New Urbanism?

Cover via Amazon

Imagine:

You live in Manhattan.
You work in Boston.
You have a house in Virginia.

Where is “home”? Is it where you spend the most time? Where you earn a living? Or where your “heart is”?

This is the situation I found myself two years ago. Am I alone? Hardly. I can’t find exact figures but this I know: it is now possible to live, work, and invest in your local community with greater geographic spread between all three than ever before.

Emboldened by this opportunity I see many of my peers practicing what was termed “geo-arbitrarge” by Timothy Ferris in 4 Hour Workweek. Some of us are taking our education and talents once reserved for “city jobs” back to the “country” and trading in for a higher standard of living.

And the benefits go both ways: a mobile “creative class” as described by Richard Florida in Rise of the Creative Class shows that more than ever small towns can offer just as many opportunities as their larger counterparts.

What’s it like to make the big city to small town transition? Is it possible? What does that mean in the context of community? Loyalty? Or economic trends that affect us all? This blog explores these and other issues relating to a “new ruralism” lifestyle. It will also track my boyfriend and I as we take on the challenges of renovating historic property.

In the end, this isn’t division between “urban” and “rural” existence. Rather, it’s the exploration of having the best of both worlds thanks to technology and individual determination. It’s a grand experiment — one which cost us our Manhattan rent-stabilized apartment, and one don’t regret for a minute.

katie @ April 23, 2008