But won’t you miss the diversity? We got that question a lot from friends when we chose to move from Seattle to Wallowa County. It was incomprehensible to them that we’d trade the city for what they perceived as far less variety, zero excitement and a veritable wasteland in terms of shopping and entertainment.

At that time, we were utterly burnt on interminable commutes and constant noise. We were a sickly pale green from wet weather and long hours in the office, so shoveling manure actually sounded pretty good, and small-town life looked refreshing. I had a particular draw to Wallowa County because of my family history here, and it would certainly offer something very different from what we’d been experiencing.

In terms of variety, I think we’ve fared rather well. For one thing, we now hang out with people far more varied in age and opinions, not just folks in our own demographic. I regularly rub elbows with people from zero to 85, many of who go by somewhat different life philosophies and politics than I do. I get to partake of a lot more flavors of wisdom and talent than I ever did in the city, which makes life a lot more interesting and textured. Especially because almost everyone wears multiple hats in order to live here.

You get to discover things like your mail carrier also produces exquisite glass art, your team member on the music committee is a doula on the side, your neighbor can make a backhoe move like a ballet dancer, the brusque rancher up the road writes amazingly tender poetry, your waiter can tell you more about entomology than your biology professor ever did, your dental hygienist goes bow-hunting and your doctor is a darn fine musician. That’s just fun.

When conflicts arise, which of course they do, people have more incentive to behave in a civilized manner because they know that they’re going to be running into each other at the post office, the ball field, the ski slopes, the potluck… A more active brand of tolerance is required to live and work with people you don’t see eye to eye with. And while some people, sadly do settle for digging in their heels and taking Hatfield-McCoy stances, there is a lot more flexibility here than outdated stereotypes might suggest. Proximity and interdependence force us to get to know each other, and make it more important to get past our differences.

Wallowa County has also done a good job of keeping its special care populations integrated – we know our disabled, our elderly, our mentally ill because we live next door to them and have not relegated them to places where we can neither see nor hear them. This is better all around, helping those in need heal, and fostering greater compassion and patience in the rest of us.

As far as entertainment is concerned, we have nothing to complain about and much to celebrate. We have an extraordinarily vibrant arts community – by any standard, not just by the “good for a small town” metric. I can see high-quality performances, get up close to beautiful art, hear knowledgeable speakers and have interesting conversations. And while there are certainly fewer cultural events here than in the city, ours tend to be well attended because people don’t take them for granted. People here know their presence at these events matters, and as a happy side effect, they often end up accepting the invitation to not just watch, but to participate in the action.

The absolute riches here in terms of natural beauty and variety – and the myriad benefits of getting to live in the midst of it – can’t really be catalogued adequately. If you live here, you already know what they’re worth. As a steady diet to feed the soul and inform the body, it’s impossible to beat mountains, rivers, clean air and sheer space, not to mention the mind-boggling variety of life forms beside our own that these environs support.

Regarding those shopping opportunities, I have two words regarding the whole consumer thing: shop locally. Whenever possible. (Hint: it’s usually possible.) You can get a LOT more than you think you can right here in the county. Especially when you include what’s available via forums like auctions, benefits, bartering, yard sales and second-hand.

Short answer? Our own personal journey here has been more educational and our path more improbable than we ever could have predicted, involving forays into a little bit of everything. It’s true that we technically had more varied and extensive opportunities in the city. But in practice, our lives here feature far more diversity and contrast in very real and meaningful ways.

While there’s obviously a lot more “out there” in terms of diversity, and yes, we are in many ways homogenous in Wallowa County, I think the form of diversity we and our children experience here can serve to make us more open to the rest.

Jennifer Hobbs is a freelance writer who lives in Lostine.