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Notes -
Someone working in one of those fields (apart from mining) is presumably working in a small town, and they don't want 40 acres. They probably want to live in town, and if they prefer an ersatz homesteader lifestyle, they want 2-3 acres for a kitchen garden and a chicken run because they aren't going to be doing any serious farming.
The typical small town has 1-2000 families, so at 40 acres per family it is going to take up 100 square miles - i.e. some people are going to have a 5 mile daily commute on farm tracks.
In American small towns, large plots outside of town, or planned exurban communities, are the prestige options for housing. Living inside the town is generally less desirable.
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5 miles is like 10 minutes of country driving, though.
I grew up in a semi-rural area 3 miles from the closest small town (about 500 people) and it took exactly 6 minutes to get there. Hell, most people in the suburbs commute more than 5 miles in traffic, and it isn't a big deal.
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