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Come and talk to me about living rurally...

213 replies

LittleGinBigGin · 09/09/2019 21:00

Well dh, dc x 2 and I have moved to the country, I think I may have drunk too much gin when I agreed to this Grin

We now live in the middle of no where...literally 10 other houses and 4 of these are second homes so only ever occupied at weekends.

Our nearest neighbors are over 300m away (probably more I’m rubbish with distance)

I’m having a massive head wobble and have no idea how planned we have to be for the winter etc

Obviously heating oil is the first thing on my list and finding a supplier of wood for the fire!

I have also ordered a chest freezer!

I have just found out that during the winter the electricity goes off quite a bit, so lots of candles needed.

The house is definitely cooler tonight (weather app says it’s going as low as 6 Shock) so have put extra blankets on the kids bed and mine.

What else do I have to do?? I’m totally in over my head

OP posts:
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MildThing · 11/09/2019 16:35

Keep your car petrol tanks topped right up.

Always.

My Mum broke her arm and they didn't have enough petrol to get to the hospital, petrol stations closed....

Get 'Taxi' signwritten across your car - because as soon as your kids have friends or develop hobbies away from home, this is what you will be.

(I was brought up in rural isolation)

Littleoakhorn · 11/09/2019 16:40

Yes, all of this but also buy yourself a milk frother so that you can still have fluffy cappuccinos and buy bags of frozen bake your own croissants.

MildThing · 11/09/2019 16:44

My teen nieces and nephews still live in rural isolation.

My siblings and ILs are taxi services.

Transport for secondary school was a nightmare.

They have shelled out a fortune on insurance for young drivers, but the death toll on local roads from teens driving too fast in illegally suped-up cars is higher than the knife crime in my urban area, and they are anxious about who is driving the other way, or not giving way at a junction.

Because the lack of pubs within walking distance and / or public transport means that there are quite a few drunk drivers on the roads.

Herocomplex · 11/09/2019 16:50

Definitely get the Parish Magazine if there is one. A treasure trove of info from the mins of the parish council meeting, what community groups there are, events that are coming up, and local tradespeople and businesses.

adaline · 11/09/2019 16:52

My teen nieces and nephews still live in rural isolation.

Isolation? Isn't that a tad dramatic?!

Trewser · 11/09/2019 17:00

We live very rurally, can't see another house from our house. My kids have tons of friends, they just live a long way away!

taybert · 11/09/2019 17:55

Amazon prime.
Milkman if available
Watchman device on your oil tank
Battery powered camping lamps
Lots of batteries
Winter tyres
Milk delivery- usually also do eggs/butter/juice/potatoes too.
Make friends with neighbours so they don’t mind taking your amazon prime parcels in Grin or identify a safe place for them, no one wants to be going to the depot!

TheSpottedZebra · 11/09/2019 18:19

Must be something about rural living which helps to develop a rich fantasy life Grin

Yes! So much this.

TheSpottedZebra · 11/09/2019 18:22

So back to OP, it has not yet been mentioned that cheese freezes really well. You'll be wanting emergency cheese. And coffee beans.

OK it was mentioned, but it is important.

RockNRollNerd · 11/09/2019 18:27

Just adding a note of caution here. Never use a camping stove inside - carbon monoxide will build up and kill you. It’s a disturbingly common cause of fatalities during major power outages eg Montreal Ice Storm

MuseumOfYou · 11/09/2019 18:37

Definitely get the Parish Magazine if there is one. A treasure trove of info

Totally agree; a great place to source local tradespeople.

bobsyourauntie · 11/09/2019 18:39

I grew up on a farm which was 5 miles from the nearest village shop and it is 20 miles to the nearest town with "proper" shops like Boots, Lidl etc.

When it snowed, we could be snowed in for days, so I gained a siege mentality from my mother when it comes to food supplies Grin.

I still live in the area, but on the edge of the village with the shop, but even then, in bad weather, the milk and bread supplies vanish at the first mention of a snowflake. Only the main roads are gritted, so the supermarket vans can't deliver to most houses.

So top tips:

Candles - real and fake with plenty of batteries
Power banks - keep fully charged in winter months so that you can top up your phone.
Milk and bread in freezer
and a plentiful supply of Pasta, Soup, baked beans, spaghetti hoops,
Cheese and crackers,

I have a 2 ring gas stove and spare gas canister, so I can at least boil water/heat up the above mentioned foods.

We have oil heating, so if the elec goes, no heat, so we have plenty of fleecy blankets and warm jumpers.

I was actually better off when I lived at the farm because they had to power the generator 24/7 to be able to milk the cows and keep the milk tank working, so always had elec no matter what the weather was.

Be prepared for the schools to close at the first sign of a snowflake, as all the children will have to be bussed home again safely.

Our nearest cinemas, museums, big supermarkets, shops etc are all 20 miles away, so I buy most things online now. The nearest McD's or Pizza Hut or Costa, all 20 miles away.

Taxis are also miles away, Uber's don't exist. The nearest city is 2 hours away, as are eating places like Nandos, F&B, TGIF etc

Stock up on wood, firelighters, kindling, matches, batteries. Get battery operated candles for the DC to take to bed if they can't sleep in the dark

Keep an old plug in corded phone, so you can keep in touch with the outside world if the power goes.

Order heating oil in the summer not the winter, as it is cheaper usually and don't run out in winter when it snows like my neighbours did, as you won't be able to get a delivery then.....

Buy a sledge in the summer because you won't be able to get one for love nor money when snow is threatened.

Don't drive on steep ungritted roads, there is one local notorious hill that most people end up turning their cars over on!

But you know, country life can be great, it is obviously very different to city/town life and it is just what you are used to/get used to when you live there.

MildThing · 11/09/2019 18:39

Isolation? Isn't that a tad dramatic?!

What, in comparison to all this talk about being snowed in for days and chainsaws and living off cold custard and roadkill? Grin

I dunno - they don't live within walking distance of a bus stop or a train station or an Indian Takeaway and for the defining factor the 4G is shit. Oh, and you are kept awake half the night by these hideous little muntjacs barking and making weird noises.

bobsyourauntie · 11/09/2019 18:39

(sorry, didn't realise that went on so long Blush)

MuseumOfYou · 11/09/2019 18:42

it's likely to be eerily still at night- lots of animal noises, but if a car goes past you'll wonder who it is and where they are going 'at this time of night'. And after a few months, you'll actually know

This too.

We're half a mile from another house but 10 mins walk from a nice pub and farm shop.

When it's a clear night, the stars are breathtaking.

You can also host massive parties for your teens without upsetting anyone.

BertrandRussell · 11/09/2019 18:53

Michael Mackintyre has a brilliant routine about their first night in their new country house.....

FenellaMaxwell · 11/09/2019 18:54

Have we remembered Christmas lights to decorate the sheep with....? Grin

OP, small creatures will inevitably find their way into your house, not just rodents, so it’s a good idea to become adept at dealing with them. We used to get mice, frogs, birds, bats etc. Trying to get a bat out through a casement window is an adventure!!

If your phone signal is remotely patchy then it might be worth investing in a landline satellite phone.

DON’T pick or eat mushrooms or berries unless you are 100% sure what they are. Don’t cross fields unless you know what the right of way is. Don’t walk your dog off-lead bear livestock. NEVER EVER leave gates open.

Greenglassteacup · 11/09/2019 19:00

I have LOVED reading this ( from my inner city urban home). Please post photos of your gorgeous views

Greenglassteacup · 11/09/2019 19:00

And wildlife

moobar · 11/09/2019 19:06

@BertrandRussell just had to look for that. Is it animals in the countryside GrinGrinhilarious!

picklemepopcorn · 11/09/2019 20:01

What's the 'fantasy life' referring to? I've not seen anything that isn't familiar.

beingchampion · 11/09/2019 20:02

When you say 'NEVER EVER leave gates open, I think what you mean to say is LEAVE GATES AS YOU FIND THEM - too many times some pillock has closed a purposefully open gate behind them, seperating the cows from the water trough.

Frith2013 · 11/09/2019 20:09

@Greenglassteacup this is our view (well, a bike ride away)

Come and talk to me about living rurally...
Scrowy · 11/09/2019 20:13

pickle I think it was a comment about particular posters (on this thread and elsewhere) who's lives seem very sparkly in comparison to what most people experience in normal life.

It's not a comment about this thread in general.

LittleGinBigGin if the long range forecasts reported in the news are to be believed then you are in for an interesting first winter in your new home Grin

FenellaMaxwell · 11/09/2019 20:15

@beingchampion indeed. Was looking at it from a horse owner perspective - too many utter twats leaving the paddock gate open, and coming home from school to find the ponies on the road.

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