A question for rural living OS members

littlegreenparrot

I grew up in a small rural town, hated it at the time. For everyone who says it is a good place for children, make that small children. As a teenager one bus an hour, and the last one home at 6pm does not make for a great social life. Be prepared for bus routes to make no sense - regular to local urban areas, but next small town along only twice a week.

Having said that as an adult I now miss it, its amazing what a difference having a car makes. If you decide to take the plunge here are some tips.
-Don't move in near the church then complain about the noise the church bells make
-Or move in opposite the local town hall and complain about the noise/traffic from the kids discos (while sending your own away to very posh schools and not using shops etc)
-Set up a cafe right in the centre, try to run an existing one out of business, then shut the place up for 3 months in the summer.

They may seem obvious, but all of these have happened there in the last ten years. Small communities can be difficult to become a part of, even more so if you manage to p*ss everyone off in the first few months! If you manage to treat everyone like a person, rather than an exhibit you should be fine

sonastin

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

Mobile coverage may well be patchy and broadband speeds slow.

Oh, and don't forget that you usually end up paying extra for the privilege of rubbish broadband. Forget all the great deals you see advertised on TV and in the paper - they don't apply to rural villages...

bearcub

sonastin wrote: »

Luckily, we didn't move to the village for idyllic WI-Miss Marple-type dreams.

Hi sonastin ! Where we live certainly isn't what you describe. And, even if it was, I wouldn't be involved in that sort of life - can't abide all-women groups! We have excellent broadband here, despite having the downs nearby, and very good mobile signal because the mast is on top of the hill that overlooks 'our' fields. That's not yet so for all the island, though, so, yes, make sure you have good signals in the areas you're likely to use a lot, and that's not necessarily just at home. We need a decent mobile signal when we're with the horses, just in case of an accident.

I agree wholeheartedly with what littlegreen parrot says about children's ages. We first had the idea of moving here when our DD1 was 10, and DD2 was 6, and thought we'd move before DD1 started secondary school. It didn't work out and it was just as well, and obviously not meant to be then. DD1 now lives in Portsmouth, and thinks she'd like to move here eventually. DD2, however, loves it here for a holiday, but wouldn't like to live here, and would have hated it in her teens, because the less frequent bus services means that travel in the evenings is difficult. Also, although there are primary schools locally, the nearest secondary school is about 11 miles away, as is the college. It can be a stifling lifestyle for very sociable teens.

Of course, the IW is a bit different in that we're also limited by a drop of water all round us, but we find that we breath a sigh of relief when we get on the homeward ferry after time on the north island.

snowleopard61

The people who live in it aren't all transported from Agatha Christie novels - people ... murder their wives.

Can't answer your question, I'm afraid, OP (live in a town and expect I'll do so all my life as I don't drive and have no intention of learning) but am surprised no-one has picked up on the reply above...:rotfl:

lally666young

I live in a village, we have lived there for 3 years now and I wished we had done it sooner. you dont realise how bad town living can be for your health. We have beautiful clean, fresh, air and a very close community. I was worried that we wernt going to fit in, as many pit villages near us dont like strangers. But I was proven wrong and we are now part of one big happy family. We all look out for one another and we skill swop.
We have a smallholding and belive me it is no walk in the park. esp with 3 kids and 1 not at school yet. But they have learnt vital skills which they can use in later life.
My health has also impoved and my asthma is 100% better I havent had a bad attack in two years and my bi-polar doesnt bother me anymore. I am not even ashaimed to admit it, like I was when we lived in town. People dont judge you infact they make you realise that you are normal and not a freak of nature.
So I would recommend moving to the countryside to anyone.

oldtractor

dandy-candy wrote: »

Part of my on going plan to be more frugal and old style is to eventually move to the countryside and have a smallholding. It isn't just to have the space to grow my own veg and keep livestock, but to be in a like minded community. I don't want to be anywhere to remote, but on the edge of village seems a perfect idea.
When we do countryside drives we see lots of pretty "Miss Marple" type villages and I would love to live in them. I imagine everyone being quaint and old fashioned, and having village fete's, joining the W.I. etc etc. Is that what village life is really like or did that die out in the 1950's? Have I been watching to many period dramas?

Life is just like this in our village. We have a great community spirit and there is lots going on.

baconandcabbage

We live in London but also live in a cottage in a village. (both self employed so we take work down here for a couple of days a week or more)

Yes it's lovely etc but i couldn't live here 24/7. I havc found the locals not so welcoming if your not from around here then you don't fit in and your not spoken to I'm a really nice person i haven't got 2 heads but they look at me like i have just landed from another planet.

Yes we have rhubarb and various other things growing 2 apple and 2 pear trees etc but people seem to think if you live in the sticks life is easier i don't know why people think this.

Anyway as i much as i love living here (we are here until tomorrow) i can't wait to get back to London

Also another thing everything is far more expensive.

I was nodding and laughing at some of the comments on here because they are true such as the smell and when it's much spreading time wear 2 pegs on your nose and dead animals on the road.

the bus service is rubbish ( OH grew up here and so he tells me and i have hardly seen a bus) We drive so no need to use the service

The local pub: the first time i went there all of the customers decided to gawp at me and one moron in particular kept talking about me very loudly.... sorry for the ramble! the landlady said to him can you stop being so nosey!

I even joined a twitter page for a local meetup in the village and was blocked PMSL explain that one.

But if it's something you want to do do it.

Sorry just seen someone said about driving: It's true if you don't drive forget it - not unless you want to be roadkill. you need a car to get everywhere even the local farm shop

Hermia

I have lived in the country for the last 5 years (moved here for work) and will be escaping back to city life at the first opportunity. I don't want to put you off as it obviously works for some people, but you need to go into with your eyes wide open and a lot of people don't.

As other people have pointed out the lack of services are a big problem in the country. I would actually advise you to resist the lure of the middle of nowhere and go nearer to a town. Where I live you don't have to go far out of the main towns to get into nice country areas. The buses where I live are terrible. If you have children you need to think about how this will impact on them in the future. I work for the library service and we get contacted by so many families whose teenage children want to go to college or get a job, but can't because the family can't afford to buy them a car. Unfortunately there are no grants to help them. If you have kids I would definitely recommend an area that is within travelling distance of a city. It is so sad to see how many of the local kid's educational opportunities are limited by the lack of decent local colleges.

Make sure you really research the social life of the area you are interested in. I have found it very hard to fit in because I am single and work full-time. The first problem I have had is that so many activities are held during the week. There are lots of clubs and societies, but very few are held in the evening. I have also found a lack of interest in making friends in a lot of people. I have found a lot of women move to the country to settle down and either only want to mix with other mums or are just focused on their familes. One village's main social group for women is called wives of the village and you are only allowed to join if you are married! I don't go to church and that is a problem. If you do it certainly seems to be a lot easier to get to know people.

One thing I would say is don't assume life is cheaper in the country. I haven't found that to be the case. If you had a smallholding then obviously your food costs should be reduced.

One book I would recommend is Out of Your Townie Mind by Richard Craze. He lives in the country and loves it, but he lists the pitfalls and challenges a lot of the stereotypes. It's a very interesting book and he suggests you ask yourself some challenging questions. One point he makes is that a lot of people assume they will become different people if they move to the country. For example, people who have never cooked in their life assuming they will be magically making jam and baking bread. Or workaholics who think they will magically gain a better work/life balance living in the country.

I don't want to seem like Ms Negative as a lot of people clearly 'find themselves' when they move to the country and I certainly know a lot of people who would never go back to city life. But, I also know a lot of people who move to the country with their head full of rose-tinted dreams.

Hermia

lally666young wrote: »

My health has also impoved and my asthma is 100% better I havent had a bad attack in two years and my bi-polar doesnt bother me anymore.

That is interesting as my asthma has got worse since I moved to the country. I used to work in Oxford Street and rarely has an attack, but have real problems here. My doctor reckons one of the local crops is the trigger. One of things I was looking forward to doing in the country was walking, but it turned out I was allergic to everything green!

sarah222

We moved to a Welsh village and bought a smallholding. We run our own business and we had the dream of living like River Cottage seems to work - mmmm - it was a dream. We have a village pub but it empty most of time and changes hands so often it unbeliveable. We have a village shop but only tend to go there if desp for something. There is a tesco 15 mins away so most tend to go there. We have alot of mud on roads and in the snow we get snowed in and no one helps and the council only sort the main road and as we live on the mountain if we want to risk sliding down we certainly wont get back up in a vehicle even my discovery struggled last year. I have a horse and lugging water about when pipes are frozen and your vehicle cant get to her is a nightmare. Having said that I know just about everyone and we all wave and chat when see each other but the friendly call on the neighbour in the hour of need isnt really here nor is the village BBQ's etc I was hoping for :-( Been here 11 years now and if we could move we probably would!