Living in the rural areas: countryside

Abstract

This article presents selected elements of a rural based lifestyle based on existing and extensive social diagnosis conducted by the Polish Main Statistical Office (GUS) for the first decade of the 21st Century. The author presents influencing objective factors including the environment, income and labour structure, and social and educational levels as well as psycho-social factors; dominant perspective, life orientation and a time perspective. She concludes that despite similar characteristics within groups there is a mosaic of lifestyles rather than a single typical rural lifestyle. Although life in rural areas is largely determined by environmental factors, agriculture and farmers, their influence is limited because of large differences within groups. This is connected to large differences in lifestyles and in the majority of cases their low attractiveness