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Living in the country has a multitude of benefits, including exposure to clean air, less noise pollution, and less crowding.
We who live in the country often take it for granted. On the other hand, we often, too, count our blessings on a regular basis for the cornucopia of benefits we enjoy by living in the country.
When it comes to health benefits of living in the country, the first thing that comes to mind for the most of us is pure, clean, sweet smelling country air, unless of course you live downwind from a hog or cattle operation. Without the pollution that comes from the maze of highways that course through our cities, air in the country is less polluted and cleaner. According to the Center for Disease Control, the more rural you get, the better the air quality.
One of the most common sayings I hear from country folks is centered around the smell of fresh country air in the morning, or after a summer rain. It may seem like such a simple thing, but fresh air in the morning helps establish a happy pattern for the day. A good start and a clear mind, prompted by the wafting aromas associated with clean, clear air, is a great morale booster and health benefit.
People continue to move to the countryside for a wide variety of reasons, including lower cost of living. Not only are goods and services cheaper in the rural areas, the cost of purchasing or renting a home is much lower as well. Across the board, you can get more space in the form of land and a home for your dollar in rural areas as compared to urban areas.
Our great cities like New York, with its Central Park and Minneapolis and St. Paul that are well known for their parks, simply cannot compare with the easy, natural, low stress living associated with rural areas. Too, a huge benefit to living in the country is the close proximity to nature. In the country, you are literally surrounded by nature, rather than concrete and asphalt.
City living comes with a lot of noise, noise pollution. The constant drone of traffic, sirens, loud parties and the hum of city life grates on the nerves. In the countryside it’s the drone of crickets and katydids that lull you into a peaceful sleep and whippoorwills and wild turkeys and songbirds that serenade you in the morning.
Of course, noise in the countryside is becoming an increasing problem as urban sprawl eats up rural areas. Rare is the opportunity to find a place where a minimum of noise can be found.
Crime is an ever-present part of our society, but less violent crime takes place in the countryside. There is crime everywhere, but fewer people in the rural areas equates to fewer crimes. Additionally, there are more police officers per capita in rural areas, which gives a sense of wellbeing for many people.
With the advent of the pandemic, the many benefits of living in the country were exemplified by the migrations of people who headed out of the cities, even if only for a weekend. People sought distance from others and spread across the rural areas of America like an invasion of army ants. And although our parks and open spaces saw numbers of people like they have never seen, many people felt far less crowded than they did in their home cities.
One of the most enjoyable benefits of living in the country is the fact that you can make the land you own work for you. Whether it’s a large garden, chicken coop, a place to cut firewood, or run cattle, your land is a serious economic and security benefit.
It’s surprising at how many people are attracted to trees. Rural areas allow people to be near trees daily. A growing body of research has demonstrated that human beings are physically and mentally healthier when they spend time around trees. The benefits of trees are astounding, including being natural air conditioners, providing shade, flowers, greenery, and homes for a multitude of wildlife species.
Trees naturally release immune-boosting essential oils known as phytoncides, which help increase natural killer cells and boost levels of anti-cancer proteins. Time spent around trees and forests will also help reduce anxiety, stress, heart disease, hypertension, blood glucose issues, obesity, high cholesterol, stroke, myocardial infarction and diabetes.
For those who live in the cities and feel that getting out into the countryside would be good for their family’s mental and emotional health, consider this. A study by the journal, Nature, found those who live in the cities had: a 21% increase in mood disorders, a 39% increase in anxiety disorders, and double the risk of having schizophrenia as those living in rural areas. MRI scans performed on the study’s urban-dweller subjects revealed an increased activity in the amygdala region of the brain, which plays a key role in emotions such as fear and anxiety and the release of stress-related hormones. The study also showed that children raised in the city are more likely to have a permanently heightened sensitivity to stress than those who move to a city later in life.
Living in the country also allows you the freedom to live a more self-sufficient life as you like. There are fewer restrictions on homes and the lands you own. You can build your own lifestyle, including wearing old, comfy, ragged clothes to do your chores, or simply rest on the back porch with a cool drink.
Finally, living in the country, with all its exposure to the natural world, improves our spiritual beings as well. I begin each morning at 4:30 a.m. on my back porch with three little dogs, and a cup of coffee. Together, we watch the sun rise. I pray, meditate, read my Bible. It’s a glorious start to the day. Want to learn more? Come to Deer Creek Church on Hwy F in Cuba. We’ll explain it to you.
