Pros and cons of living in the countryside

Yes the lack of pavements, I hated going out for a walk along country lanes which were the national speed limit, I didn’t want to traipse through fields when I wanted to give the dog a quick walk.

Some of the things mentioned here, i.e. storms/power cuts I doubt are going to apply when the OP is talking about being a 15 minute drive from a secondary school.

I loved growing up in the countryside, I had friends within biking distance. My sister hated it. Can't please everyone!

You're 6 miles outside of a city yet cant walk to a bus stop or shop or GP surgery?

Where is this?

People in the countryside walk far less than town or city or big village dwellers, they are hugely car reliant.

I think countryside living is great for small kids, but town or city is better for teens.

We're on the edge of a small town which is pretty ideal (for us). We can walk to the Doctor's, Dentist's and shops if you're not buying much, but straight into countryside in the other direction with open land behind us and lots of walks. The road is still a bit busy, but on the plus side it does get gritted and cleared of snow. The roads out into the countryside can be pretty hazardous in bad weather.

Will it be ideal when you’re spending your evenings and weekends ferrying your kids for the next two decades?

I would never move anywhere where there arent pavement on the road I live on or adjoining roads.

I would want to live near bus routes and near a station

That can be obtained in the countryside (and for gods sake dont start calling it 'rural'). But I would imagine it then comes with a hefty price

Theres living in a house with no immediate neighbours, a house in a cluster of terraces like you see sometimes on a country lane (no parking usually) or living in a village which is in the countryside, so it depends what you're thinking of doing

I certainly dont think its great for kids but then I grew up in London so its hard to envisage.

There is countryside and then there is actual rural living, a village with amenities relatively close to a town is very different to living down a single track lane in an isolated rural position.

Well it doesn’t sound like you are moving that far. I’d say the downside is total reliance on a car. Also isolation. I personally like to know that life is going on around me (and I don’t mean the wildlife). And as for walks - if surrounded by farmland this may not be that accessible. And if the roads have high hedgerows and are narrow with high speed limit - watch out! My friend was petrified about letting her kids go out on their bikes. And the mud!
Full disclosure I’m a city person through and through. When I lived in the margins it was ok as my kids could walk to school but I’ve moved back to London now and trying to move further in!

Pros have all been listed and far outweigh the cons, but the cons are:

No public transport AND difficult to get taxis. Uber don’t cover our area at all.

Bad phone signal. You need good, reliable WiFi!

Bad TV signal - you may need Sky or an equivalent.

Bad radio signal - we’re OK for standard radio, but DAB is impossible.

Regular power cuts in storms.

If you can’t drive for ANY reason, or even just need your car to be serviced, you need to plan it like a military operation.

You ARE a taxi service to your kids until they can drive themselves, and then you’ll have the expense of their car(s) too.

Every social activity involves driving or getting a taxi home. No walkable shops, restaurants, cinema etc. Great if you aren’t a drinker, not great if you enjoy a glass of wine or two!

ENJOY! We absolutely love it out here!! 🩵

There’s a different element to socialising if you always have to add in a taxi cost home, if you want to have a drink. So ad hoc dinners out with friends in town or at pubs are a bit more of a logistical nightmare.
second the teenage taxi service, anytime they want to hang out with friends, you have to get them there and back, which can muck up your own plans if you are on call waiting for them to ring you

I live very rurally and absolutely love it but I wouldn’t move here with a pre-teen. It’s too isolated and there’s not enough to do, especially in winter.

You’ll be ferrying them both around for the next 18 years - after activities, parties, days out, trips to the cinema, shopping, lunch - it’s a LOT.

Crap internet, crap phone signal, have to drive everywhere, more bugs, lack of takeaways and delivery services, the smell of manure on fields, roads don't get cleared and gritted in winter.

At year six age your child could potentially cycle to school. Ensure they pass proficiency test first.

it depends where you are and have public transport there is or if there's anywhere you can walk to but my friends live in a rural area and their kids are reliant on being driven everywhere! I asked the 15yr old what he was going to do all summer holiday and he said "I don't know, it depends when I can get a lift".....he's practically housebound without an adult in a car!
Don't assume it will be quiet anywhere......harvest season, farm machinery, church bells, livestock can all be bloody noisy!!

Consider the needs of your teenager before the needs of your dog.

A 15 min drive from the secondary (primary?) school doesn’t sound like you are moving anywhere massively rural. Are there buses to town within reach at all? Will you be driving your DD to school and back?

Are there bus routes/train station nearby?

Drugs and drinking more prevalent in country kids.

Be prepared for kids to want to start driving at 17.

Broadband isn't always as good as it might be everywhere. It doesn't sound to me as if you're venturing too far, though, and I know there are initiatives to improve rural broadband. Definitely something to check before you make any commitments.

When the boys were young we lived 2 miles from the nearest road. It was brilliant, they had a totally Enid Blyton childhood.

Mud. So much mud.

Others beat me to it. But it's not so much the inconvenience of being a taxi service. It's the lack of independence children have if they rely on parents taking them to see friends. In a town once they are old enough they can walk or get the bus to see friends but will have to wait until they can get a motorbike or drive a car if they live in a village.

We have raised DS in a village and I hugely regret it.