Menu Close

Articles on Rural life

Displaying all articles

Raising kids on a farm, as Kerissa Payne is doing, isn’t simple. Photo courtesy of Kerissa and Charlie Payne

Lack of affordable child care is hurting young farm families’ ability to grow their businesses – the US farm bill may finally offer some help

Access to affordable child care affects farm productivity, safety and ultimately the nation’s food supply. Farm families across the U.S. are struggling without it.
Rural students who grow up with strong ties to their schools are more likely to return to their hometowns after they graduate from college. Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

3 things that influence college graduates from rural areas to return to their communities

While many students who grew up in rural communities leave for good after going off to college, some are returning to their rural roots. A scholar who studies education and small towns explains why.
A dairy barn in Waitsfield, Vermont, built circa 1890. Thomas Visser

Why are barns painted red?

Barns are practical buildings, designed to safeguard farm animals and equipment. Why are so many of them painted to stand out from the landscape?
Not all gay people enjoy big cities, but pop culture has little to say about rural LGBTQ life. Ruaridh Connellan / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Queer in the country: Why some LGBTQ Americans prefer rural life to urban ‘gayborhoods’

Stereotypically, gay, queer and trans kids flee small towns to find acceptance in big, diverse cities like New York or Chicago. But evidence shows many will eventually return to rural areas.
The cast of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2019 — that year, the show won Best Comedy Program or Series. (Shutterstock)

‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘Letterkenny’ are love letters to rural Canada

Shows like ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘Letterkenny’ upend how we imagine rural Canada to be. The small-town dynamics represented are wonderful presentations of what it means to be human.

Top contributors

More