Happy Labor Day, Everyone! (Do your best to avoid actual labor.)
Idyllic images are easy to conjure. The rocker on the covered porch. The alfresco country meal. The gathering to applaud sunset. The long vista of rolling hills or mountains. The ice-cold beer next to the aging wicker chair.
That’s Easy Country Living!
It’s also the life my wife and I have been living out here in Texas Hill Country. Johnson City, to be specific. Four miles from the entry to Pedernales State Park.
It is said that 90 percent of all Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart. Not us.
Our nearest Walmart is 26 miles away, in Marble Falls. Don’t get me wrong. We are surrounded by Walmart stores – north, south, east and west – but none are closer. Fortunately, the nearest HEB is only 15 miles away. Tractor Supply, with its amazing variety of flavored beef jerky, is even closer.
We’re not isolated. Not really.
But if you live in a city or a suburb and feel the lure of that Easy Country Living, let me tell you some things. And be forewarned: You’re likely to be dog tired by the time you sit in that rocking chair at sunset.
The Internet Isn’t Everywhere
My son Ollie likes to tell stories about people who build huge houses out here – yes, $1 million to $3 million builds – assuming that high speed Internet is everywhere. It isn’t. He knows this because he built a small WISP company (Wireless Internet Service Provider). Regularly, he must tell people they may need to build a tower, cut trees or have trenches dug, to get service that can be slowed by a storm or impaired by trees on a neighbor’s property. And, no, Starlink isn’t a cure-all.
(Fortunately for us, Ollie lives about 500 feet away and, yes, he provides our Internet service. His near-hilltop location is not only good for wireless Internet. It’s also good for food. If he brings an avocado offering to his sister, who lives 500 feet further south, he gets breakfast. If he just shows up at our place, he gets dinner.)
You Will Have Interesting Neighbors
If you are daring and fortunate, you will meet some of them before you die. You could, however, die trying to meet some of them if you go on their property unannounced. So far, I haven’t met any of our neighbors with signs that say their property is protected by Smith and Wesson.
Most neighbors are friendly. They also recognize that we need to look out for each other, so when you get to know your neighbors, you’ll probably spend time trading tools, checking shut-off valves for neighbors who are away during major storms, etc. Most have lived out here a long time.
Nature Never Stops Growing
My best friend gave me his 42-inch John Deere lawn tractor. I treasure it. For him the gift was a sign that he had graduated from property care – he was moving to a gated community. The HOA does the mowing and landscape care.
We live on 17 acres of wildlife preserve land, but the ancient John Deere, tough as it is, can barely defend two acres from being overgrown. Everything else must do what it does.
You’ll Be in List-Making Heaven
My wife has her lists. I have mine. Her list includes watering plants, feeding the outdoor resident feral cats that keep down the scorpion and mouse population. She also needs to think of new ways to outwit the racoons. My list includes things like adding potassium to the water softener, checking the well pump for the tiny ants that can interrupt power, checking our well reservoir and rainwater tanks, keeping the EZ-GO charged and having all our electrical power tools ready to use. Did I mention filling the turkey feeder, in the full knowledge that it will be emptied by deer?
And, yes, I water one plant, my treasured basil plant. I now keep it on the porch – the deer ate the earlier planting at ground level. They have yet to climb the porch. (That said, stray goats from our neighbor, climbed the porch to visit just a few weeks ago.)
Trust me, you will not be idle.
And one day, in one of those Easy Country Living moments, something will catch your eye. In that instant you’ll understand something you’d never understand as a city dweller. You’ll see how truly big life is and how so much of life is pure, wonderful chance.
Related columns:
Scott Burns, “Last House Syndrome,” 12/15/2018: https://scottburns.com/last-house-syndrome/
Scott Burns, “Too Much House at the End of Your Money,” 3/27/2024: https://scottburns.com/too-much-house-at-the-end-of-your-money/
Scott Burns, “This Old Mobile Home: Raze or Save?” 1/12/2019: https://scottburns.com/this-old-mobile-home-raze-or-save/
Scott Burns, “The Secret of Crystal Bay,” 2/27/2015: https://scottburns.com/the-secret-of-crystal-bay/
Scott Burns, “Two Ways to Own a Manufactured Home,” 3/6/2015: https://scottburns.com/two-ways-to-own-a-manufactured-home-2/
Sources and References:
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED, “Median Sales Price of Houses Sold in the United States”: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED, “Monthly Supply of New Houses in the United States”: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED, “30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States”: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US
This information is distributed for education purposes, and it is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or endorsement of any particular security, product, or service.
Photo: Scott Burns, 8/27/25 A perfect Texas sky
(c) Scott Burns, 2025