Rural house move

[MsMarvellous]

We have had an offer accepted on a house that we viewed this week. It's going to be a big change. It's a different local authority, so new schools for the kids, total lifestyle change as it's a small hamlet.

I have checked the local schools before we offered and am happy with the primary and high schools etc.

We have been wanting to do this for some time, before the youngest started school, but nothing has worked out before now. It's equal parts exciting and terrifying. I haven't told anyone in real life just yet as we need to get things properly underway before I think it will feel real.

Who here done the same, gone from suburbia to the countryside. What are the amazing things and what are the pitfalls and things we need to watch out for? I'd love to hear other people's experiences!

I've always lived in a small hamlet. All the good things people say is true and it was perfect until DC were around 15/16.
You spend your life driving them around, they all learn to drive at 17 but you still taxi them at night because it's safer and it's not their fault you live in the back of beyond. Their friends also live in the back of beyond but 10 miles away and there's no public transport.

@Tyzz
Exactly!

Don't know if there's any interest, but I'm excited. Our house is sold, all our paperwork is with solicitors, and we're waiting on surgery's, searches, and banks now. Looks like this may happen bar disasters!

Surveys

I never see my youngest, she's in from school, changed and back out til dinner. She has freedom and is safe. All the village kids look out for each other.

I love the small knit community feel, ie all the lampposts in the main street had a hand made poppy plaque of those fallen in the wars who were from the village.

Hoe your move goes well @MsMarvellous

Good luck, OP. We moved from central London to rural Surrey a few years ago. We absolutely love it and count ourselves very fortunate to be living in such peaceful tranquility. No traffic noise, the sound of owls hooting, deer in the garden, beautiful walks and mountain bike trails on the doorstep, community spirit, what’s not to love. When I lived in London, grey, rainy days would make me feel quite flat, whereas here, it doesn’t really matter about the weather, it’s always beautiful.

On a practical note, we wouldn’t be without a 4x4, I can chuck it in a ditch when someone comes hurtling towards me in the middle of a country lane and not get stuck in mud. It’s been invaluable in snow and deep water after heavy rain, it comes in handy for collecting logs and animal feed, etc.

I wish you all the best on your exciting adventure, you will love every minute of it.

Have lived rural quite a bit.

Don’t say anything to anyone which you don’t want to get round.
You never know who you are speaking to and their connections !
I found it much harder to be myself at times - had to be aware of things I wouldn’t have given a second thought to in London. I became a bit more ‘quiet’ as my politics didn’t align with local area/village and that mattered to others in a way I hadn’t experienced before at all. Was used to rubbing along with difference and diversity more than was local norm.
Mud ! And how to manage it will become key.
If you have pets (and generally) be prepared for a wider variety of Wild/dead things brought to you/needing help. I had baby rabbits / owls dropping half rabbits / injured baby badger / escaped pigs / escaped horses and ponies along my lane / wild deer frisking around causing damage in the night etc. Absolute privilege to be closer to wildlife but I just needed to toughen up a bit and made contacts list of local vets/farmers/wildlife trusts etc.
It obviously depends where you are and the character/history/roots/socio economic reality of your area.
Really loved a lot and made great lifelong friends and being in remote and wild area was definitely enriching in lots of ways.
Good luck op.

I live in a village and love it. Some good advice here. You will talk to everyone if you have a dog! The dog will love it too! Plenty of woody mucky walks! Get old towels ready!
Be aware everyone knows everyone and most people and their grandparents will have lived in the area for generations so careful with opinions on other people or village problems!
I love village life, everyone says hello and chats. The community spirit is great. Lots going on.
But you will be mums taxi !
My dc have loved growing up playing in the woods and we have conversations about safety in the woods. I’ve never been able to stop them swimming in the river. But they’ve had a great childhood. Great memories and made great friends forever I hope.
Join your local fb page and get headsup about flooded rivers etc.
Enjoy it all.

Do not get rid of the aga until you’ve done a whole winter there, there’s a good reason they have agas, it’s fucking freezing out there. I’ve known it to be -15c 5 miles out from Lichfield.

Keep it running and you won’t be cold.

Yes, keep the Aga but make sure it’s serviced. Buy a Sheila Maid.

Advantages as well as disadvantages around teenagers needing ferrying. You retain knowledge and control of where they are and who they’re with, what time they need to come home etc. You know their friends parents better.

I wouldn’t count on there being less social activities. Different perhaps but not necessarily less.

Get an oil tank monitor and automatic refill to save risk of running out of fuel.

Book online delivery slot for supermarkets well ahead and do shop online if not doing shopping during children’s activities.

Torches by every external door so you know where they are immediately, in case of power cuts. A good supply of candles in safe and stable holders available.

Get your dog a flashing collar or similar for walks when it’s dark. Likewise make sure anyone out running or walking is well lit. Country lanes are darker than urban streets. Enjoy the dark skies.

A pair of ankle/shoe style wellies are incredibly useful to slip on and off to do bins, fetch in logs, taking dog for a wee or short walk, going to postbox etc. Easier on and off than wellies proper. Keep accessible.

A decent first aid kit and knowledge of how to use it. If children are young, red flannels to use on grazes reduce hysteria of seeing blood.

An Internet booster may be needed and mobile signal booster. We have Internet boosters to ensure access around the whole house. It makes life easier with teens. A landline is still useful, if signal is as poor as ours is.

Ours were not allowed cars at seventeen, because the risk level was unacceptable to us. I preferred to drive them. We bought them cars when the first excitement of driving and peer pressure for lifts had reduced.

Oh and if you are on lpg don’t forget to check for ‘red alert’ and order refills.
Play around with any security lights so any random badger/car on lane/owl flying by doesn’t set them off all night.
You will need more or longer extension leads than you imagine for outside work.
Ditto waterproofing things generally and good tool box - many more diy fixes of things needed.
Don’t run out of wood !
Have you checked phone signal/WiFi speed ? Any change to eg mobile provider needed?
If remote andnsubjecct to power cuts or WiFi outages (I was) was sensible to be a bit prepared with workarounds.

Following with interest. Looking at rural living. House on the market, hoping to move by spring!
So excited for you op

We moved to a rural location 10 years ago and absolutely love it. It’s quiet, peaceful, no traffic noise, loads of wildlife and beautiful scenery and walks all on our doorstep.

The children (now adult) would have hated living here as teenagers, as it’s too isolated. When they visit, they don’t like driving their shiny clean cars up the single track, potholed road. They wear unsuitable footwear and have to dodge the cow pats!

The reality is, we sometimes have a poor WiFi signal and that can be a problem when working from home.
It’s a a six mile round trip for a pint of milk.
No street lighting when it’s dark.
Changed our cars for suitable vehicles as driving In misty weather you can easily end up in a ditch.
Not on a public transport route.
The few neighbours we have are nosy
Heels are out of the question.
Mud, mud and more mud in the Winter.

All minor inconveniences to us, we love it and get a headache if we spend too long in built up areas and can’t wait to get home.

Thanks for all the excitement and all the tips. We're pretty practical sorts so I'm feeling upbeat. The Rayburn (turns out it's not an aga) is being left so will have a learning curve on running it deep in winter

Assuming you’ll have an oil tank, get a Watchman, so you can always see how much fuel you have. Keep in mind that urgent delivery can cost much more, so order at least a week in advance. Chat to neighbours, some firms might trim the price if they can combine deliveries on the same run.

Assuming you’ll have a septic tank, again, chat to your neighbours; a local farmer empties ours and next door’s for cash in hand. Much cheaper than going to a ‘specialist’ commercial outfit.

Be prepared for neighbourhood dramas to be smaller scale but much more deeply felt.

Enjoy!

Watchman sounds like a good tip, thank you. Thankfully we have mains water and sewage as we have larger villages either side of us.

If the politics is anything like small committee run groups I have an idea. Grudges for generations???

Second the use of the Watchman and use BoilerJuice or a local oil club for oil, you can save a fortune and it saves having too many tankers on the lanes! Order in plenty of time, late delivery charges can be high.

Also be aware that people are likely to know a lot about you before you move in and I also agree to be mindful what you say unless you don't mind it getting around! People are much more interested in others than they tend to be in a town....You do get out what you put in, so it's up to you, really, how much you want to be involved in village life.

Yes to mud.

I love country living. Sitting at in my little office now, looking over the millpond, not a house in any direction for half a mile but a nice pub (when open!) and farm shop within a 10 minute walk.

It's been a while but I just wanted to say that we made the move! Finally got over the line earlier this year after some issues. It was such a good decision. Thank you all for the tips and support.