What's life like for Americans in these isolated places in the USA?
Sometimes I browse Google Maps and come across very isolated small towns and villages with populations of 100-500, maybe even 1,000. The nearest larger city can be over 100 miles away, sometimes even 200, and a larger metropolis even further and I'm curious
If anyone needs examples what I'm talking about:
- Austin (not that Austin in Texas), 89310 Nevada, population ~400, 240 miles to Sacramento in straight line
- Bird City, 67731 Kansas, population ~200, there's a church, a high school, and even a few businesses, but it's still a long way to an any larger city.
35 comments
Things people in city rely on government and business for you just learn to do it yourself or go without.
Trash often gets burned if it can burn, or taken to a central facility that you do every week or two.
You learn to DIY for basic home repairs and even maybe major repairs. There’s little to no code enforcement so no government worker is going to wag their finger at you for doing auto repairs in your driveway.
Amazon and other delivery services have helped out a lot on this front too. You can (generally) still get at least your general shopping and non-perishables delivered
Because it’s relaxing. Not having a lot of neighbors and living Way out in the country. Awesome feeling.
I don’t wake up to traffic or anything of that nature. I could literally walk outside naked and probably not going to get noticed by anyone.
I live so far out in the country that when FedEx or UPS delivers packages they used to call me a lot and ask for directions. They’ve got it figured out now but they used to call all the time and get directions to my house because you can’t find it on GPS.
With modern entities like amazon, you can pretty much get whatever you want shipped to your house. I don’t have to drive for hours to go shopping anymore.
We drive. A lot. For my family there was a big bulk grocery trip every week or two. And you rarely go to “the city”.
Buying in bulk, being self sufficient. A lot of people who live in isolated areas probably do so because they want to. Many born there probably just do things similarly to how they’ve been done for generations. Even remote areas of the US probably have electricity, water / sewer, etc. If not they have alternatives and technology is creating more options every day. I’m willing to bet some have much more of a community.
Edit: septic as well.
I grew up in an area like that. No school. I went to the county school an hour and a half away. If I wanted to do anything after school I stayed at a friends.
You don’t think the drive is bad while you are doing it. Once you live closer, you don’t want to do it anymore.
Peacefully.
There are plenty of cities and towns close enough to support life in these small towns. People work local industries or commute for work, they drive for amenities.
Austin, for instance, is only about 90 drive from Fallon, NV, a decent sized town.
It’s boring. Really, really boring. Some people like it though
People in the middle of the country tend to be ok with driving long distances. 100 miles is about an hour and a half drive, which isnt crazy if you’re heading into town for a whole day. It’s really inexpensive to live out there, so if you have a decent income, you can do quite a lot on a weekend. Plus there are usually larger towns between cities to fill in the gaps
(In many, not all of these towns) If you could see the people, you would see it’s mostly older people who have no way to move. Maybe farmers. Maybe there is ONE industry and everyone there works for it — or worked for it before it went broke, and then couldn’t leave. They’ll die there, and then the town will be gone. If there are any kids, they leave the MOMENT they are of age.
There are exceptions. I love tiny towns, but I’m old enough to value access to hospitals. There are places where people choose to live off the land and thus appreciate the small towns. There are also indigenous peoples who live very remotely and have for generations.
Bird City is not isolated like you would be in central Nevada with Austin. It’s far from any major cities but there are other towns and farms around.
Mostly agriculture. Farms and ranches need workers. And they need to live somewhere and have amenities.
That’s certainly the case for Bird City.
But sometimes the small settlements arise due to mining. Or oil/gas.
You just get on with life in the small settlement. And travel to a larger settlement when you need to (healthcare, shopping, etc.).
Some will prefer the relative isolation over living in a larger community.
America has a historical tradition of rugged individualism and a historical memory of its frontier experience.
I’m from rural Appalachia. The nearest grocery store is an hour away from my home town (if you don’t count dollar general.) But people are largely self sufficient.
They drive big cars, make huge grocery trips that are hundreds of dollars and food for weeks, stock up on things. We almost all have backup home generators. Where cell service doesn’t reach (which is common,) a lot of us have Starlink.
We have guns because we are our own first responder, and many of us drive trucks or SUV’s because of the possibility of snow or roads being washed out.
It’s just a different life. I’ve got stuff in my truck to do jump starts, tire plugs, etc. and so do most people here.
Other than medical services you really don’t need to be close to anything to survive. Most people who live in remote areas have mastered survival skills.
Even then, most hospitals have helicopters for emergency transport. I’ve never lived anywhere in the US, that’s referred to as a village.
We lived 2 hours from the closest real grocery store, no cell service, no WiFi. We would go once a month to the store and we grew most of our own food. There were goats that we milked everyday and we made cheese and drank the milk. We were pretty self-sufficient.
I miss that way of life.
1. They’re usually not so “isolated”. A larger city may be some distance away, but there are other communities around too.
2. If you really need the city, you drive there. 100 or 200 miles is not so far, just 2-3 hours by car.
3. You really should visit in order to see the reality of life in those places. Google Maps is not reality.
They do monthly or biweekly trips to the nearest big town to stock up on groceries, etc. People who live in the middle of nowhere like that usually have large pantries and freezers to store food for long term. Also they’re usually engaged in something like farming or ranching.
Basically they are self sufficient for most things. Need the police? That’s why they own guns. Need a doctor? Get good at first aid so they can survive the two hour drive to one. Want TV or Internet? Hope that satellite works for you. Most have wells for water and septic tanks/leaching fields for sewage. Electricity is usually available everywhere but off grid with solar panels and/or generators is possible too.
My middle brother lives in a very small town. Drives once a week to the grocery store, hardware shop, etc.
As long as you have a grocery store near by what else do you need really?
Lots of DIY know-how. Pipes burst- fix it yourself, roof leaks-fix it yourself, etc. Many in these areas will hunt, fish, raise their own animals for meat, eggs and dairy as well as grow their own food. You have to drive long distances to a larger community to see a doctor. Many folks will also take a long trip once every 1 to 2 months to stock up on provisions at a big store like Costo. Amazon delivery has been a game changer for many rural communities, and the internet that lets you do things like telemedicne is also helpful. Living in one of these communities will not be the same lifestyle as living near a city, and often you have to accept going without a lot of things.
It’s why I bought land that’s almost an hour from the nearest paved road and over two hours to the nearest city. Peaceful, nobody trying to tell you what you can or can’t do.
The less populated things are the less traffic there is….
So a 40 mile drive is actually 40 minutes (maybe a little less if you speed – chances of traffic enforcement are minimal)…. None of this 30 minutes to go 10 miles stuff …
As for what you do in a 200 person small town? You either commute long distance, work remote if the Internet is fast enough, or have a small business that sells stuff to the surrounding farmers….. Also the town usually has the schools for the farm kids who don’t live in town – so that’s a handful of jobs for teachers, admin, etc…..
You drive when you need to.
100 miles is only 2 hours away on a main road. Less if you’re on a highway.
I’m confused about what’s confusing you.
My dad lives in a town of 1,700 but he’s only 9.2 miles away from me. I live in a town/city of 32,000 people
Usually there’s enough in the town to cover day to day needs (think a general store with basic food, a pharmacy, basic home goods, etc). On occasion they’ll go into a bigger town for things they can’t get locally. People are generally more self sufficient, relying either on what they can produce or what they can buy from other members of the community. Agriculture is big in these areas, and many towns exist largely to support that industry. Most of what folks need to run their farms is available locally.
Public services largely don’t exist. Many places rely on well water, septic systems, and either burn or bury trash or take it to a central collection point in town. Fire departments are all volunteer departments that might make it in time to save the foundation. Police are effectively useless in emergencies. Emergency medical care is often much farther away, though some towns have an emergency room.
There’s usually a pretty strong sense of community in the area. Folks are generally willing to help their neighbors when they need it, and there’s usually someone with the skills and equipment needed to take care of problems you’d call a contractor for in more populated areas.
There’s almost no such thing in the mainland US.
There are plenty in Alaska.
Unless you have to get on a plane to get to the nearest big box store, you’re not isolated.
Austin, NV is 90 minutes to Walmart, two and a half hours to Reno.
Bird City is less than 45 minutes to Walmart and Interstate 70; 2:45 to DIA, less than three to Denver.
In actual isolated areas, you plan and you do it yourself. If you want to build a house in most of Alaska, you’re building it (not, “you’re the Contractor and you’re hiring people to build it”; you’re building it with your two hands).
If you’re fancy and you’re putting in septic or digging a well, for instance, you probably pay a guy to fly in to do that part specifically; it’s not cheap. Easily six figures to add those two things. You’re the rich guy.
Foundation, walls, insullation, roof, whatever? That’s you.
> Austin (not that Austin in Texas), 89310 Nevada, population ~400, 240 miles to Sacramento in straight line
And 173 miles from Reno, Nevada’s second city.
161 miles from Elko, Nevada’s third city.
2 hours away is big difference from 4 hours away.
I’m glad I’m not the only weird one who browses random towns or cities to look around and see what it’s like. I’m fascinated by the restaurants in those places.
My parents live in a village of <50 people. I’m assuming they do it the same way people do it in other countries?
It’s a very different way of life. When I lived in a small, rural village I drove “into town” once every couple weeks for groceries, gas, and a latte. I went to a “major city” a few hours away 1-2 times a year for a play or concert. You just learn to live without a lot of the amenities of a city – food delivery, sidewalks, professional-level arts and culture. You learn to enjoy what you have. You also rely on your neighbors a lot more, because when your basement is flooded due to a burst pipe, you can have half a dozen people cleaning it up with shop vacs and your neighbor’s cousin’s friend’s aunt who did a plumbing apprenticeship come fix it in the same amount of time it would take to have a professional from town schedule an appointment to come look at it.
This is one of the reasons high school sports and community activities are a big deal in small towns, and people get really invested.
Honestly, most of the people who lived there had no desire to do things differently, and the only thing they would go to the city for is expert medical care. Even then, it was usually only in emergency situations when they NEEDED a trauma center or neurologist or whatever.
I live in a small city now, and never ever want to leave.
You plan ahead for grocery trips. You go “to town” (whatever the nearest town with stores is) once a month and get all you stuff then, and also do all your doctor, dentist, hair, pet appointments the same day.
I live on an island accessible only by ferry. We have no fast food, no DoorDash, no taxi, no bus service, and no hospital.
I’m originally from a big city and have lived in this remote island now 10 years. It took an adjustment, that’s for sure.
The hardest thing to get used to in a small community are the lack of anonymity and all the gossip. Holy shit do small town people love to gossip.
In Alaska one if the solutions is a dry cabin. Basically no water. Sometimes no electricity other than a generator. It prevents having to do expensive repairs and means you dont have to live close enough to be connected to the grid. You bring water in and have a big tank.
It is a cost effective way to live remotely and vastly reduces the cost of upkeep. And like others have said, you stockpile food and buy in bulk.
Austin NV is going to be going to Reno for supplies not Sac. Reno NV is a decent sized city and is basically attached to South Lake Tahoe CA. They’d have everything needed. Austin NV isn’t desert like
People in rural areas often hunt and bulk store food. They may have food cellars, do their own canning and jarring, and buy dry goods in bulk. They often have chest freezers, and get their supplies every couple of weeks to once a month.
They drive where needed. They may have generators for power and wells for water. It really depends on the location.