The quality of life of rural settlements is determined by a number of diverse factors: economic, social and environmental. The perception of quality of life and lifestyle is also affected by subjective perceptions of each of us. Quality of life has its time aspect too. Any period, any social establishment creates certain specific conditions that greatly contribute to the way of life and then to its quality. The paper is aimed on the evaluation of the quality of the environment of the Slovak rural settlements in different time horizons. For the essential milestones for rural development of Slovak country can be considered industrialization, collectivization, transition to a market economy and accession of the Slovak Republic to the European Union. The paper describes positives and negatives of each of this period in relation to the quality of the environment.