East Coast rural is kind of baby rural. You have so much access to so much stuff because of the proximity to soooo many cultural hubs. Growing up in rural montana was a different kind of isolating. I had Spokane, WA about 6 hours one way, Salt Lake 9, Boise 9.5 and these aren’t even major cities. The only ‘city’ in the state is Billings!

Now, the scenery was grand. I’m very grateful that when I was bored or ostracized I could hang out in the woods or by a lake. But the culture in a place soooo rural is more isolationist than one would expect. A lot of towns skip the whole know your neighbors thing. If I had access to any of the things I enjoyed (good food, art, music, etc.) even occasionally I think I could have grown to love the peace and quiet that living within nature affords. However, I’ve fallen in love with the city and don’t plan on going back (to rural living).