Country living, yes or no ?

Waterlily24

Forgot to say that we also have a septic tank and oil heating.

TBagpuss

It depends *how* rural you want to be. There are plenty of houses in the country which have mains drainage, gas etc.

My parents don't have mains gas, they have a oil tank for heating and bottled gas for cooking, and manage perfectly well.

You might find that living in (or on the edge of) a village or small town would give you the best of both worlds.

I live on the edge of a rural village - fields in front of my house, lot if lovely walks in the vicinity etc. a 10 minute walk gets me to our village shop and post office, and there are 2 pubs in the village, bith of which are close enough to walk to (and far enough that you feel you've earned your pint!)

When it snows. our lane can be interesting but that was true when I lived on a large housing estate which wasn't a priority for gritting.

I do have to drive if I want to shop any where other than the village shop, or to go to the cinema or theatre.

I have wonderful neighbours, and there is a pleasant, friendly community in the village.

Broadband isn't as fast as I was used to before, but it is now adequate.

Buses run twice an hour to the local small town, and once an hour to the nearest big town. There is a (comparatively) main road which runs through the village - it's far enough away from my house that you can't hear the traffic but it means that there is a petrol station/MoT centre.

As well as the post office, shop and 2 pubs we have a GP surgery, the sports club and playing fields, and a cafe at the church.

So I think it is worth you discussing it further with your OH and perhaps considering a compromise - living in or near a village could give you a lot of what you want without losing the things your OH values.

Unless you moved somewhere truly isolated you wouldn't *need* a 4x4. (I managed just fine in my Smart car for years!) although a car each would probably be a good thing.

However, if neither of you has ever lived in the country I would suggest that you consider at the very least, a long holiday in winter, or a short term renal, before committing, so you can get a feel for how the reality matches up to your hopes.

Mgman1965

suki1964 wrote: »

Same here, we sold our mid terrace 2up2 down heavily mortgaged house for a five bedroom, 3 bath, 3 receptions in a 1/3 acre with a tiny mortgage which was paid off in 5 years

Which is great if you live in London, Bristol or some sought after town/city on the south coast, but if your selling oop north it's the absolute opposite, with the likes of Londoners who have sold their 1 bed Mayfair flat they bought 30yrs ago for a few thousand for £500,000 +, now gentrifying (not a word I like really) nice villages and rural houses and generally pricing all others out.

cloo

I wouldn't want to be living somewhere rural as I got older - unless self-driving cars arrive PDQ it would be very isolating when driving isn't an option and people are increasingly spending a long period towards the end of their lives unable to drive. I'd much rather have access to shops, GP, hospital etc. But that's just me, I am very much a city girl at heart anyway - while I love visiting the country, I wouldn't want to live there.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Interesting how many people mention takeaways as something they'd miss in a rural area. I live in South London and am surrounded by takeaway outlets; never use them.

pinklady21

Country living? YES! YES! YES!
Tranquility, beauty, very few neighbours, and the neighbours are lovely, more land / bigger garden, great views, a semi pet pheasant who visits daily etc etc etc
BUT - if tranquility is important to you, check out flight paths, and any proposed changes that might be coming. There are enormous changes being made around many UK airports - and the impact is being felt 20 miles plus away. The noise can be considerable, we went from no planes to over 70 a day from 6am to midnight and they want to increase it further. Hellish.

pollyanna24

I'd also vote for going for best of both worlds.

I live in a semi rural ish area, but am still within the M25. If you walked out my front door, you'd walk two miles before you hit another building, but yes there are lots of houses around me. Just also lots of countryside.

There are takeaways, but rarely use them. If I need to go to "town," it's driving or training it.

I like it. For someone truly in the country, I'm in the city to them, but to someone from the city, I live in the middle of nowhere!

AdrianC

pinklady21 wrote: »

BUT - if tranquility is important to you, check out flight paths, and any proposed changes that might be coming. There are enormous changes being made around many UK airports - and the impact is being felt 20 miles plus away. The noise can be considerable, we went from no planes to over 70 a day from 6am to midnight and they want to increase it further. Hellish.

I've previously lived in the corner of M4/M25 diagonally opposite Heathrow, and at the end of Luton runway. You get used to planes quickly - but, like so many things, if you're outraged at them, you won't.

Where we used to live was just under the Heathrow holding pattern - no issue at all - but somebody got up a petition to get the little light airfield nearby closed down, fertheloveofgawd, because they got a bee in their bonnet about the odd Cessna!

Where we are now, we fairly often get the RAF's fast jets through the loft, together with the odd "Don't ask, you didn't see anything" military freighter.

bouicca21

The country is nice to visit. But I don't know how people manage once they are no longer able to drive. And what happens if the local community aren't keen on incomers, or are just plain boring/bonkers/nasty? A friend moved to a sweet little village - 10 years later they are on the verge of being accepted. Their children had to be chauffeured everywhere, now as young adults they need transport of their own. It's pretty clear that the lack of public transport means that most locals take very little notice of drink driving restrictions.

KxMx

Smodlet wrote: »

Another thing to think about might be the distance to the nearest hospital and how long would it take an ambulance to get you there, should you need it. Also how far is the nearest GP's surgery/dentist/vet if applicable.

Out of hours care too can mean travelling a considerable distance when living rurally.

If for some reason you or partner couldn't drive, how would you get there? I know a village with literally 1 taxi firm/ 2drivers. You can call a bigger firm in one of nearby towns but it'd take minimum 25 mins and cost a small fortune.