Town or Country?
A city/municipality provides FIVE differences (to my thinking)
over
country living. These are either pluses or minuses depending on your
viewpoint
and desires.
1. The first responsibility of a city is ZONING. What
goes
where. Areas will be zoned for residential, trailer, multifamily,
business,
commercial, industry, etc. In the country, outside the city
police
jurisdiction there is no zoning unless land is sold with restrictions.
I once went on a listing to an older house in the country which should
have
sold for about 140,000 with the land. I inquired of the owners
about
the adjacent property with the trailer and what appeared to be
car
planters in the front yard. You know those old rusted frames of
use
to be cars now providing a visual chemistry lesson on advanced stages
of
oxidation. They informed me that when they bought their house and
acreage
none of this was there. Needless to say they were unable to sell
without
taking a rather large loss. ZONING in the city does not always
prevent
this but it does provide a basis for planning and inquiring of future
development.
2. Sewage is the next function of a city. If too
many
people live close enough together, something has to be done with human
waste.
In the country this is accomplished by a
septic
tank
but in the city you pay for sewage treatment usually with your water
bill
and your home is attached to a sewer line. If you have a sewage
treatment
plan in a subdivision in the country make sure you know who pays and
owns
the treatment plant or cesspool and who makes repairs when they are
required.
3. Police protection is provided by the city police
department
while in the county police protection is provided by a sheriff
department.
The sheriff is the county law enforcement authority. A
higher
density of population along with businesses etc. require a higher level
of law enforcement and the city will usually have more police in a
smaller
area when compared to a much larger county area with a
usually
smaller sheriff staff.
4. Fire protection. When your house is on fire who
do
you call to help put out the fire. In the city there is usually a
professional,
dedicated fire department as compared to a volunteer fire department in
the country. Next where does the fireman go to obtain water. In
the
city there is a water system designed to support fire services.
Proximity
to a fire hydrant in the city is usually a given but may also be
available
in the country. The insurance companies would have you within 5
driving
miles of a servicing fire department and within a 1,000 feet of a fire
hydrant
(and not the small one which you sometimes see in the country).
In
order to determine the cost of your home insurance, category codes
raging
from 1 to 10 are give to your location. This grading of your
location
is done by the insurance industry and is the same for all insurance
companies.
Most companies use this rating system with the only exception I
know
being USAA. In Montgomery city the code is 2 in Prattville the
code
is 4 and in Millbrook and Wetumpka the code is 5. If you are not
within
5 miles of one of these fire departments then you become candidate for
a
category 9 unless there is no volunteer fire department within 5 miles,
which would make you a possible category 10. Going from a 2 to a
10
and a brick house to a frame house can double the cost of
your
home insurance. Consider if you live in the country and want to
hold
down the premium cost, accepting a higher deductible, possibly going
from
$250 to $1,000 or even $2,000. In the county it pays to consider
the
higher deductible which usually pays itself off in less than 4-5 years
providing
you do not have a claim before that time.
5. Other city services may include (but not limited to),
street
repairs, trash and garage removal (usually paid as part of the water
bill),
steet cleaning, street lights, recycling program, parks, swimming
pools,
libraries, playing fields for soccer, softball and baseball, walking
trails,
recreation programs and planned festivals just to name a few.
Nothing of value is free! Living in a city costs
additional
millage on your country property tax. When compared to the
reduced
cost for fire protection this added amount of county taxes is usually
negligible.
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