meditation retreats.
A potential upside though is that remote areas might have more of a true community feel. In cities and suburbs where you don’t know the neighbor next to you, it’s very possible that in a more remote area, you will get to know your neighbors in a mutually beneficial way. Maybe to help with a project or even just to drop off food.
“Standing out”
Will it bother me that people will recognize us around town, particularly me being one of the few Asians in the area? In the towns around our property, Asians make up 0 to 0.2% of the population, so people will likely notice us. I think they would recognize us even if I weren’t Asian. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about that. It could be nice to have that familiarity. And hopefully, we won’t face any obvious racism.
Having access to less
Restaurant options, DoorDash, Amazon, grocery stores and gyms less than 5 minutes away are the main conveniences I can think of off the top of my head. These amenities are going to be much fewer and harder to get to where our mountain land is.
Groceries
- The closest grocery store is 30 minutes away. Forgetting something would be a huge pain
- I will no longer have easy access to H Mart and Trader Joe’s (currently 5 minutes away)
Dining
- Dining options are limited (we won’t likely have our typical access to Indian street food, soup dumplings, Korean food, bubble tea, or unique fusion restaurants like Mexican-Indian fusion)
- Food delivery wouldn’t be possible (at least not to our property)
Shopping and package delivery
- The speed of package delivery will slow compared to the suburbs
- We will have to pick up our packages 15 minutes away as opposed to delivering straight to our door
- Fewer options to purchase clothing; and in-person returns would almost never happen
Travel
- The closest major airport is at least 2 hours away
Gym
Any gym will be at least 30 minutes away and bare bones – I think I saw there is one that is 30 minutes away (and access to specialized gyms like Muay Thai, Orange Theory will be even farther away)
There is a larger city an hour and a half away with more options, so it is a possibility to take trips out there. What I’d also like to do is learn how to cook some of our harder-to-find foods to make sure we can always have them. And purchase a large freezer so we can save lots of items for when we need them on the rare trips we take to Trader Joe’s and Asian markets. In the summer, bringing a cooler to keep ice cream in would be helpful so they don’t melt on the way home!
Emergency Services
Emergency services like fire and medical would definitely take longer to get to us. The directions on Google Maps to our property are not totally accurate, and the road signage can get a bit confusing. So directing someone to find us (when there is little to no cell service) would be quite the challenge.
To prepare, I’d like to take a refresher first aid course (or two) to make sure we know the basics. And because time is of the essence (it’s an hour drive to the closest emergency room), having an idea of how to get to the emergency department (and where to park, sign in) without needing to think about it DURING the emergency will be important. So we’ll take some field trips to take a look around and prepare.
Being more self-sufficient
Since it is harder to get to many services (or for services to come to us), we’ll have to learn to be more self-sufficient. This could be things like working on car issues, landscaping/clearing trees, or plumbing. Mr. Nacho knows a bunch of this. I will have to learn.
There are still many pros to living remotely
Living remotely has its benefits, and I might end up preferring it. Being surrounded by plants and nature should help reduce stress and make us feel more connected to the earth. With fewer people around, we might feel a stronger sense of community with our limited resources and having to rely on our community more for things. Becoming more self-sufficient isn’t a bad thing.
Overall, I expect we’ll grow more appreciative of the things we have. Being remote might also help us focus less on material things, possibly leading to a more content and happy life.
