> being grounded in mainstream experience again that I lost touch with in the city
I just spent a couple weeks visiting a friend in a (fairly affluent) rural mountain town, and felt this overwhelmingly. Most discussion amongst rural people seems to focus on things that directly affect them and that they can in turn affect. Community projects, social events, improving their schools, local gossip, etc.
In contrast, my city friends spend a lot of time on "bigger" subjects: wars, geopolitical and economic trends, our predictions on technological development... also, a lot of conversation about people's travel plans and that sort of thing. Rich city people always seem to be traveling out of the city, or planning their next travel.
It's not that the rural people are ignorant of the world, rather, I think it's a conscious choice to focus on things in their sphere of influence. It was a really nice reminder for me. If I ask a city friend "how have you been doing?" I'm likely to hear something like "oh, I've just been so stressed about this election" or "I've been worrying about AI taking my job". A rural friend might say something about digging their neighbor's house out after the latest snowstorm, or start talking about the new ski trail that their community just built.