Rural communities are recognised as one of the most vulnerable populations to climate change. When people from rural communities in NSW were asked about their biggest concern relating to climate change, the responses were varied and diverse. A minority of participants reported having no concerns about climate change, stemming from a disbelief in anthropogenic climate change, while many were deeply concerned about the changes in the earth’s systems and resulting impacts to humans, animals and the environment. Free text responses from the Australian Rural Mental Health Study, a longitudinal study conducted during the Big Dry, was subject to qualitative analyses. These free text responses were analysed using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. As well as reporting on their biggest concerns, participants were asked about threats to their way of life, and issues relating to the unpredictability of seasons and the changed timing of seasons. The analysis revealed that a principal concern for people in rural communities is the storage, supply, availability and quality of water resources for both agricultural purposes and human consumption. Many people spoke about the increases associated with climate change – increases in population, impacts, extreme climate events, financial costs and global temperatures. Food security and sea level rise were also reported as some of peoples’ greatest concerns. Qualitative research such as this, analyses of free text comments collected as part of a large population study, provides a great breadth of perspectives from those most vulnerable to climate change and for who adaptation is most vital.