If Youre Going to Live in the Country | Page 8

in time, prove depressing. Besides, we were by no
means certain that our friends had developed the callous indifference of
a young couple we heard of years later. Curiously free of inhibitions,
these two people bought an attractive old farmhouse with a family
burying lot located a fair distance from the house. The little plot with
its eight or ten simple headstones was unobtrusive and rather gave an

air of family roots deep in the soil, a quality all too rare in America.
These young vandals could not let well enough alone. They uprooted
the headstones and laid them end to end for a walk to their front door!
They were considering the plot itself as a possible tennis court when
outraged public opinion forced them to put the stones back. In fact, the
general hostility was so marked that they finally abandoned the place
and it was later sold at a distinct loss.
But back to the little gray parsonage; its location and the fact that train
service in its vicinity was poor, were the two deciding votes against it.
Another attractive house in a good location was ruled out because our
car got stuck in a spring hole practically in sight of it. A mile or so of
dirt road to the station is no drawback, provided it is passable at all
times of the year. This one was obviously poor, even in summer.
Finally a real estate broker showed us a picture of a modest 18th
century farm cottage. We visited the place one dreary sunless day in
late March, investigated the neighborhood, determined the time
required to drive to the nearest railroad station, and bought it, all in one
week.
In general, we are not sure that such haste is advisable. There were
certain disadvantages that we did not observe; there were others where
we turned a blind eye because we were infatuated with the place and
determined to have it. Fortunately time has taken care of practically all
of these. In short, we have come to believe that a place in the country is,
like marriage, just what you make it. In both cases, though, one's
emotions should be under control, so here are a few salient points for
the searcher after a suitable location.
First and foremost, decide on the sort of life you wish to lead. Then
pick your location to fit it. If you are not chained to a city desk five
days a week but at best make only one or two weekly trips there, a
railroad journey of two or three hours is endurable especially when a
highly attractive place lies at the end. For such a person, the radius in
which to look for likely places is much extended and the farther out, the
more advantageous the prices. But for one individual so fortunately
situated, there are more than a hundred who must choose a place near

enough for daily trips to the city.
For the latter the ideal situation is, as stated before, an hour from house
to office. That is the ideal but, in all honesty, we must admit that few
attain it. The average country commuter is a born optimist on this point
and will unblushingly distort facts in a manner to put the most ardent
fisherman to shame. But figures don't lie. If the time table, say between
Stamford, Connecticut, and the Grand Central, New York, gives its
fastest running time as fifty minutes, it means exactly that. You may
plan to hurtle through the air at sixty miles an hour to the station but
traffic and road conditions will not always let you. Besides, what is the
hurry? Allow twenty or thirty minutes instead of fifteen for a normal
run of twelve miles and have peace of mind. That gives you an hour
and ten or fifteen minutes between your house and the city. Add the
time needed to get from the train to your office and you know what is
before you. We mention this station trip of twelve miles as about the
maximum for the hardy commuter although there are a few who take
more punishment than that. Of course if the perfect place can be found
only four to six miles from the station that is all the better.
Transportation is an all important consideration both as regards time
and expense. There are beautiful countrysides fairly near large centers
that are so hampered by poor train service as to be almost out of the
question for the everyday commuter. Of course, there may be an
adequate service or it may be practical to drive to and from business.
The latter is not at all uncommon with the country areas near the
smaller industrial centers. Here the fortunate commuter is free from
exacting train