Community Advantages.—The community, in addition to educational facilities that are available, should include those opportunities that appeal especially to the family. The accessibility of the church of one’s preference should not be overlooked, and the general type of community life is highly important too. Some communities are known for the law-abiding proclivities of their residents while others do not have a savory reputation from the standpoint of the peace and security of their more respectable inhabitants. One should establish a residence in the community with the thought that he is to become a factor in the life of that community. He should be sure that there is a genuine spirit of healthy and cooperative activity which constantly tends to upbuild the neighborhood, by keeping out or suppressing undesirable elements and by developing a concerted feeling of responsibility for the welfare of all who live within its boundaries.
A resident of a city moving to the country frequently finds a difference in his neighbors’ viewpoint that surprises him. There is, and must be, in the rural community a closer relationship between the people in that community than ever exists in an apartment dwelling in the city. In the country, one’s neighbors are apt to show a surprising amount of friendly interest in one’s doings, since the whole trend of the community is based upon the actions and attitude of the relatively few people who live within it. It should be repeated, therefore, that the type of community and the facilities which the people of that community have developed should be given careful attention by the prospective resident and he should determine for himself whether the particular community that he has in mind is in accord with his ideas and ideals. To be out of step with the community in which one lives is apt to create dissatisfactions and a critical attitude on both sides that is not conducive to happiness.
A home in the country has more of the attributes of genuine ownership than has a home anywhere else. The country home must be established with an idea of permanence and of becoming really rooted in the soil where one locates, if the true benefits of rural home ownership are to be secured.
Do’s
Decide either on large farm or on house and small acreage.
Determine accessibility at all times of the year.
Purchase soil of loam texture, mixture of sand and clay.
Determine whether electricity is available.
Locate back from highway.