“Do you mean to tell me, Katie Scarlett O’Hara, that Tara, that land doesn’t mean anything to you? Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin’ for, worth fightin’ for, worth dyin’ for, because it’s the only thing that lasts…It will come to you, this love of the land.”
This fond quote by Gerald O’Hara in Gone With the Wind came to my mind as too appropriate not to use when talking about the attraction of living in a rural area! (Side note…do I share a love for Gone With the Wind with anyone else??I’d love to hear when was the first time you ever watched this old classic!) There is something so appealing about either owning land of your own, or at least living in an area where you’re never too far away from a wide open, rolling field. It’s kind of like when you have grown up near the water (shout out to all my South Alabama natives?), you get such a reassuring, homelike feeling from suddenly coming upon a bridge and driving for miles over the expanse of a bay. Or hitting the highway that runs along the water for a while. For me, it feels the same way with living and driving in the country. When I’ve been in the fast-paced traffic and bustle of the city for too long, it always brings refreshing to come back to the home base of long rural roads with endless fields of agriculture and livestock.
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While I know that not everyone feels this way (where are my die-hard city lovers??), a huge reason that Baldwin County has seen the growth that it has seen in the past couple of years is owed to the rural setting! Six lanes of traffic and high-energy downtown hubs are certainly some people’s cup of tea, but for many, it has proven to be a breath of fresh air to find a place to call home where you cannot see your neighbors’ windows from your back porch! Where you can look up at night to see the stars without any intrusion from traffic lights, and where you might drive for a couple of miles before meeting another car on the road. The beauty of the landscape of our region is that many homeowners can opt to purchase their own acreage, but even if they don’t, they can still enjoy the expansive view since so many residential houses sit adjacent to farmland!
Chances are that you have probably encountered the familiar stereotype of city vs. country: the excitement and bustle of the city VS. the quietude of the country. A lot of times, it seems to be presented as an EITHER/OR situation. But one thing I love about South Alabama is that you can truly experience the best of both worlds! There are many individual homes and even estate neighborhoods that provide a peaceful, rural atmosphere but lie within a couple minutes of all the city conveniences.