Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on the gentrification of rural areas. Not a new phenomenon in this part of the world, but one I would expect to continue into the future. I dream of a farm in CaswellCounty, or maybe Stokes or Surry, although I could do without the "interior-design stores, spas and organic markets."

Comments

[Danny Wright]

"Ed Cone, gentleman farmer". Nice.

[Spag]

I'll take the Texas hill country instead.

We are all kind of sitting on our asses a bit, enjoying an era of leisurely living where Starbucks and custom beers are considered an entitlement. Meanwhile, the underlying fundamentals resulting from a disastrous trade policy and open borders don't look good and are starting to show their effects. I suspect the faux farm along with all of the ameneties is already on the way out as real wages decline and the middle class shrinks.

One interesting observation is that while the article you cite refers to the number of people moving out to the country, there are also a lot more people moving to downtown areas at the same time. This seems to indicate that it is suburbia that is dying. What shall become of it? The plus side is that maybe there will be less neutered males wearing the suburbia uniform of khakis and polo shirts walking around and fewer minivans.

[John D. Young]

I enjoyed an old, backcountry redfish guide around Charleston who loved the noseeums and the mosquitoes. He said if it wasn't for those wonderful creatures every inch of the Carolina coast would be overwhelmed by rich yuppies or Yankees. I guess bug spays have improved far more than Captain Jack ever envisioned. (Or people stay inside their coastal McMansions and watch HD TV about backcountry fishing.)

[Billy The Blogging Poet]

Let me get my hands on a bulldozer and I'll show you a farm in east Greensboro. As a matter of fact I can remember when much of the neighborhood I live in was a dairy farm.

And you know cows make better neighbors than people any day. They might trample trough your garden once in a while but they never rob you or keep you up all night shooting.

Oh the many nights I dreamed of bulldozing a 1000 acres or so while leaving my house standing right there in the middle.