Keeping rural areas rural - is COVID accelerating urbanization of rural areas?

All 3 of those tows are as small as it gets. I live among them still. No massive sprawl. The only dollar generals are one in rapid city on the edge of town and one on the edge of town in bellaire. Both of which are a good idea. Saves you from driving a hour to get to TC. Mancalona has been at a dead stop for years since the Dura plant shut down about 10 years ago. Mostly empty buildings now a days and lots of drug traffic as it is on a main arterie. As for shanty creek. They have not grown in size since they purchased 200 acres to create ceder river golf course. Other than that nothings changed there in 30 years. The best part is it employees lots of people from those surrounding communities .

We will never get big by any means or in any way up here. TC is the only area that has really expanded and the movement has been very slow. Chums corners has expanded, but that really is not a bad thing. Lots of work opportunities in that area. 34 years ago we figured charlivoix and TC would meet here in Elk Rapids, but it never happened.

 

Only for 3 months out of the year then the fudge suckers pack up, lock up and don't come back for 9 months. The best part is they pay double tax on those properties and we get to spend the money. Just part of owning a 2nd home. If they didn't come , there really would be no "up north" to speak of .

 

I get this.I have neighbors this close.
I sometimes say to myself that I am going to move and get some land then realize that I will create or be part of the same problem that D_rek is noting. These places wont stay that way under the current mindset.I believe community's need to start recycling and designing in the city especially with infrastructure already available.
The old kmart is now 20 beautiful and current type homes

 

I bought a 40 acres parcel with an 1890's house , barn and other out buildings in 1969 south of Mears. The property cost me $10,500. The last I counted there were over 60 new places in a strip 1 1/2 miles wide and 3 miles long around the place. I am tempted to sell 30 acres of bare hunting land. The problem is capital gains taxes would eat most of my profit. My sons own the house and ten acres it sets on as the ex wife kept it when I divorced her.

So many that moved here from the cites to get way from them want all of the amenities they had in the city. At a township board meeting one of the citiiditots was wanting this and that. One of the board members told them to move back where they came from if they wanted all of that.

As Mears is on the way to the Silver Lake Sand Dunes I can not stand to be there when the dunes are open. I can not stand they way us locals are treated buy the dune people.

 

Very very few take those positions without having a personal agenda or a concerted one. Example - Citizens of a community want nothing to do with windmills yet a large landowner and his best buddies has land desired by DTE and he heads the board. Know's which buttons to push and may even have Corporate thugs telling him or her which buttons. Longtime locals who know the local history dating back decades understand what's going on, newer transplants do not and vote them in. Lol

North Branch, get your heads out of those warm dark places or you'll be living with towering eyesore's.

 

I don't mind shorts. They have some, and I mean some decent plates and their cider is really good. The beer, for me, not so much. My town missed a golden opportunity to make lots of money for them to spend on pet projects by not offering Shorts the old mustard factory at a reasonable deal.
I only drive through mancy now on my way to fish in gaylord or indian river. Just not my kind of town. Buddy lives on the mill pond near the airport. He catchs tons of giant smallies early in the year and late fall.
It's more like it use to be back in the early 80's after september rolls around at least. Gets quiet,except when I irritate people on the lake opening morning of duck season (hehe). It still beats living below us 10 far as I'm concerned .

 

Gravel roads sucks. I will never live on one again.

 

Wish someone would tell the 200 people a day that travel on our gravel road that .We have 20 homes on my one mile but people won't go 1/2 mile to get to the tar road .I laugh my butt off when a new fancy car speeds down the road in the mud and pot holes cost them $12.00 for a car wash every time they do it but they save 10 cents on gas .They never learn though and after it gets graded it only lasts a few days before it goes to hell again .

 

Our last house was 1.5 miles to pavement and everytime it rained our road would turn to a sticky soupy mess. Just destroyed our cars for the 5 years we were there, no matter how slow you drove. Go too slow and someone will pass you and shower you with mud. Biggest problem we had was summer vacation traffic taking our gravel road as a short cut to get to US31. They would go 60 down the road and just destroy it.

 

I hate the ones that fly down road when it dusty and just bury you in dust evan if your cutting grass or weed racking by the road.They won’t slow down and these are people tha live on the road.Sometimes when they get me I jump in my truck and when they pull in there driveway, I wait still they get out and get revenge I really like when they go to there mail box.Than I wave and bury them in dust and wave.It usually seems to work because if Iam out in front a lot will slow down if they see me

 

I don't miss the 2 dirt roads I've lived on. One house on 10a had a 700 ft drive which was great. The hunting was very good. After 10 years, sure enough, they put in a road with houses on both sides right behind my neighbor next to me. The builder asked if he could buy some of his 20a. Thankfully he said no. Some nice houses started sprinkling in up and down the road. No doubt when anyone moved in, they hoped nothing would change after that, lol. Ahh progress. I ended up moving a couple years later for other reasons.