Rural House - Opinions Wanted

SandyShores

Lived in the middle of nowhere once.  It was absolutely beautiful for a few years and then we'd just had enough.  I started hating getting home in the dark if it was just me - no street lights or other houses around started to creep me out.  Driving in and out of town on the school run was a PITA, I got so fed up of it.  When the kids get to a certain age they want their freedom and they rely on you to be taxi if you're in the countryside.  Broadband was really rubbish and virtually unusable on Sundays.  Got snowed in a few times which wasn't so bad as we could go sledging and stuff, but an elderly neighbour a bit further along lost her husband one winter - the ambulance couldn't get through to him.  Parcels being delivered was a pain as the drivers were constantly getting lost and if you forget an ingredient for dinner its a 30 min round trip minimum.  Oh and the pump for the water went a couple of times - you miss water when you don't have it.

Saying that, we know people that still love it and wouldn't live anywhere else.  I'm glad we tried country living and we enjoyed it for a while, loved the walks and the space etc.  But, when we go back to visit, I know I wouldn't ever move back - I don't know if the lanes are busier now but I couldn't face that every day - I don't know how I did it.

We moved to the outskirts of the nearest town and don't regret it one bit.  We've got the best of both worlds and can walk into the countryside or walk into the town.  Local shop is a 10 minute walk and I can go for a walk anytime of day.  You always think you can do lots of walks and things in the countryside but the traffic is fast on the lanes so it never felt safe to walk or cycle on the roads, although we lived by lovely footpaths they weren't any use after 4pm in the winter.

We also lived in a really old cottage and had mice in the loft and the weirdest kinds of insects and stuff.  Pheasant shoot was close by, and people used to lamp for rabbits at night in the fields.

We loved it for about 5 years, and I'm glad we did it but I never look at country cottages and wished we lived there any longer.

Edit - one last thing, I tended to go home and night and not go back out again to classes etc, as it was such an effort.

Just my thoughts, I know everyone is different, but hope they help.

Bigphil1474

I'd say no, personally.

I used to test boreholes and they are great if well maintained and I'd never come across one that had run out (of course they will do somewhere, but not where I worked). Water often has a nicer taste too. You obviously have costs associated with maintenance, but probably cheaper than the water board charge. Presumably sewage disposal is via a septic tank?

Country lanes - depends how often you go out in the car. Since I started working from home a few years ago, I can go days without even getting in the car. I wouldn't like driving or walking down those lanes on a cold winter night. Also a pain if you just need to nip for a bottle of milk if there's 2 foot of snow.

Starlink - used it when working in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere during the summer for the last couple of years. Worked great where I was, but I didn't have to pay for it. 

If these issues put you off last time, sounds more like desperation than logic if you are thinking of looking at it again.

mark_cycling00

Narrow lanes are scary at first but easy to get used to. I've noticed here that lots of people will deliberately choose a route with more narrow lanes because it's more beautiful and a more rustic experience. 

Don't know about bore holes. 

Gigaclear installed high-speed internet here along the electricity supply cables and that's fab. Starlink is getting competition from bezos soon so prices may drop. You're not going to get any switching deals though.

You need to remember that the wow factor lasts about 3-4 years and then you're just experiencing a different housing location with good and bad points. If you're thinking that rural life will somehow make you happier then that's not a good reason to move. If you have long-term aims or enjoy challenges and changes then that's different.

It will be more expensive than a traditional house in a town. 

There are two common "failure" scenarios..
1. People have silly expectations from watching escape to the country etc. And can't deal with the reality and sell up after 3 years
2. People try to maintain a town life but in the countryside and end up in a large village with traffic problems, no community and very little of the rural life they hoped for. Then they realise they didn't really need all those cafes and takeaways and delis that aren't as good as where they moved from

Acorn007

Thank you again for all your responses, It is great hearing other peoples experiences of rural living and although i know it is me that has to make the ultimate decision, it is always quite informative and helpful to hear from others that have lived it and have stories to tell. 

@SandyShores Great to hear your experience of country life, even if you don't want to relive it  . I don't have kids currently so i don't have the worry of been a taxi, however the thought has crossed my mind whether it would be a bit creepy at night given that i live alone. I already live in the country, just not as remote as that house so used to many aspects of country living as it is and i love it. Thanks again for your comments. 

@Bigphil1474 Thanks for your thoughts on Starlink and the bore hole. And yes sewage is a septic. I think these 'issues' did put me off when i first looked at it, even though i loved pretty much everything else about it, but perhaps it was only because i am unfamiliar with them all, so this post has definitely given me some food for thought. Thanks.

@mark_cycling00 Thanks for the points you raise. I already live in the country, so used to rural life im not a city slicker  so am already adjusted, just not to the point of that remoteness. Didn't know about the competition from Bezos so thanks for that info. 

SiliconChip

I lived for 10 years in a house in a glen on the edge of the Highlands, 6 miles from the A9 along a road which was just about big enough for 2 cars, but a bit of a nightmare when logging trucks or large farm vehicles were heading my way. As others have suggested in some ways night driving was easier because of the headlights, although there was then a greater risk of animals appearing suddenly in the road.

My water supply came from a spring on a nearby hillside which occasionally dried up in the summer but worse was when the pipe that carried the water across a burn froze in extreme cold which could take quite a few days to thaw out. There were also issues with contamination from sheep in the field where the spring came to the surface, I filtered my drinking water but now I think I'd be looking at UV treatment and a filter on the water coming into the house.

I shared a septic tank with 5 other houses, and despite the scare stories you sometimes see the tank never needed to be emptied in the time I was there. What you do need to look out for is the run off, I would expect the seller to have ensured that it meets the necessary environmental standards (I had to have testing done by SEPA when I sold my house).

At the time I was there it was rare to get a landline speed of more than 0.5Mbps, and although there was one mobile signal within range it offered very poor speeds too. There seemed little likelihood of Openreach installing better infrastructure for the small number of properties involved. Although Starlink was talked about the cost seemed excessive and I didn't know anyone who had installed it. Lack of useable internet was one of the key factors in my decision to sell and move to a location where speeds were much higher and where I could effectively work from home, although another, as I got older, was access to healthcare.

WellKnownSid

We lived on the 'end' of nowhere for seven years.  Just under four hours from Glasgow, we were classed as 'remote rural' - and had a completely unrestricted panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean and an incredible star-scape at night.  

We had a landline but it would struggle with 0.5Mb broadband and was generally off more than on.  Elon had only just released the roadster back then but there were still plenty of satellite providers available.  They were 'mostly' reliable but latency (the time it takes to hit the ground-station via the satellite) made certain actions more challenging.  Surfing though was fast once you got used to click-wait-loaded.

Personally, I was never completely happy with a private water supply although it was upgraded several times during our ownership - in reality it was always just a few months away from another breakdown or problem.  Every power cut meant no water and the need to service the entire system.  We had UV but that meant a new £60 tube being fitted every quarter - and another clean down.  There is something amazing about being able to just turn on a tap and know the water is coming out (and if it isn't, it's someone else's problem!)

The biggest driver for moving was the kids.  They'd grown up to secondary / uni age and had different needs.  Remote rural was no fun if your school is four hours away by bus.

sheramber

We had better broadband than my son who lived on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

we did not have good mobile signal- needed to be in specific spot for signal, but land line was trouble free.

Mains water but a septic tank. 

Being in a rural area crime was not a problem as it was so far to go to ‘get  away’.

Strangers stood out as everybody knew everybody else

Despite being rural there were eyes all around . 

Most people never locked their doors when they went out. 

Being a crofting area harvest time meant tractors working until midnight if rain forecast.

Night time lamping for foxes at lambing time. 

All part of country living. 

Wildlife in the garden- pheasants, red legged partridges , ermine in winter, owls hooting at night.

 Birds galore including Buzzards, curlews and a golden eagle.. 

Community spirit meant we knew more people locally in a few months than we knew in the 20 years in our previous town property. 

When my husband had surgery a neighbour immediately told us he would cut our 1/2 acre of  grass. 

Not for everybody but I miss it all.

Personal  circumstances necessitated moving. 

Murphybear

We also lived on a farm in Devon, just for 7 months.  It wasn’t a problem.  We had narrow access roads and fortunately advised the removals company so they used 2 smaller vans rather than one large.  The internet could be a bit hit and miss but we put boosters in.  The biggest problem was mobile phone access.  The walls were 3 ft thick and the only phone access was by standing next to a window or stand in the porch.  

My husband had been brought up in London so the non stop “mooos” and “baaas” took a bit of getting used to.  I had been brought up opposite a field of cows so loved it.  The cat was in 7th heaven

Once we got onto the main road the views across Dartmoor were fabulous 

One major point to note, and consider.  We were retired when we lived there.  The previous tenants were working and had 4 children.  They moved to a house in the nearest town.  What suited us didn’t suit them.  

Acorn007

@SiliconChip -Thanks for sharing your experience, not a good one in terms of the water supply by all accounts, and all the things you mention are the things that give me cause for concern when thinking of buying a property with a bore hole. I would certainly be putting a filter or two on it that's for sure! Its the potential drying out totally that concerns me the most i think. Yes Starlink is not cheap but, i have heard mostly positive things about it! Thanks again for your comments.

@WellKnownSid Sounds like you lived in a beautiful place and always fantastic to have a great night sky! Thanks for pointing out the issues you had with your private water supply, i agree that its nice knowing if something drastic went wrong with the mains its not your problem  Interesting about the cost and frequency of replacement filters too! Thank you. 

@sheramber you paint a lovely picture of country living, especially the wildlife, so sorry to hear you had to leave and you miss it. I have certainly heard that most rural  living provides better and more caring communities than urban living, sounds like you had a great community. Thank you!

@Murphybear  Yes the country sounds would definitely be different if you are used to London! Thanks for your experience and good point on the removal vans too! As you say what can work for one may be awful for another. I wish sometimes you could 'try before you buy', I think it would be helpful to many people  . Thank you!