City life and country life will always be divided. Which is sad. People are people no matter where they reside. It feels like there is a massive disconnect that makes everyone assume we can't relate to one another's geography. But we can. It will take some stories... that will be shockingly relatable.... but it can be done. City and country folk need to discuss the dividers... whether or not we get it or not.
Redditor u/MotorArea wanted to know what reasons the city/country divide tell us about ourselves by asking.... People who live in a rural area/out in the country, what will "city folk" never understand?Small Town....
Small Town Texas here :
- Crappy Internet
- Friday Night Lights Ghost Towns
- The smell of the rain
- Country Road parties
- Driving for an hour and not seeing another car
- Small Town Festivals
- Knowing everyone business and everyone knowing yours
- Snakes are your friend
- Dead Coyotes hanging from fence posts
- The sky at night is inspirational txbbqdude
300/1500....
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Small towns aren't one size fits all. There's a lot of difference. The town I'm from has 300ish people and hits every single negative stereotype imaginable. But an hour away there's a town of 1500 that is basically the poster child for good country living. I've also found they don't understand the physical toll working in certain trades can take. Also, driving an hour isn't considered a long trip where I'm from. moonglowrabbit
On the Roof.
Turkeys roosted on the roof of my mom's house one night when my dad was away. She called me yelling "there's turkeys on the roof!!" I live 2 hours away- what do you want me to do about it? Put them on the phone for a talking to?
Another time in spring breeding season a Tom saw his reflection in the glass of the French door and attacked it, defending his territory, I guess. He broke the glass. They've regularly had turkeys and deer on their patio, and now coyotes have moved into the area, so you can hear them howling at night. snarkyB
Talk About Life....
I've been living in a busy street of Milan to move to Switzerland in a small town near the mountains. The silence in the night was something weird and actually annoying my first nights there.
So I'd say total silence around you at night.
Also nature smells : grass or animals for example
Oh and having actual animals in town like cows or horses.
Oh and... ok I'll stop there and let the others talk. cabrasm
The Wild.
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Wildlife is wildlife... Don't call bylaw for: moose, coyotes, wolves, deer, skunk, raccoon etc.
Dogs bark. Your 4 lb chihuahua may not be loud but it's 100% more barking than my 80 lb husky mix.
When it snows, road will be plowed. It will NOT be a dry, black stretch of road but it WILL have less snow on it. Wolfie1531
Car Trouble.
Its basically impossible to live if you can't drive, I live a few miles out of the village so I have to get lifts to work, to go see friends and everything. The only bus only leaves the village every 2-3 hours to go into the city and is ridiculously expensive.
But it is gorgeous and can be so peaceful, i often take my dog up the hill behind my house, there's no roads and only a couple of other houses and its so quiet and relaxing, i can lie there for ages on a nice day. I also have a horse and its great to go for a mental out-of-control gallop through the fields and the forests. CB97sriracha
Miniscule.
How small it really is.
When I graduated in 2014, my class was 14 people. And we were one of the largest grades at the school, the grade below only had 6 people, the grade above me only had 4. I originally grew up in a hamlet, population 20 people and then moved to a village where I went to school, roughly 300 people.
We have one bar, one grocery store that closes at 6pm, a carwash, a bank (in the neighboring villager 15 minutes away) post office and school in town. Everyone else is either oilfield workers or farmers.
And it's damn boring, for fun in the summers we used to bike down the highway for hours to no where and then turn around and bike home. cats-and-cucumbers
Get Out.
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Letting my kids just go outside and play. Ride their bikes down the street, go into the woods out back and explore. But more importantly just feel generally secure about their safety doing these things. cbinette84
The Laundry List.
- How much you are at the mercy of the elements. (the wind seems stronger, the snow deeper, the driveway impossibly long and difficult to clear)
- How every project turns into multiple long trips to the hardware store (that is 35 minutes away, unless you have an emergency at 1am, and then you're heading 90 minutes away to the 24 hour store there).
- The value of consistently good internet connections
- How cool it is to cut down trees that are on your property. pageclot
Vote When?
How little politics affect your every day life when you aren't surrounded by people talking about it. If it weren't for social media (which I avoid 99% of the time) we'd have no idea what's going on out there.
Also, how quiet it is. I have city friends that love to come out just to listen to the quiet. techno-d
Honk First!
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When you hear a car door slam in the middle of the night, something is wrong. 7e8e7
"who was that?"
Waving at people when you see them on the road. DeusVultEXE
My girlfriend: "who was that?" Me: "I don't know" Her: "So why did you wave?" Me: "why wouldn't I wave?"
She was not raised in the country and she found this custom so bizarre, that it took some convincing that I hadn't just made it up. Oh and the total lack of law enforcement and basically being able to do whatever you wanted as long as your neighbors didn't get too annoyed. ServingPapers
What Does the Fox Say?
The scream you hear in the middle of the night isn't a woman being murdered. It's just foxes shagging. BlameMeBlue
Peacocks shriek just because. At least the foxes are shagging. thoughtIhadOne
BOOM.
In the city, you ignore the sirens and listen for the gunshots. Out in the country you ignore the gunshots and listen for the sirens. CrazyNotion
Yup, gunshots in the country is probably just Joe and his buddies shooting targets for fun, or they killed an animal. Gunshots in the city means someone got shot. MazerRakam
My... Dear....
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"Watch out for deer" when saying goodbye is another way of telling someone you love them. m1lk1e
On your own...
This doesn't go for all small town, but the one I live in there is no law enforcement. We fall under the jurisdiction of a neighboring town but it's like 45 minutes away. So the people out here just deal with incidents on their own. To be honest though, it's pretty rare that any instances occur. DesertChickBB
The dark......
The dark. In a city at night you can read a book outside. In the country on a cloudy or no moon night. You can't see anything. Not like it's kinda hard to see, but it's so dark you might as well be blind; the stars and gravity are the only way to know which direction is up. Also a clear night sky in places that get truly dark like that is something my vocabulary can't describe. tinymonesters
Last Gas!!
When a road sign says Last Gas for however many kilometers....
It means it. yelofoley
Yeah we get so many people who drive through here asking if it really is the last gas station for miles, the answer is yes, some don't believe us and we see them again when they get towed to the mechanics across the street for running out of gas and ruining their engine by trying to make it to the next one, others do and they stock up and we never see them again.
I work at that gas station and its pretty interesting seeing just how many people pass through but don't realize they're in a town. Its like radiator springs from cars but in Ohio, we have pretty much everything we need besides a grocery store, but it's all run down and falling apart. Reddit
"run to the store"
The extent of our pantries and freezers. We can't just "run to the store" to pick up that forgotten ingredient or spur-of-the-moment craving. But if we're well-stocked, we can whip up just about anything! MrsChickenPam
WHAT ARE YOU?
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We moved to the country from the city (really only like 20 minutes from a grocery store, but that's pretty rural for our tiny state). Our first summer here, we heard strange noises coming from the woods. Like a couple of idiots, we were standing outside with our smartphones on YouTube trying to identify what noise it was. Moose? Nope. Coyote? Nope. Deer? Maybe? I dunno. Bear? HOLYGODWHATISTHATABEARANALLIGATOR? Uncle_Baconn
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk to him about it.
- People Explain Which City They Would Never Live In - George Takei ›
- Citizens Of The World Explain What Is Wrong With Their Country - George Takei ›
- People Who Grew Up In The City Share Things Every Country Kid Should Know - George Takei ›
- People Confess The Things They Honestly Just Don't Understand - George Takei ›
- People Break Down The Things That Are Normal In Their Country But Weird In Another - George Takei ›
- People Break Down Which Things They Genuinely Do Not Understand - George Takei ›
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
homer simpson episode 23 GIF
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
Disney World GIF
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.