City Folks Will Never Understand These Parts Of Rural Life, Reddit Users Explain

Are there parts of rural life big city people will never understand?

The answer is obvious, and the answer is 100% yes. I like to check Reddit throughout the day (stop me if you've heard that one before) to see what's going on and what's being talked about.

You never know what you're going to find on the popular website. It can be fun, ominous, mysterious, hilarious and sometimes, downright dark and depressing.

This time, I think it's safe to say we found a very fun and fascinating topic.

Rural people explain parts of life city people don't understand.

A viral thread titled "Rural folks, what are the things city folks won't understand?" is breaking down what people in big cities simply don't understand.

It's scary accurate on a lot of different levels. Check out some of the responses below, and hit me with your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com:

• I own a house that sits smack in the middle of three cattle farms. The other night, I took my dog out to pee well after dark. There was a weird noise, and a pair of glowing eyes at the end of my driveway. It was, of course, a cow. I called my neighbor to the North. He drove his UTV down, inspected the cow, didn't recognize it, and called my neighbor to the south. He sent his teenage son over in a car with no catalytic converter/muffler. He also didn't recognize the cow. Finally, my neighbor from the West was summoned on his ATV. It was his cow. The rest of us stood there drinking beer and watching the Western neighbor drive his cow home with an ATV. Good times.
• My neighbor keeps her horses on our farm because we have some pastures already fenced in and the horses keep the grass level. One of the horses, Rose, loves to get out of the pasture and mosey around the farm — more than once she’s walked up to the house and bumped her nose against the window where I’m working inside to say hello. So of course I have to pop outside and pet her and then walk her back. She’s a darling. Neighbor also has a cow named Star who likes to come up and visit her equine sisters. A bit later, when my neighbor realizes the cow’s missing, I’ll see her trudging up the lane with a lead and then the cow meekly following behind her.
• Driving home in a storm. A tree fell across the road in front of us (Mom and daughter). The truck behind us got their chainsaws out of their toolbox and moved that tree withing 15 minutes. Also there is not cell service everywhere. Only one service works consistently from my house.
• Legitimately being late for school or appointments due to being stuck behind a tractor.
• You or someone you know has a personal vendetta against a wild animal in the area.
• Standing on my back porch in winter and there is absolute dead silence.
• Weird noises in the woods? Deer. Glowing eyes in the shadows? Deer. Something following you down a dark country road? Deer. It's always f*cking deer.
• You need to carefully plan out your shopping needs because that trip to Walmart or Home Depot might be a two hour round trip.
• There is no animal control out where I live, and no shelters within 100 miles that will take strays. If you dump your cat or dog, they will be eaten by a predator, starve to death, or be shot.
• Country life is slower than your lifespan. City, you can go year after year seeing new buildings pop up, business, events, etc. Country life...same county fair every year, maybe a new building every 10 years, new business 5 years.
• Having your name and age listed in the local newspaper when you’re pulled over for speeding and your family/friends get to give you shit for it because everyone lives to read the weekly police report.
• How dark it is at night. You see how many stars there are, how bright and gorgeous , how busy the night sky truly is.
• In the city, people ignore sirens and pay attention to gunshot sounds. In the country, people ignore the sound of gunfire and pay attention to the sound of sirens.
• If you don’t make dinner you don’t eat. No uber eats or grub hub, no delivery pizza or takeout, unless you want gas station food. Most places nearby close by 5:00PM on weekdays and have extremely limited hours or are closed entirely on weekends. It can be pretty damn peaceful.
• If I call 911, nobody will be here for AT LEAST 30 minutes for EMS, 45 for fire, and an hour for police. And that's assuming they have nothing else to do and respond immediately. If the house is on fire, you call the neighbors. In less than 10 there will be half dozen tractors with water tanks and hoses. Lop your foot off? Call the neighbors. They'll drive you to the ER. Somebody means to do you harm? Shoot back or die waiting for the Sheriff. Your choice.
• The difference of saying that you're "going to town" vs "going to the city".

For those of you who don't know, I grew up in a very rural area of Wisconsin. The town I lived outside of had right around 1,500 people, one main road, one tiny high school and a lot of blue-collar great Americans. There wasn't much money and nobody was high class, but we all enjoyed it.

What stunned me the most after moving to the East Coast was just how weak everyone was compared to rural America. I don't think 99% of the people I know in Washington, D.C. could make it one day on a ranch or farm. They'd get cow crap on their shoes, and that'd be the end of that.

The second thing big city people simply don't understand about rural life is the amount of guns we all have. We had guns in trucks, guns in nightstands, guns behind doors, guns in safes and guns attached to our hips in holsters. It was very normal, especially if you're traveling into isolated areas. The same was true when I lived in Montana. The police aren't coming to save you. You're on your own, and if you're unarmed and things go south out in nature or against a bad guy, then you're probably cooked.

I remember the first time I went into a Walmart in Washington, D.C. just expecting to see a gun section. Didn't exist. I was shocked. I then quickly learned many people out here are terrified of firearms. Major culture shock for me.

Are you a rural American? I'd love to hear what you think the differences are between the big city and where you live. Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.