50 years of age -relocate to the country??

dietdemon

My children are grown up and left home now and OH and I are in the enviable position of being able to consider living where we want within reason, budget, and somewhere within commuting distance to work for us both! (I currently commute for 3 hours a day anyway!)

We have been looking into this for a while and want to live somewhere that is rural but with some facilities such as local shop, pub.

We will be constrained by a modest budget but have seen properties within our price range. We still have a mortgage.

Currently our house is in a nice area in a city but we do love the countryside and want to "live the dream". Has anybody on the forums relocated to the country, particularly at our age! I would love to hear of your experiences.

Are we to old to consider relocating?

Any thoughts welcome.

poet123

I think you are at the ideal age. You are still in work so won't find village life too suffocating initially and by the time you retire you will be embedded there and hopefully have friends and interests there. I would love to retire to the seaside in a village with the amenities you outline. I say go for it.

thegirlintheattic

I relocated but at a much younger age. Some things to consider:

Are there good public transport links? Whilst you drive now consider how easy it would be to get to work if your car broke down or if you cannot drive when older.

Costs of heating. If the house is not on mains gas then research the cost of coal/wood/oil/LPG it can be a lot more and for wood/coal - hard to heat the house properly especially if you work long hours.

dietdemon

Thank you Poet123.

There is a lot of hard work needed to get there but just think it's now or never. Seems like a huge lifetime change when most people I know are settled and don't want to make such a big change. My parent's think we are mad!

We have friends who we would visit and would continue to visit us wherever we lived.

Our jobs are very busy and we are lucky to have them in this economy, so would be nice to be able to escape after work somewhere more tranquil.

dietdemon

Thank you thegirlintheattic.

You raise some practical points. Did not consider the heating/fuel element thank you. We are looking in to transport links and have worked out average travel costs. Have you ever regretted relocating?

Have you a better quality of life because of relocating?

nearlyrich

They always say you can only regret the things that you didn't do, it's your lives and if you are both happy to move I would say go for it. 50 with grown up children and decent jobs is a good place to be and a good time to consider life changing alterations to lifestyle.

thegirlintheattic

dietdemon wrote: »

Thank you thegirlintheattic.

You raise some practical points. Did not consider the heating/fuel element thank you. We are looking in to transport links and have worked out average travel costs. Have you ever regretted relocating?

Have you a better quality of life because of relocating?

I don't regret it, although there have been ups and downs. One of the main ones has been commuting to work in an area with little public transport which has had an impact on my social life. Whilst I regularly go out with workmates I cannot drink as I have to drive home and am restricted to going out mainly at weekends.

We are also living in a very insular area and whilst people are very friendly it is still clear we are outsiders (most people's families have lived in the village for as long as anyone can remember). No one is nasty about it but it's a feeling that can be off putting. Apparently no matter how much we integrate into the village we'll be considered outsiders until we're old and gray.

I do have a better quality of life now. I spend a lot more time outdoors and we can afford a much bigger house than in a city. Things are also more relaxed and laid back which is very nice. I would say the biggest problem is transport. Most of my outgoings are transport related and getting to work without my car takes a lot of time. Getting anywhere also involves more time than it used to and so a related increase in costs. For example it takes me 40 mins to get to the nearest big supermarket, over an hour to the nearest city and an hour to get to the nearest motorway (to get anywhere else). But considering you do a 3 hour commute anyway I don't think these will bother you too much.

Mrs_Z

All I'd say is that it does not have to be a one way ticket, does it? Once you've found the area, you could even try it by renting first and see if you like it.
Even if you made a move and lived there for 10+ years, you can always move back to the city if you don't like it.

Go for it.

chirp

If you plan to retire at the normal retirement age of 65 yrs, then you have atleast another 15 yrs of working life. If you want to relocate to the countryside, then wouldn't it increase your commute time to work, which is already 3 hrs? So basically on weekdays after work and such a long commute you would have enough time and energy to just eat and sleep. It would just be the weekends when you would get to enjoy a bit of country life after you have finished all the mundane chores which inevitably have to be done. Ideally a countryside life-style would suit people who have 7 days a week to enjoy it, and not someone who may just about get 1 day a week to relax. And ofcourse as rightly pointed out earlier you will need to have the option of being close to public transport in case you are not able to get to work in your car due to some reason. I feel you are too young to relocate to the countryside.

pmlindyloo

We moved from South London to Kent in our forties and we have never had a moment's regret. We still had children at home so we had a family house in a large village.

Now the children have 'flown the nest' we have downsized and made our second move a little further out to a very small village - beautiful church (need to like the sound of church bells!) and a local shop, pub, hairdressers and a couple of restaurants.

We can walk to the village and 5 minutes walk away there is beautiful countryside. Despite our 'dolls house' we have never been so happy. Not much cleaning!

Our neighbours are lovely and it so good to be away from the hustle and bustle.

We rented first when we moved so we could be sure that we had chosen the right place to live. We ended up buying the house we rented!

If you have the option of renting first then personally I would choose that route. Living in the country doesn't suit everyone so renting gives you the ideal opportunity to try it out.

Although the nearest large town is 30 minutes away it isn't a problem as I shop online and top up from the local store - more expensive but with the price of petrol as it is there isn't much difference.

I personally wouldn't like to be totally isolated. I need to be able to walk to a shop/pub. Most villages have a very active 'social life' - lots of clubs to join if you want to.

Do your homework first - look at the parish council websites to see what's going on - a doctor's surgery is a plus.

To be honest nowadays there seems to be a real regard for people living in villages and most of our needs are catered for. With the internet and services offered there is no need for people to feel cut off.

We love it!

Running_Horse

I would think about a large village with a railway station, or a small market town. We moved to a rural area just before they withdrew the bus service and several local pubs closed. It's still great but can feel a little isolated.