Country life quality in the opinion of young people in respect of their first job location decision – subjective approach

Despite advancement, numerous country regions have been observing adverse trends in terms of birth rates, society ageing, and negative migration balance. Such tendencies seem to affect particularly eastern (Podkarpacie, Podlasie) and western (Opolszczyzna) regions. Therefore, this article is aimed at investigating how young people assess rural life quality and identifying their preferences when choosing where to study, start their first job, or run their first business. The research sample consists of country-based farming school students and young country students of Opole colleges and universities. The level of country life has been presented through material and living conditions, while life quality has been presented through the respondents’ subjective assessment of their satisfaction with basic conditions that country regions can offer to young high school students. Survey results prove that filling gaps in income structure and narrowing distance between social-economic groups in urban and rural environments is importantly related to income from non-agricultural activities and consequently a better way of material life conditions in the country. Therefore, in the future, more effective measures should be dedicated to creating attractive, well-paid (perceived subjectively) jobs. This element may determine rural populations’ satisfaction with their life quality to a greater extent than infrastructure.