Have you ever Escaped to the Country?

[merryandbrightdelight]

Not exactly AIBU but let’s leave it here.

Watching Escape to the Country and I’ll admit it’s my total guilty pleasure, especially when the couple have a budget of £650k but can ‘stretch to £900k for the right property’.

So my question is, have you or anyone you know ever escaped to the country? Or what would it look like to you?

I’m in the North East, and to me it’s Devon, the Cotswolds or Chipping Norton area. Streams, a village pub, wooden beams in chocolate box cottages, birds singing, hanging baskets, dog walks etc. Pretty much nothing like where I live now 😂

DH and I are American, and we love the show and watch it faithfully, but I have no desire to escape to the country in the US or anywhere else. I grew up on a farm and was not fond. Confirmed city dweller ever since. However, our daughter and son-in-law did it, and we enjoy visiting them, but after a week or so, I am ready to return to civilization home.

I think they had one couple they revisited to see what they actually bought.

I recognised one from one of my rightmove searches. They didn't buy it.

They always have so much money.

Yes. Worst decision we ever made. Looks lovely on paper but the realities were very different. Decision was very much driven by my then husband. Lack of jobs meant he was still commuting to the SE and was away most of the week. Hated it. We stayed 3 and a half years and I cried with relief when we left. Only good thing that happened was my wonderful dd was born and I was able to be at home with her for a couple of years.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates lack of civilisation! 😁

I grew up in Hong Kong which is as city as it gets. Now live in a lovely rural E Mids village just outside of a small market town.

Never regretted it for a minute but do commute regularly into big city, so get my city fix when needed but mostly don't need it and love living in the countryside

Ah but OP you are in the North East. Isn't Northumberland the most beautiful county and best kept secret in UK?

If I escaped to the country, it might be Alnwick, with Barter Books and the castle gardens. But I'd rather escape to Whitley Bay or Tynemouth which aren't the country but oh the beaches and the markets and the lovely people and the little cafes. I Google it as a dream from time to time.

Get Starlink. It’s really good and fast and much cheaper than it used to be.

Sorry but I’m properly crying at this 😂 “Oh yes, just my latest OH/DH. The number plates just got released for this year’s model.” But really, I’m so sorry about your late OH.

I only want to escape for about a week at a time! It’s city life for me.

Yes, we retired and moved from being close to a small city to a village just outside The Peak District. We have a population of about 1000 in the village and a shop/post office, butchers, farm supplies shop and 2 pubs, one or which serves food. We are about 15 minutes drive from two small towns and love it here. We have basic facilities within a five minute walk and can be in the fields in two minutes. Supermarkets and high street shops are a short drive away. BUT we are retired and our children are grown and have left home. We are more than happy with the village social life (we are members of the local choir and husband is part of the local bell ringers) but it might be more of a problem if we had young adults still at home who wanted access to lively pubs and clubs in the evenings. Schools are less of an issue as there is a good local infants school and school busses into the local town.

Haha exactly this.
“I’m a stay at home mum to our 4 children and my husband collects snails. We have a budget of £2billion”.

Turns out, neither do I. Which is surprising seeing as I'm autistic and actively avoid other people. But there's something comforting in knowing they are there (so long as I don't have to interact with them ).

Following with interest as I’m susceptible to a country fantasy. I think I’m too used to convenience though so I’m looking for a magical place that is surrounded by green but walkable to shops and everything I need!

Will be able to move in two years so looking in earnest now at the edge of large towns. I always open Rightmove in Maps and look at anything on the edge with green space and rivers - street view generally shows they’re on a main road overlooking a field of sprouts though. Not the leafy idyll I’m after.

Yes I moved from the south east.
Pros and cons.

It’s very beautiful and away from annoying noisy and irritating people, but if you want a pint of milk, you’ve got to drive to get to the nearest shop.

lol This Country was filmed in the Cotswolds!

I did!

I’m in Ireland and not the UK. We kept a small apartment in Dublin City, then bought a big house on land in the country.

Best of both worlds.

Here’s the view from the bottom of my garden.

I am deliberately vague with most people about what I do and how much I earn. But I definitely did not escape to the country on my parents dime! To look at me, you’d have no idea how I make my money. Because I say nothing, some people might assume my parents or my in laws paid. They’d be wrong.
But I’d never go on any tv program.

I moved from zone 5 to zone 2 in London to a commuter town which is fairly near the country. It took a long time to get used to the quietness of the commuter town, I wouldnt like to live properly in the country, although I enjoy it if I stay for short breaks. My non negotiable was that i wanted to be in a town or village with a train station, and ideally not be fully reliant on a car.
I do use my car but I wouldnt like to not be within walking distance of shops, restaurants, Dr's surgery, kids school etc

I grew up in a village but moved to a London commuter city.
Then moved back very rurally for twenty one years. One posh market town seven miles away but absolutely nothing locally. No shops, a few grotty pubs and alcoholism was everywhere. Nasty gossip too which I'm still subjected to. People come for the schools but there's nothing to do and they become so bored especially the SAHP.
We're in the middle of downsizing and it is to a village but it's just four miles from a huge town (a bit grotty tbf) but it's commutable with all the facilities and I intend to use them. My family live close by and it's just over an hour to my husband's. Our son is forty minutes.
My advice? Never move rurally unless you have shops, doctors and are on a delivery route. I fell ill and I was grateful for the access.

I recently escaped to the city after 15 tedious years in the country. Five minutes walk to the shops and some nice bars? Yes please.

I grew up in a village where it was a mile walk to the bus stop. As an adult I've lived all over the place, cities, market towns, villages. Seems I'm happiest in the suburbs where I can either walk to everything or catch a bus.

We went on holiday a few years back to a cottage that was in the middle of nowhere; the info pack had dire warnings about not running low on petrol as the nearest was 20 miles away. It was an hour round trip to the supermarket which I didn't mind until I was pulling into the drive one day when I remembered I had forgotten to buy butter. It was lovely for a week but I wouldn't want it to be my life.

We did it a good many years ago now, and it was all a bit chaotic at our end, as we’d just secured buyers who wanted to complete very quickly. It was also when things like Rightmove were a twinkle in someone’s eye, so we were unrealistic in our wishes for our preferred area - or at least the AONB part of it.

Overall, it was a good experience, but didn’t really hit the brief. Partly because our requirements were tricky (likely inter-generational home), but also, as I say, our preferred area was very pricey, moreso than we had realised. It felt like the first property, which was entirely unsuitable was only shown to us as an example of how adrift our expectations were regarding being inside the AONB.

Our presenter was Nicki Chapman, and she was terrific; bags of charm and conversation, but also clearly a very shrewd woman. She was very much as she appears on screen/radio, and we enjoyed her company - definitely someone you could spend an evening and a few cocktails with.

Filming was one day at home, with lots of walking to camera, and pointing at things, then destination part over three days, iirc. The ‘local activity was on day one, the houses on days two and three. We were provided bed and breakfast and a small per diem for other expenses/meals. We had dinner with the crew and Nicki on day two, which was nice, as we’d had a bit of time to get to know each other. We had to get ourselves there and back at our own cost, which was as we expected, but on location, we were driven from place to place.

We did escape to the country afterwards, but a different part of the country. Although the program didn’t facilitate our move, it definitely helped crystallise our thinking, which until then had been lacking focus.

I’d definitely recommend it, but if I was doing it again, I’d do more research ahead of time to be sure that my expectation/wishes were realistic.

Bob Monkhouse used to joke about the ‘current Mrs Monkhouse’

Yes I would like to escape to the ( coastal) country . See my other thread. Did anyone watch the episode where the lady was wanting to move to Pembrokeshire but had never actually visited before just had a feeling that is where she should move to ! I think they just want a free holiday sometimes.

You also need to.be careful you do move to the country and not to a disneyland version.

Some places are full of second homes so lack community facilities and groups and you will be able to eat out at multiple.places from a sarnie to 3 michelin stars but won't have a local baker or butcher.

What Ive been surprised by is how close some.of our larger towns are to lovely country areas. As I mentioned before, my DD and DS, have moved away for work but both have green areas and quiet villages not too far away. The UK is lucky like that.

I think when we retire we will pick somewhere like that.