I would also like to address the utilities as we live in a very rural, cabin community, small town & suffered a power outage. We have well & septic, we had no heat, unable to use water. Our home is run on oil, but everything still needs electric to run. Well pump, furnace, water tank, etc.
I grew up in the country & wanted that life for my family. My kids are more imaginative. They love being out in nature & spend very little time at all on technology. They are excellent readers, love music, art & building things, play sports, etc. They spend more time playing card & board games with us than in front of the tv or comp. We have all those things & all the video game consoles, but they only spend a couple of hours on tech 2-3 hrs tops every week. For my family, country life has brought us closer & that is invaluable to me. Country life is not for everyone, but for some, it is just right.
MOO