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

moneyistooshorttomention

Phoebe makes a valid point re pavements (possible lack of). I guess we managed okay without pavements before cars came along (and its not just boy racers that are rather selfish in the way they drive....).

Back in home area, there is certainly one road I'd been meaning to Go For A Walk along at some point. When I eventually did so, I realised why it had never really occurred to me before. By the time I was halfway along it I was seriously contemplating giving up and finding a "safe" couple of feet of space to stand somewhere and phone for a taxi to pick me up - with the way cars (and not just boy racers) were often driving along so close to the road edge, despite the poor visibility at a lot of points because of all the curves in the road. I was astonished/horrified just how careless about pedestrian safety some of those motorists were being. I honestly think some drivers don't realise pedestrians have a right to walk along any road they decide they will (except motorways) or they think we shouldn't have:cool:

I bore your point in mind when moving here and I was tossing up between a rather nice village and a town and chose the town (though the village is much nicer and more suitable for an English-person-in-Wales). I knew that, whichever one I chose, I would be walking to and fro between the two sometimes and thought it much the better idea not to HAVE to do so if I didn't choose to (ie because there aren't pavements all the way between them).

People could always use my own personal solution that I often use - ie of holding a walking pole across me when walking on where the pavement "should" be and with the "business end" poking in direction of cars. That does help to ensure drivers steer a distance away...if only because some seem more concerned as to whether their cars got scratched than they are at the risk of hitting a pedestrian.

suki1964

uncortunately pavements are a rarity in the country and as mentioned, sharing the road with motorist isn't easy

Only a couple of weeks back a car ploughed into a mum and her six kids as they walked to the school bus pick up, one child was killed outright


I never walk unless I'm wearing my hi vis jacket and have a torch at night. It's madness not to. Obviously there aren't as many cars on the roads as there are in England and thankfully there are plenty of tractors and old folk keeping speeds down but yes it's no mean feet road walking

I too have gained weight because of the distances needed to travel. I no longer walk the miles I did in London, I drive everywhere, the only walking I do now is the dog walking and he's old and rarely if ever makes it a mile


Oh yes, Broadband. NI was so proud of the fact they could boast 95% BB coverage. What they didn't mention was the speed was usually only 512 lol. Eight miles from the exchange on copper overhead cables meant no speed worth using. It's only this year that fibre to cabinet made it to my area and I now have Netflix and iplayer

jackyann

Rather late back to replying about going to school in your own community.

The tone of my reply was very much about where you, as a family, would be happy, depending a lot on the people around you (and even more as a SAHM). It is my experience that niggles like shops, buses, dentists, visiting friends etc are dealt with by talking to others around you about how they cope, and joining together.
For instance, those who have said, quite rightly, that teenagers want to spend time with their friends, usually out and about in town. Where I lived (no evening buses) we would share pick-ups & drop-offs with other parents (whoever was able to use a car that evening) later they might all share a taxi, or once driving themselves, have a "designated driver" with access to a car. There was a lot of goodwill around stuff like that.
Sometimes a friend & I would walk the 4 miles to the supermarket together, do a big shop and share a taxi home. When I had use of a car, I have run a friend to an appointment and taken the kids to the park whilst she was seen. That sort of thing.

Then I realised that you already educated your daughter away from where you live (as you explained) but that you didn't feel VERY strongly about becoming a member of that community.

Interestingly, most of the replies have dealt with the practical pros & cons, and not (with a few exceptions) about how people feel about their community.

The great benefit of these forums is the breadth of experience.

moneyistooshorttomention

suki1964 wrote: »

uncortunately pavements are a rarity in the country and as mentioned, sharing the road with motorist isn't easy

Only a couple of weeks back a car ploughed into a mum and her six kids as they walked to the school bus pick up, one child was killed outright


I never walk unless I'm wearing my hi vis jacket and have a torch at night. It's madness not to. Obviously there aren't as many cars on the roads as there are in England and thankfully there are plenty of tractors and old folk keeping speeds down but yes it's no mean feet road walking

7 people and that driver didn't take care enough to spot even one of them!!:eek: That is shocking and very sad.

...rather goes to prove I'm not being over-cautious to worry about careless drivers not taking care to "drive around" that section of the road where there "ought" to be a pavement. But I'd rather not have been proved right as to just how thoughtless some of them can be...:(

suki1964

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

7 people and that driver didn't take care enough to spot even one of them!!:eek: That is shocking and very sad.

...rather goes to prove I'm not being over-cautious to worry about careless drivers not taking care to "drive around" that section of the road where there "ought" to be a pavement. But I'd rather not have been proved right as to just how thoughtless some of them can be...:(

So far this year there are 78 recorded deaths on our roads here in NI When you think that 64% of the population live in rural areas, with a total population of just 1.8 million and just over a million registrations here it's a terrible number. Our roads are long and clear of traffic, most people live in pretty remote areas ( no public transport after the school bus) and tend to take huge risks with drinking, driving and down right silly manourves because they were held up behind either a tractor or an elderly person driving at 20 mph

The country side is wonderful and peaceful but is also very dangerous and a hot hole of gossip and speculation


Still I love where I live and for now I won't change it

Bobarella

I am late to the party on this discussion & may be totally irrelevant anyway. I am from the countryside, a large town, & now live in London. I have one son who is 6. One of the main reasons I wouldn't want to live in the countryside again is financial. Yes you have slightly higher council tax in London but other than house prices the other bills are very similar no matter where you are. We have the choice to walk or take a frequent bus, there are lots of shops selling reasonable food (price wise) & so much free entertainment it's impossible to ever do it all. Our car died in August & we have done without ever since. I remember living in my home town in my teenage years & I felt so stifled. Everyone knowing your business's. Which wasn't great in my families case. The other reason I love London is the diversity. My son is learning tolerance & regard for other cultures every day. When I grew up there were 2 non whites at my school, & now when I hear about home there seems a great & negative divide between the newer residents & the old guard & racism still goes on.
In short I feel the city has so much to offer a family that I couldn't imagine getting in a small village. I agree they are usually in beautiful places, clean, & safe (road deaths like the OP mentioned not withstanding) but other than that I think some of the bigger issues teenagers face, drugs, underage sex etc still go on..I certainly saw both of those at my senior school. Good luck making a choice that works for your family.

trailingspouse

I've lived in the middle of nowhere several times -
Devon - small village with a village shop and a weekly bus but nothing else.
Shetland - one of a group of three houses with nothing between us and Greenland. There were two cattle grids between us and the main road, and two bridges between us and the mainland.
Northumberland - small village with a major road running through it effectively cutting the village in half and making sleep difficult. We had no gas, no mobile phone coverage, no street lighting, and the car radio started to crackle as you came past the village sign.
West Yorkshire - modern estate 'planted' half way up a Pennine miles from any shop.

I'm now living close to a town centre. The house is perfect, and the compromise was (I thought) the proximity to the town. But in fact I love being able to walk (on a pavement!!) to the post office, the supermarket, the hairdressers, the train station, the dentist, etc etc etc.

No-one can tell you how it'll work out for you, but nothing is written in stone and if you really don't like it you can move on.

mardatha

Ahh Trailingspouse, all my life I have wanted to live on Shetland! The funny thing is that my neighbour here like this village because the weather reminds her of Shetland where she comes from lol

krustylouise

CathA wrote: »

When my girls were small, the twins went to a village school. The school was too far away to walk, (we lived in the nearby town, about 3 miles away) so you must be prepared, if you stay where you are, to be tied for the next few years to the 9/3 school run. Is there another parent you can share the school run with? I did that and it was great, several days a week where I didn't have to do it!! One of the girls friends lived directly opposite the school in the village, and her mum had a lot of driving to do over the evenings and weekends for clubs sleep overs, parties etc. Bear in mind, if you move to the village, other parents will have to do a lot of driving to you if your kiddies have friends over a lot. When the friend got older, and with no transport at all from the village, her mum was forever running the children about. Many a time she had to stay up late when the older daughter was out with her friends, waiting to pick her up from here, there and everywhere. Of course there is the option of taxis, but that's not a cheap option either.

However, if you live in town, believe me there's still a lot of running about after children as they get older, and even in town public transport is not necessarily an option. It seems wherever you live, the kids always want to go somewhere/be somewhere else that involves mum's taxi!!

If I had my choice years ago, I would have lived in a village. There are advantages and disadvantages on both sides, but if you get organized with shopping (if no local shop) and accept that you'll always be in the car taking someone somewhere, go for it. Kids grow up, and on the plus side if they want to go hither and thither, it doesn't half encourage them to learn to drive more quickly!! Then they can run YOU about, so everyone's a winner.

Whatever you decide, good luck and I hope it works out well for you.

I've worked since my little girl was 18months old so I'm very familiar with the school runs now. If we moved to the village the school run would be a 2minute walk there and back as oppose to a 15minute car journey there and back

icontinuetodream

Late to the party - but thought I would share my views!!

I live on the 'outskirts' of a small village....it's a mile to the one shop and pub that are in the village and about 4-5 miles to the local small town.....and I absolutely love it!! No street lights, pavements, mains gas or crowds....even when the caravans turn up at the site a quarter of a mile from my house, there are few people around!!

My children were 8 & 11 when we first moved her 15 years ago and both had to go by bus to school.....contrary to many of the experiences on the thread, they loved being teenagers here!

Admittedly, my house tended to be the one that everyone's kids spent time at so it was a constant stream of people in and out....and that continued until the kids late teens/early twenties! I spent a lot of time being a taxi when necessary but that didn't bother me at all.....it was a small price to pay for being able to live the lifestyle I love.....

We have had only one car for a couple of years now....it's never mattered as we both worked in the nearest city until recently - I am currently taking a few months off work but not having a car isn't stressing me at all.....anything I need I can either get someone to pick up for me or, if absolutely necessary, I can always do an online order for food!

Oil has been a pain in the past, but only because of my own incompetence.....trust me, you only need to run out once in the middle of winter to learn that lesson!! :rotfl: I do have open fires too though.....and now I always have enough coal and logs to get me through a week at least!! No major power cuts here to report but I always have a huge stock of candles anyway as I like them and I keep a camping stove and gas canisters in a handy place just in case it all goes hideously wrong!! On the plus side, if it is really awful weather and we lose power - I can stash all my fridge and freezer contents in the garden without risking them being stolen!!

As far as doctors/dentists etc are concerned - I have always had to travel a few miles to see one (even when I lived in the city) and a car journey is a car journey....however far it is! When I get too old or infirm to drive, I will start to do all my grocery shopping on line, use community transport when possible and have enough cash for taxi's to wherever I want to get to!

Personally, I think that living in the sticks has helped my fitness levels - I used to get up really early on the weekends in good weather and walk for miles with my puppies.....there is nothing quite like wandering around country lanes first thing in the morning with only the local wildlife to make you jump!! Now that I have acquired a very old dog, I can't do it anymore as she can't cope with the distance, but we still get loads of longish walks in and she is fitter than she was when I got her!!

I can't think of anything better than living in the sticks to be honest - there is no way on the face of the planet that I am being removed from my house other than in a box! :rotfl: