What a PITA it is to get anything done up here. It's an all day ordeal just to accomplish one task. 3 to 4 hours for one round trip to a grocery or hardware store. 40 minutes one way to the little farm store/gas station. They do have fresh Angus beef and pork frozen and vacuumed packed at really good prices though. The store is very reasonably priced. Still no cell service but we did get an internet phone that seems to work ok. Can't stream live tv and netflix buffers a lot. But it's better than the one crappy country radio station we get, and that was all we had for two weeks. Hopefully it will get better when I can at least get in to my bank account to pay some bills. Been working on that all day and it will continue tomorrow.
I can say that self isolation is nothing new around here, it's been a way of life forever and despite the challenges we are loving it. My dogs really, really love it here. Hope everyone is well and staying safe.

Good luck! You made the right choice!

.... but it’s ONLY a 2 minute walk to the river ..., fur a helleva canoe ride !

Yeah Ted, I think I was ahead of the curve without even knowing it. I don't think I could be in a better place right now. Now for how long I can hold out is another question, I've been thinking about ways I can just stay here and not go back to work.

Here you go

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthread...-for-free-thru-may-15th.html#Post2758139

Welcome to Country Living. I know what you mean, but if there was 24/7 no-sweat everything, that seems tied to population density.
Which brings all the BS that comes with it.
Things like good cable & internet service are an issue when the market is small.
I'm 4 miles from a town of under 10,000, and in some ways, it's very different as far as convenience & choices.
Took me a while to get some things figured out, and to become very self-sufficient, but I don't think I could ever live in a suburb again, let alone a city.

To put this in perspective the closest city is 34 miles away with a population of 1,994. The next closest city is 45 miles away with a population of 1,050. We are actually 18 miles outside of Looneyville proper, population 629, and 10 of those 18 miles are off a main road deep into the woods. I'm glad I get anything out here. 4 miles from a town of 10,000 doesn't seem that far out. You probably even have a Lowes or Home Depot. I'd have to drive over 2 hours to go to one of them lol. Thankfully UPS does deliver out here. I just have to get used to it, we really like it out here. It feels like home.

GitJo, that sure does put it in perspective. You went hardcore !

Yup, Home Depot about 8 miles away. Got flush toilets an' ev'rythang !

Nevertheless, I learned to keep a list so when I go into town, I pick up everything I need...or can get.
For some things, I gotta drive down 45 miles to Coeur d'Alene, which seems SO crowded (about 60,000 people) to me now...

The nearest store to me is an Ace hardware..18 miles. My Homedepot is 40 miles. Nearest grocery is 35 miles. I have no cell phone service. You aren’t all that rural.

True, by comparison I'm not, and not claiming to be.
Both you & the OP have my deal beat.
And probably several others here as well.

I read the cops down there are worried they said the opiate pill heads were slow talkers that gathered for a soda at the store, now the pills are gone some really extreme meth has a person talking real fast and to themselves drinking a soda. Said they have had to pull there weapon 10x more often.

Im sure your protected and maybe not much different from rural Florida.

Jsta buncha CITY SLICKERS here !

Was out in Montana some years back and I called about a small ranch .... really REALLY reasonably priced ....

But the deal breaker ? ... it was something like 60 miles to get a gallon of milk at a small store ... Home Depot and a Walmart was over a HUNDRED MILES ...

I haven't seen a single tweeker or a cop since I've been here. Except for the neighbor down the road, the mail man, the UPS truck and the garbage man, no one comes down this road.

The wife and I like where we live.. 4 miles to town.. live on a paved road.. the road was put in
just for the Ford PG 1 1/2 miles north.. we cant get fast intentnet but not bad(satellite) and TV
is over the air... in town we do have a micky D and arbies.. the smallness places around have to be
2 1/2 acres min.. we have 8 here and our other house has 75 acres

Ya need to take the long view. A couple years in to retirement and an excuse to go for a long drive can be a good thing.

Get ya a Sangean PR-D5 radio for better reception.

https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-PR-D...gean+PR+D5&qid=1585954883&sr=8-2

AM reception on this radio near best of all time.
FM good.

Sangean PR-D4W has nearly as good AM, best of class FM, and weather band.

https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-PR-D...ean+PR+D4W&qid=1585955054&sr=8-2

Finally after another 5 hour ordeal I can get in to bank account again. This has been 2 days and 4 phone calls to the bank that were about 2 hours each with the previous 3 calls ending with, "I'm sorry sir, without cell phone verification I can't help you." So very frustrating. I had to let them know that "America's most convenient bank" was turning into " America's most inconvenient bank. " Now if I can just get internet back working on my phone without wifi again I'll be in good shape.

I don't believe I've even tried to tune in an AM radio station in at least 10 years. Back then, AM radio reception sucked big time, and about the only thing that was on AM radio were all talk shows. What is on AM radio these days? Gene

This sucker will pull in stations from 60 years ago