I'm curious about people's opinions and experiences with rural retirement.

I've read on this forum and others about folks retirement plans. Many seem to involve moving to an idyllic rural location such as a lake house or many acres of woods. We have friends who are moving from a fairly urban location to the Upper Peninsula for retirement. For those who don't know, it's rather unpopulated and remote.

Having never lived outside a city, my opinion is that this seems like a terrible idea. I mean a lake house is great. But take healthcare, for example. Even if there is a decent clinic within 45 minutes, that's not going to help you with serious medical conditions like cancer care. And sure you can drive 2 hours to your chemo infusion but that type of travel can be really difficult for a sick person and their caregiver.

And what about social interaction? I mean there you are in the middle of your 40 acres basically alone. Sure there's the internet and you can drive to the one local cafe. But that's just not the same as having people around and other things to do nearby all the time.

What if you need specialized assistance? Like home healthcare or PT or the like?

Honestly the more I think about it the more risky and frankly horrible this situation sounds to me.