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The little town that I lived in until around ten years ago regularly made it onto the ten poorest communities list and I think it even topped ( or bottomed 
) the list a couple of times. I have to say It is a lot easier to live on a low wage in those places than in the big smoke.
Housing is incredibly cheap. When we got married I purchased our first house for $4000 at auction and then got the first home owners grant worth $6000. 
....... Admittedly the house needed A LOT of work, but we pulled down an old farm house for free and used the materials to renovate the $4000 cottage. Even now you can buy a livable house in the town for $80,000. and because housing is cheap, you dont have the stupid loans to service.
A big problem in the city is everyone is trying to " keep up with the Jones's." People work long hours to have a newer car than their neighbour, or a taller standard rose in the garden. There is not the same pressure to look better than everyone else in poor communities. People are happy to keep their cars and their clothes until they wear out. I still adopt this principle in the semi urban city that I live in and get some strange looks at the local supermarket when I walk in wearing my tatty torn work clothes.
There is a LOT MORE community spirit in struggling communities. Everyone knows everyone else and when someone is doing it tough, the community rallies around and helps out.
Because everyone earns less, the school, the little country garage, hairdresser or electrician keeps their prices more affordable, helping to keep expenses in check.
So yes, I have lived that life for years and found it better in many ways to living in the wealthy semi urban city that I live in now. Basically I think those who live in ecenomically poor towns are often much richer in many ways than wealthy urban dwellers and I really miss many of those intangable things now that I live close to the wealthy city.
@chameleon54 wrote:The little town that I lived in until around ten years ago regularly made it onto the ten poorest communities list and I think it even topped ( or bottomed
Housing is incredibly cheap. When we got married I purchased our first house for $4000 at auction and then got the first home owners grant worth $6000.
A big problem in the city is everyone is trying to " keep up with the Jones's." People work long hours to have a newer car than their neighbour, or a taller standard rose in the garden. There is not the same pressure to look better than everyone else in poor communities. People are happy to keep their cars and their clothes until they wear out. I still adopt this principle in the semi urban city that I live in and get some strange looks at the local supermarket when I walk in wearing my tatty torn work clothes.
There is a LOT MORE community spirit in struggling communities. Everyone knows everyone else and when someone is doing it tough, the community rallies around and helps out.
Because everyone earns less, the school, the little country garage, hairdresser or electrician keeps their prices more affordable, helping to keep expenses in check.
So yes, I have lived that life for years and found it better in many ways to living in the wealthy semi urban city that I live in now. Basically I think those who live in ecenomically poor towns are often much richer in many ways than wealthy urban dwellers and I really miss many of those intangable things now that I live close to the wealthy city.
I live in a big city but in an outer suburb that used to be a small town before it was swallowed up. My house is modest sized and I've lived in it for over 30 years. By current standards someone would either want to double its size or demolish it and put a McMansion or two town houses on the site. I've never cared about keeping up with the Joneses.
I look at the home reno shows on TV and would love to see how they could make my 11sq house a bit more practical without enlarging it, not to mention keeping the one tiny bathroom, laundry and of course the kitchen, while somehow managing to make them look bigger, smarter but sympatethetic to the rest of the house. I reckon they couldn't do it. LOL But while I'd like all these things fixed....I still love my house and wouldn't want to move. My car is old and it's been a long while since I bought anything major that wasn't to replace something old and on its last legs. To hell with the out of date wall colours and furniture (not a bit of grey to be seen in the place) and to hell with the Joneses too. 😉
The only downside in terms of living is that fact that I am in the big city...with all the inflated costs that come with that. Sigh.
