My closest (in both meanings of the word) friend is three hours away through a scenic mountain pass and when we go there its for an entire weekend. This gives time to help with things like building a shed or swapping an engine in a car.
I live in a city and more and more I feel this.
The whole idea behind urbanism seems to be - give up the outdoors, give up hobbies that require tools and space.
Go to the bar. Or a "makerspace" where you can have controlled use of someone else's tools. Rent this, rent that, take an uber here and there.
It's just so commercialised.
There are very few tools I can think of at least woodworking wise that I wouldn't "want" to afford myself. Particularly in the context that an urban home costs hundreds of thousands more than a suburban or rural one.
Metalworking or something like that, maybe, I wouldn't know.
In contrast to that I have a local makerspace that has more facilities than I could ever afford to own, along with actual space to DO the work on projects I want to do with <GASP!> actual solid workbenches and fixed tools like pillar drills (press), table saw/router, band saws. and that's just on the wood side. They also have a CNC router, metal and wood lathes, welding kit/space, [FRICKEN] laser cutter, 3D printers, electronics workbench with a 'scope more expensive than my car. A whole host of things I would never be able to afford either the cost or space to host.
And they have a phase of membership which permits 247 access (not extra cost, just a bit of familiarity) which by design also means it's a social space, so bringing back to the context of the OP, has meant good friendships are formed as new skills are acquired/shared.
Yes it's a monthly cost, but even if I added up the total cost since I've been a member, it doesn't add up to how much even one of the major tools would set me back. Even taking all that into account, it's given me an opportunity to learn things I would never have considered doing on my own. I joined for the 3D printing and stayed for the laser cutting, CNC milling, PCB designing/surface mount soldering, microcontroller learning, welding and friendships.
That isn't renting, that is sharing
Cam at Blacktail Studio, who has a successful business and an impressive collection of quality tools, still rents time on the large machines at a different company. I'm not saying makerspaces are perfect, but unless you have a full size shop with 480V power there's always going to be some tools that make more sense to rent.
Though I will admit, I do miss being able to walk downstairs to one of many bars, have a few drinks, maybe end up at the local greasy spoon, and walk home. Can't have it all, I suppose.
- Way more time in and with nature
- New hobbies, lot of space to try things
- Plenty of tools. My 'Makerspace' is what takes up most of my house at this point
Making cities better and healthier and happier will not prevent you from living in the boonies and enjoying ATVs and hunting and nature walks.
I like hiking, so I often choose to take a train out (sometimes followed by a bus), since then I'm not restricted to walking a circular route. I can also be utterly exhausted (far too tired to drive) on the way home. However, there are a lot more options when driving.