10 ways a lack of infrastructure makes rural life harder
Why living in the rural United States is hard: an incomplete list of how so much of the country is screwed over by a lack of infrastructure:
Note: I’m not saying EVERY SINGLE ONE of these things applies to or applies evenly to everyone in the rural U.S., nor that I am some sort or rural Lorax (I’m not), nor that these are never problems elsewhere - just that these are very common and very real problems in the rural U.S. and worth consideration in that specific context.
1. Lack of grocery stores, restaurants, and food options. Food deserts exist in urban areas, but the issue is exacerbated by ruralness. There are counties in the U.S. without a single grocery store and the best is a convenience store and there are places without either. There are places that have only one and it may have wonky hours or a severely limited selection.
2. Shipping times that make you feel like you’re on Mars. Not to mention that for some addresses (particularly on dirt or barely-not-dirt roads) your mail box may be a bit of hike.
3. Having to schlep your own garbage and recycling (if that’s even an option) to a designated location, it’s not getting picked up from your house. Maybe a friend or relative does it for you, maybe you just take it yourself, but if you can’t get a mailbox next to your house, it’s unlikely the garbage truck is going out there either.
4. One or two doctor options max. Bless your heart if you think there’s going to be a range of specialists. It could be an hour or two each way if you need a specialist or if the local providers don’t take your insurance.
5. Same goes for education - it’s entirely possible you only have (1) option for each level of schooling, maybe 2. It might be absurdly far from your house. Community college is possibly a thing in your area, but we might be talking a 1-2 hour drive each way.
6. Internet: At minimum, 4.5% of the U.S. (mostly in rural areas) doesn’t have internet and another 7.5% doesn’t have high-speed internet. That’s widely viewed to be an undercount and the information the FTC gathered was from the internet companies, who are you know, internet companies. Other estimates put, for rural America specifically, the lack of broadband (high-speed) internet) at 20%-40%. So yes, you *probably* have internet in any randomly generated rural spot in the U.S., but it’s also probably not great internet, you have a max of (1) option, and if something knocks it out, it’s going to be a while before it’s fixed (especially in a natural disaster when urban and suburban areas are also knocked out).
7. Transportation: Public transit - almost always not a thing. Private transport (Uber, lyft, etc.) is also not usually a thing. Assuming you have a car, your options for getting gas are limited.
8. Roads - roads sometime are not paved. Sometimes these are bigger roads than you would think would not be paved. If there’s inclement weather, it may take days to weeks to months to get the road properly cleared and fixed. Same goes for down power lines - you’re going to be days if not weeks behind the cities.
9. Limited employment opportunities - this isn’t strictly infrastructure related, but it’s largely lack-of-infrastructure caused. It’s hard to get employers, much less employers across a broad spectrum of skill sets, income brackets, and benefits structures.
10. The gov’t and many people who’ve never lived in rural areas responding with something to the impact of “omg just move” instead of actually taking issues seriously.
I only have experience with several counties in four states - 97% of the U.S.’s landmass and about 20% of the population lives in rural areas so I couldn’t possibly know every specific location, but these issues are nonetheless pervasive. The knee-jerk reaction a lot of folks have (and I’ve 100% had it before too, so I’m not shaming you if that’s your immediate thought) is to just leave, but I want to emphasize that is not a useful answer.
I know I’m making it sound dystopian, but there are good things about the rural U.S. that make people stay - community, family, connection, etc. There are also practicalities (age, ability, probation, skill set, education or lack thereof, family, finances, etc.) that prevent people from leaving. There are also people who stay because they want to make it better. Telling people to just leave is unproductive and if they can and do do, doesn’t actually fix systemic issues impacting millions.
One in five Americans live somewhere rural - maybe it’s time to start considering their experiences too.
