Try before you move

Oregon photograph by Scott Waite

The question isn’t whether a quieter place could be good for you. It is which version of it fits your actual days.

You wouldn’t be the only one

In 2023, small towns and rural areas gained about 291,400 people from moves within the U.S., while the largest metro areas lost almost 600,000. Remote work is a big reason: about 28% of paid workdays were remote as of March 2024 (Bend Bulletin/Bloomberg). And since 2020, fewer people have been leaving rural counties at all (USDA).

Try this

1. Write down what you are moving toward. Not away from. Quiet mornings? Land to grow food? A slower town? Your list tells you what to test.
2. Visit in the hardest season. Anywhere is lovely in its best month. Go in the rainy, icy or hottest one.
3. Stay a week, and live, don’t vacation. Shop at the grocery store, find the library, sit in the coffee shop, drive to the nearest hospital. Notice how far everything is.
4. Try the work, not just the view. Spend a weekend at a farm stay, or volunteer on a farm for a week.
5. Talk to people who made the move. Ask what surprised them, what they would do differently, and what they would never give up.
6. Decide with both lists in front of you: what you loved, and what wore you down.

What people wish they had known

A writer who moved from the city to a rural community shared her advice for others making the jump (Stacy Bronec):

• Plan ahead. Keep pantry basics stocked; takeout and delivery may not exist. Fill your gas tank whenever you go to town.
• Be ready for less anonymity. Word travels fast, and people will know who you are. Most of it is well meant.
• Say yes to invitations. Community events, church, volunteer roles: that is where friendships start.
• Expect friendships to shift. You will see old friends less, and you will change too.

Ways to test it

• Farm stays: Harvest Hosts has RV stays with participating farms and other hosts; Hipcamp lists campsites and some farm properties. Check current eligibility, facilities, fees and host terms directly.
• Volunteer on a farm: WWOOF USA connects visitors with organic farms to share daily work and learning in exchange for room and board. Check each host’s expectations and the current membership terms.
• A workshop week: craft schools and art centers in remote places offer week-long workshops, a good way to test life somewhere quieter. See the craft school directory.
• A month’s rent: a furnished monthly rental in the town you are considering is the closest thing to a trial run.

Where to start

• Dear urban going rural: advice from someone who made the move
• Harvest Hosts: RV stays at farms and other hosts
• Hipcamp: rural campsites and farm properties
• WWOOF USA: farm volunteering and current membership terms
• Craft schools: week-long workshops in quiet places

The farm upstate might be exactly right for you. A few weekends of trying it will tell you more than years of wondering.