Pros and cons of living in the countryside

[oodlesArt]

In a few days I will be moving into my new (rented) property. I've always lived in town houses but this one is deep in the countryside. I'd love to hear of other peoples experiences of living in the countryside, good or bad. I thought this was a good ideas but now having a few doubts. Our house will be right next to a field which I'm assuming will make my hayfever 10x worse but you live and learn!

Thank you all!
Luckily, we drive. The closest supermarket is a 15 minute drive. It is walkable though, 30ish minutes, so not too bad.
The field will be used for harvesting. Currently has rapeseed there.
When we last visited the house there were a few spiders. Is that common for a house near a field 😂? I guess it is but totally clueless.
I'm a bit concerned about the WiFi/ phone signal as I rely on that for work. Obviously time will tell.

There will always be spiders.

Your village may only get full fibre broadband if enough villagers sign up for a company coming to the village.

Mine did, the next village along didn't and are now regretting it.

One thing I've learnt is that when its the right conditions for harvest... they will work all day and all night. And its loud and bright. But its over quickly.

It's great if you're under 11, pretty dull if you're a teenager particularly if you have to rely on your parents to drive you everywhere ( yep, this was me ) and no good for 20 something jobs.
I'm in my 50s and would like to move back to the countryside of my childhood now, but I was very pleased to have left it when I went to Uni and for the years after.

I grew up in a small rural village with almost no public transport. As a teenager I hated it and swore that I’d raise my own children in a town. I have not regretted that decision.

Spiders and, quite probably mice. When it was cold outside & nice & warm in our house they found a way in from the field at the back of our house. I put down mousetraps with chocolate hazelnut spread in, caught 2 and they came no more. That wasn't pleasant, I will admit. In London I saw rats on our patio though.

Oh not mice! I didn't think of that 🤦‍♀️. I think I've been a bit hasty with this decision. On my visits though it has been lovely and peaceful.
I'm used to some noise all night and lights from street lamps/ buildings etc. let's hope I adapt well.

I love being rural but the spiders are ridiculous. We get them so big you can almost saddle them up and ride the fuckers.

From basically now until November, I am on spider alert. Fast buggers too.

cons
driving miles if you run out of milk or bread or eggs (anything really)
the potholes never get fixed down country lanes
isolated if there's a power cut or snow - no one to ask for help - no community
scary at night surrounded by the darkness
feeling anxious if the doorbell goes unexpectedly
no-one visits as it's too far
can never go out and have a glass of wine unless willing to pay tonnes for a cab

pro's
it's pretty during the daytime

It's how the miles rack up for me.

We are only 4 miles from the local town. But that's 4 miles to school, 4 back, then another 4 and back to pop to the shop and see a friend. Then 4 each way to pick up each child. Often back into town and back for Scouts etc.

I easily do 40 miles a day. On non-work days!

@PotholesAnonymous, yes there were many potholes! Should be ok as long as I can avoid driving after dark.

I was thinking of getting a ring doorbell up as the thought of the door knocking unexpectedly in the night creeps me out.

No footpaths so ironically more difficult to walk anywhere- even to other villages only a mile or so away.
No supermarkets
Little public transport
Smell from field spreading can be nauseating
Gas gun cannons going off from about 4am
Poorly maintained roads
Muddy roads
Unlit roads
Expensive houses
No choice of school

PROS
Very quiet at night (apart from gas guns!)
People generally friendly
Walking in summer
Wildlife

Maybe this isn't true in the UK, but in my experience, when you enter the village shop / small shops generally, acknowledge the person behind the counter - just an eye-meet and nod if not a full on good morning / afternoon. When you leave look back and say thank you. When you learn names, use them.

It gives you an identity as a friendly human being, which can come in handy. Also, in a established settlement, assume people are related to each other. If someone is obnoxious, don't complain about them to your new pal, as new pal is probably their second cousin, or knew them in primary school. Bottle it up - the time for uncorking will eventually arrive.

what do you do if your car breaks down?

It really does depend how rural. Highlands of Scotland? Or somewhere in the south where it's 10 mins drive to your nearest town that has a Waitrose, independent cinema and 3 craft breweries?

But yes, when we moved from London to a village the things that got to me at the beginning were: how bloody dark it gets, having to drive everywhere and not having an 'in' with the local community. Also, it was a shit village. We subsequently moved to a much better village (from which you can walk to the very naice town and that has a thriving local community of parents at our life stage) and life improved immeasurably. So, lesson is - pick your location carefully!

I’ve lived longterm in very remote rural areas in a couple of countries, and in cities (I now live close to a city centre), and loved both. The one place that really didn’t work for me was seven years in a village in England of about 1500 people — very insular, unexpectedly xenophobic (I’m not from the UK) compared to a very rural area I’d lived in in another country where there were lots of well-integrated foreigners, very curtain-twitchy and small-minded. We did all the ‘right’ things (volunteering, child at village school, involved in PTA, various bits of activism, used local businesses, generally friendly, joined and later ran toddler group), but it never accepted us.

For living properly rurally, OP, just be organised. Frozen bread, milk etc, be prepared for power cuts, and depending on terrain and location, make sure your vehicle can handle local roads/lanes in icy/snowy conditions.

. . . not easy to avoid driving after dark from Oct to Feb

If you live on a country road they are often fast, unlit and have no pavements, so what seems like a 20 minute stroll to the village for a pint is so dangerous and unpleasant, especially with children or dogs, that you will never do it.

As a townie I missed the anonymity. Everyone knows your business, neighbours will walk in through open doors, if you don't like someone they are still always right there in your face and at every event.

Everywhere is a drive away. I lived an hours drive from the nearest train station and missed culture, art, cinemas - well I missed the variety that connected living brings.

Winter is long, muddy and brown, so very brown.

The people who live and have always lived in the area will already have enough family and friends to last a lifetime and it might be hard to find your tribe.

There might be a local pub, shop or post office. Until it closes and then you have a 45 minute round trip for a pint of milk. You need to plan and you need a freezer.

There is crime, just like there is in the city. My neighbour's massive wind turbine was stolen one night.

The events will all be annual. After the first year you will know the open gardens, village fair, country show and am dram panto like the back of your hand. Then what?

Upsides - some people love it and it can be searingly beautiful and peaceful.

It's not about being able to drive or not. I can and do drive. But not everyday and not for every single place I might conceivably want to go.

So I drive to IKEA or 40 minutes to visit relatives. But living in a small town I can walk or cycle to everyday places like the office, the supermarket, the doctor's, the swimming pool, a restaurant. My children walk or cycle to school, the playground, their friends' houses, their sports/music lessons.

It's needing to drive almost everywhere, to give your children lifts everywhere. Too much loss of freedom for me, I don't want to spend half my life in a metal box.

If you’ve got fields of cows, sheep or horses anywhere near, you’re likely to see a lot of flies, attracted by all that poo.

Pros: few/no neighbours, possibly peace and quiet, although farms are surprisingly noisy and if livestock farms, smelly, lack of light/air pollution, quieter roads? Honestly, I'm struggling to think of many pros [grew up in the country!]

Cons: lack of infrastructure, shops, leisure facilities, have to drive everywhere, have to be a taxi service for your kids, lack of choice of schools, no pavements, poor/non-existent public transport, noisy/smelly farms, lack of footpaths, most rural land is privately owned so can't go for a walk easily, very dark in winter, roads muddy so car always filthy, can be lonely/feel isolated, may have septic tank/not be on mains sewage, may not be on mains power/need expensive oil deliveries, may struggle to get groceries delivered, may get snowed in, depending on location, boring for kids, can be a long drive to friends' houses, cinema, Saturday job, etc.

You will learn to love the spiders once the flies get going.

We moved from one of the biggest cities in England to a small rural village about 25 years ago. We love it and would never want to go back but obviously there are pros and cons and it won't suit everyone. In no particular order mine are:
Cons
No public transport - big issue for teens.
You have to travel for a lot of things which city dwellers have on their doorstep.
Limited healthcare provision.
Lack of mains gas and sewerage.
Traffic in the holiday season.
Reduced access to cultural activities.
Power cuts.
Less choice of things generally.
Pros
The scenery!
Relatively clean air, low light pollution, pretty quiet here.
Wildlife.
Low crime where we live.
Good community spirit.
Small schools (though this also has cons)
Easy access to outdoor activities
Lots of space.

I think it depends a lot on your lifestyle. If, like us, your idea of a great day out is cycling, walking or sailing followed by a meal in the local pub then country life is obviously going to suit you better than if you want to go to a gallery, do some high end shopping then eat out at a Michelin starred restaurant. (Though we do have quite a few of those within reasonable driving distance actually, I just can't afford to eat at any of them!)

It depends how rural I suppose. I live in a village close to a large town. We have a small rural station, but generally need a car for everything. No pub, no shops, no nothing! We recently built and voluntarily run a community cafe and small store with grants, it's doing very well.

My window is open, I can hear several birds, no traffic, I can see a red kite out hunting. Last night we had hedgehogs in the garden. We have a deer family in the field opposite. We are two minutes from walking out in fields. I have a view of fields and hills.

We regularly have power cuts, although better than it used to be when they upgraded the pylons, and it gets very windy!

I live very rurally. North
Lovely countryside, mountains, views everywhere you look but you can’t live on views.
No public transport at all so a car for everything. Everything, even to post a birthday card or get the smallest thing. No banks or post office in most villages these days.
Nearest village has one shop, everything more expensive, never any offers like in supermarkets, poor selection of things. In summer you may get grocery deliveries if reasonable distance from supermarkets, winter forget it & often cut off so you need big freezers plus near a farm for milk( or own a goat or cow).
If you take ill can be a real problem, a doctor can be miles away & you need someone to take you if you’re not fit to drive, no chemist for prescriptions. And don’t have an accident as you’ll wait ages for an ambulance, the hospital will be miles away ( 50 in our case) so if they admit you you’ll have no visitors as it’s just not practical for them. Winters are long, cold, dark & lonely. If you have children they’ll be counting the days till they can move away once they’re teens.
Often no (or very poor )mobile or internet signal. Often even TV reception not great
Handy to have somewhere outside the house to store cans of petrol/ diesel ( don’t even consider an electric car) & a generator as lack of power can be frequent in winds or snow, so candles, torches, lamps, heating not reliant on electricity ( like boilers & thermostats are) are necessities if you’re not going to be struggling in cold & dark. We had four powers cuts last winter.
Then consider how long you want to live there. Will you still cope if you’re old, possibly have to give up driving, less mobile, sometimes needing a doctor or repeat prescriptions, like my late DF an ex hill sheep farmer.