Pro's and con's of living in "the sticks"

krustylouise

VfM4meplse wrote: »

The sticks seem idyllic, but I think the reality could be a lonely experience if you end up somewhere parochial. Research is vital.

I'm not suggesting a tower block would be any better btw!

The house is a 3 bed semi detached, just round the corner from school.

There's an estate behind the back garden which is occupied by elderly people.

The rest of the village seems to be families with kids that attend the school.

krustylouise

christineperseus wrote: »

You may be near the school when the weather is inclement - but are the staff?

Yes the staff, including breakfast and after school club staff live locally.

[Deleted User]

we didn`t have any memorable power cuts in the cumbrian village. Tbh that village sounds perfect for your family. Your children will grow up with a steady band of playmates and also you will easily be able to see who they mix with and are influenced by, as they reach their teenage years. There comes a time when peer groups are more important than family. Also there will be no chance of going out in the evening, wandering about who knows where. Our children were more than content to meet at each others houses so we were able to relax about the company they were keeping

krustylouise

kittie wrote: »

we didn`t have any memorable power cuts in the cumbrian village. Tbh that village sounds perfect for your family. Your children will grow up with a steady band of playmates and also you will easily be able to see who they mix with and are influenced by, as they reach their teenage years. There comes a time when peer groups are more important than family. Also there will be no chance of going out in the evening, wandering about who knows where. Our children were more than content to meet at each others houses so we were able to relax about the company they were keeping

Out of curiosity Kittie, obviously it won't bear any relevance to where you live now, but where did you live then?

[Deleted User]

I say go for it, it sounds ideal and as your daughter is already at the school she will have friends there to play with.

We lived in a hamlet, we loved it, you do need to have a good store cupboard and also possibly a second freezer. Ours was a single storey stone cottage in Scotland.

Our problem was a bad landlord added to the fact that we had a very bad winter, deep snow for 5 weeks and we could not get out. Having said that we are pensioners, there were several social clubs in the village and OH joined the local bowling club. Our nearest town was 8 miles away, plenty of shops etc. Our local village a mile away had a Drs practice, chemist in the village and a post office, co-op etc.

We also had oil heating I stocked up in the summer and filled the tank right up. We used oil filled electric rads in the bedrooms on timers. We had a wood burning stove in the sitting room, it got so hot in there we used to leave the door open for the heat to go through the cottage.

As you work in town grocery shopping would not be a problem.

rock_queen

I grew up in the country and had a wonderful childhood. It was great having so much freedom and being able to play where ever we wanted. Once I hit the teens it was a different story. There was nothing to do, no where to go, the bus service was awful so my parents spent all their time driving us around to various clubs etc in the town. I left as soon as I could.

Fast forward. I returned to country living 5 years ago with my husband. We love the idyllic space we have and have had to be super organised In Terms of buying food in bulk and making sure we are stocked up for the long winter. It is very expensive to live in the country.
We are however returning to town living (on the outskirts so still have the views) not only because of the expense but also because I now have health problems and I need to be able to access services, driving a 16mile round trip to get milk is not an option now.

All in all it is a fantastic place to bring up a young family and you can really get involved in the community (providing they accept incomers) but be prepared for extortionate fuel cost, being cut off in winter, spending all your time driving the kids around and for them to fly the nest as soon as they can.

krustylouise

Deleted_User wrote: »

I say go for it, it sounds ideal and as your daughter is already at the school she will have friends there to play with.

We lived in a hamlet, we loved it, you do need to have a good store cupboard and also possibly a second freezer.

Our problem was a bad landlord added to the fact that we had a very bad winter, deep snow for 5 weeks and we could not get out. Having said that we are pensioners, there were several social clubs in the village and OH joined the local bowling club. Our nearest town was 8 miles away, plenty of shops etc. Our local village a mile away had a Drs practice, chemist in the village and a post office, co-op etc.

As you work in town grocery shopping would not be a problem.

As we both work full time and spend time taking DD to swimming etc we don't usually have time to do a proper shop so we do our shopping online, and I've checked - they do deliver there!

I'm glad you had a good experience other than a rubbish landlord!

RAS

Given the circumstances I think being in the village at least until DD goes to secondary school would be beneficial. That would allow her to develop much stronger relationships with the other children locally.

With respect to shopping, remember that deliveries are standard these days. Also if you are commuting, you can pick up small bits at lunch-time, either end of the day.

I would consider having one vehicle with the option of 4 wheel drive.

A lot however would depend on what the rest of the villagers are like and how much you are prepared to put into village life.

goggle

I lived "in the sticks" as a child and it was great - but by the time me & brother got to be older it was a different story! Parents got tired of driving us somewhere for swimming lessons, scouts etc and we moved to the edge of the town when I was 12 ...
You need to think practically about life for the children as they get older - where will they go, what will they do, how will they get there?

krustylouise

RAS wrote: »

Given the circumstances I think being in the village at least until DD goes to secondary school would be beneficial. That would allow her to develop much stronger relationships with the other children locally.

With respect to shopping, remember that deliveries are standard these days. Also if you are commuting, you can pick up small bits at lunch-time, either end of the day.

I would consider having one vehicle with the option of 4 wheel drive.

A lot however would depend on what the rest of the villagers are like and how much you are prepared to put into village life.

DH works in town, I work not far from the village so wouldn't be able to pick things up but DH could. I've looked at getting a car with 4x4 however we are struggling atm financially as DH has started a new job and we are still catching up from him being in between wages. We have had christmas to pay for and also the baby to save for and my car is currently going through an MOT which is going to be a costly matter!