You might ask—is contemporary rural fantasy otherwise pretty much like urban fantasy? Sometimes. To me, though, rural, whether non-metro small town or countryside implies both distance and intimacy. People aren’t geographically close and neither are most resources. There’s no quick trip to the grocery or hardware store, the all-volunteer firefighters are miles away and the sheriff or state trooper or whoever provides law enforcement may be one guy for the whole county. On the other hand, neighbors know your business even if they never talk about it. All your business. Especially the things you wish they didn’t. Lots of story potential, like urban environments, but different.
Deborah Coates — Tor.com
A nice (if older) read about the differences between Contemporary Urban and Contemporary Rural Fantasy. Read the whole thing here.