Although the outdatedness of the rural-urban dichotomy is widely acknowledged, the rural-urban distinction is still largely sustained. Moreover, with a plethora of aspects to define these two concepts, in practice only a few are effectively taken into account when formulating policies for rural/urban development respectively. Such conduct might seem questionable in the face of the progressive blurring of these concepts, making them all the more subjective. In that light, the logics of such subjectivity should be captured and anchored locally, where the effects of policy become directly tangible. Using examples from formally rural yet largely de-agrarized settlements in Poland this paper discusses the concepts of ‘rural and ‘urban’ by emphasizing local perception and experiential space as important factors in their current understanding. Field studies and discussions in local media indicate that this dimension is locally significant and that the sense of rurality/urbanity is much derived from the physical characteristics of the lived environment rather than from its mere degree of socio-economic development (despite the latter being at the center of debate). There are also suggestions that divergence between the locally perceived and the centrally defined concept of rural/urban (along with the specific paths of development the latter entails) may result in popular discontent. This paper suggests that in order to better understand and to more efficiently conceptualize the ‘new rural’ (particularly in a cross-cultural context), more attention should be paid to the perception of the locals, concurrently striving for a greater convergence between the generic, the experiential and the emotional.