to not understand why people choose to live in the countryside?

[cumbria81]

Don't get me wrong, I love the countryside as much as the next person. I spend most of my weekends there walking/cycling/whatever.

But why on earth would you want to live in the back end of nowhere where you have to get in the car to buy a pint of milk and everything is a logistical nightmare?

Where I live, 2 miles from a city centre, I can walk to work/a swimming pool/cinema/shops/theatre/train station etc etc. I can also, if I want, run/walk off road through parks and woods for a few miles and am out of the city and into rural land - so best of both.

I don't mind sitting in the car for 1.5 hours on the weekend to get out to the real countryside (ie Dales and Lakes) but if I had to drive every single day for everything I think I'd go spare.

I've got my shortest ever commute living in a village compared to living in London. We have a milkman, school 1 minute, post office 2 and pub 3 minutes, better than average over places I've lived. Much friendlier and (usually) smells better.

To be honest, the biggest problem I have living in the country is cyclists at the weekend .

We currently live on the outskirts of a small town, 20 mins from a large city and I hate it! Can't wait to move.

This time next year we will be moving to one of 3 villages close to Shrewsbury. Our fave (waves to portblacksand) is about 4 miles from the city centre but is semi rural, quiet but with school, co-op, hairdressers and pub.

I wouldn't like to be in the middle of nowhere. DD is an only, and will stay that way so she needs other kids close by. We saw a superb, wonderful house in a very tiny village (only 12 houses, is that a village?) but the nearest kids her age were 5 miles or more away. It was a bloody lovely house, but there is no way I could do that to DD. Pity really, the house was exactly what we wanted, but would rather compromise on something than isolate us.

I couldn't live in the city. I used to live where getorf is now and second all she says. It was great as a teen, but I'd hate it now.

YANBU to not want to live in the countryside, but ABU if you think that people who prefer to live rurally are odd/weird/deluded/whatever

I choose to live in the countryside because of the space I can have around me. I hate feeling cramped/crowded and, while our nearest village is about 12 miles away, it's only about a 10-12 minute drive because the roads aren't busy and "rush hour" simply doesn't exist. When I lived in a city in the UK (Chester) it could take me 3 times as long to commute the same distance!

Here I have space, abundance of wildlife, stunning views ( www.lazydogacres.com/images/ViewMicaMtnFromGardenLowRes.JPG is our garden in wintertime )

If I want to turn up the music loud it doesn't bother anyone...

No light pollution so the stars are blindingly clear... Northern lights a couple of nights ago. The summer's first hummingbirds are visiting right now :)

My boys spend lots of their time making use of the outdoor space, building forts, collecting weird larvae out of our pond, interacting with the bigger/farm animals we never could have kept if we lived in a city. They have some good friends who live within cycling distance (yes, other times I do have to drive them to places - doesn't bother me in the slightest!)

I guess I would like to have more variety of shops nearby (if the nearby village was actually a town/city, but we still had our space/peace) but if it was, property prices would be that much higher and our roads far busier, etc., so I just accept that I can't have everything because the pros far outweigh the cons, for me!

I think you should move to France, GetOrf. Lots of jobs for people with your skills (and highly respected, too) and you need a bit of a change. Start working on it, and it might happen by the time your DD leaves school.

Grew up in a town on the edge of a city. Never went in to the city, even as a teenager - couldn't stand it. I hate being jostled, I hate the way everyone is in close quarters but no-one makes eye contact or says hello, I hate the constant hum of other peoples phones and tinny music from headphones, I hate the smell of traffic fumes.

Now I live in a little village in the country, 20 minutes from the nearest shop. I plan my food and store stuff in the freezer, and don't run out of milk so 'popping out' isn't really an issue. I can still get to a cinema if I want to. But when I was in the town I spent all my time trying to get to open spaces to walk and see wildlife, which is what I enjoy. Now, I don't have to travel for that, I just walk out of my front door. A good day out doesn't cost anything - we go to the beach for a day with a picnic. Little kids take a bucket and spade, older kids take surfboards.

So it depends what you enjoy. I would go mad without a good walk in the fresh air every few days, but haven't been to the cinema in months and don't miss it. When we do go, it's a nice treat, but it's not an essential. I always did my clothes shopping by catalogue because I hate the process of shopping, trying stuff on, so that hasn't changed.

In the town, I knew immediate neighbours, but that was it. Go to a carnival and you'd hardly see anyone you knew, and those you didn't know wouldn't talk to you. Now, I go to a street party and I know nearly everyone, everyone keeps an eye out for all the children which makes the parties in the village hall very relaxing, and everyone is very friendly if you're new.

And I see loads of my family and friends because they all want to come and stay with us for holidays!

Horses for courses - please don't all move to the country because I value the fact that here, I am away from the crowds!

Grew up in the country - as a teenager its really not great. And super dangerous - all those 17 year olds racing rounds the country lanes. In every year at my school at least one teenager was killed in a car smash.

Funny how different folk are, all these downsides being given just make ne miss the real countryside more! We're planning on moving next yr, can't wait.

You are right,the countryside is awful-don't move here,you'll hate it.[cocks shotgun and narrows eyes].Half of London appears to be living here atm-I sometimes wonder if there is anyone left down there.

I live here because when my then DP and I decided to commit, he had a job and a house and I had neither. It was a hell of a shock to the system. You get used to the logistics and do big weekly shops. Advantages are meat, eggs and milk bought direct from the farmer. When you do have to drive, there's never any traffic. Traffic in Brighton was much worse and used to spend frickin ages on the bus because I was too scared of the lunatic drivers to cycle. Much less temptation to spend money in the country because options are really limited. I can hear the birds.

I really miss being able to use my bike as a method of transport, rather than as a pleasant summer evening activity. Would kill for a half decent takeaway.

Interesting thread...love the countryside, but wouldn't live more than 2-3miles from a town in the county just so I could dip in and out of the vibe when wanted to. Live on the NE coast and have countryside in 5mins in car and city in 15mins...best of 3 worlds

emptyshell - I was brought up on Mull (family still there) and I have reached the point of many years of soul searching, that I could never live there again. When I go home, I love seeing everyone again and feeling at home with the whole island community thing, but christ I have this dull ache in me that I can't describe while I'm there..like, so this it is...same people, nothing ever changes, everyone just pottering to bakers & butchers (with no expectation of anything else), DC's where shall we go today !!? What is your experience of the Scottish Isles then?

Mull? Ooh I love mull. I could live their. Probably. Only ever been there for a few weeks at a time so I know I didn't get a true picture but I did love it so. Always used to see the craignure or lochaline ferries through a haze of tears when we had to leave. Dad had a house there fir 20 years- my idea of heaven but I'd be alone as dh would go crazy!

Travelling to the shops, swimming pool etc. is part of the enjoyment of living in the countryside - I don't see it as a downside really (except if you run out of bread/milk). I prefer to have a car journey down beautiful country lanes than sit on the tube. There's something a bit too "pampered" about having everything on your doorstep.

I LOVE the countryside. I love quiet and peaceful country walks. Except, all the people who live there seem to spend half their time driving loudly and at break neck speed down the narrow roads, thereby ruining the peace and causing pollution. They seem hardly ever to walk or to use the already sparse public transport. Yes I'm generalising, but I'm right.

I love living in the countryside-towns are lovely as long as you can get out of them after a short stay.

I live in countryside, sort of - small town surrounded by fields which you can reach in 10 min walk. We've been here a bit over 5 years having come from London suburbs. At first I loved it. I loved that dd could walk to school. I loved the views from my windows. I loved the lack of traffic noise. I loved the fact that people thought there was a traffic jam if you waited for longer than 30 seconds.... etc.

Quite frankly, I am now bored shitless and would love to get back to London, or any city really. DH and dd love it here, so I'm stuck for the foreseeable.

It is the best thing we have ever done. We have been in the country for 2 years now and love it so much. We are lucky there is a small shop but really I have just got into the habit of making sure we have everything we need. Now I would not like to be on top of a mountain with no one near me, but I love the space. We just have so much. Our dc can play and not worry about annoying neighbours. They have so much freedom as they can be a fair bit from the house, yet still safely enclosed in a huge field and visable from the house. Over the Easter hols I did not leave our grounds for a week! Everyone loves to come and visit and sit out our back enjoying the sun and the peace. On one of the evenings last week we had 9 friends round and we sat out till 3 round the chiminea with music as loud as we wanted. We had a total of 35 visitors over easter so we ddidn't need to go anywhere. We are never bored there is always something to do outside, jobs to be done, fences mended, wood chopped. Just this evening we were out for a walk and a farmer was chatting and as is clearing a bit of land has offered us a load of soil and some sapling trees for free. My dc eat breakfast and watch the pheasants roam around on the grass. Even when the snow was bad everyone was talking about cabin fever and we were quite happy, freezer stocked to stay cosy and warm here and enjoy it.
Of course if you don't like gardening or have hobbies to amuse you it would be different.

I love the county. Wild swimming, clean air, paddling in streams, less people, less congestion, less buildings. Loads of community spirit, community events, rustic cafes/pubs, fab schools, wild life, visitors and with civilisation (a town) only 10 mins away. I just love driving/walking/cycling around here as it's so uplifting to see such lovely views and to see the seasons change. Life is of a high quality.

I grew up in the country (smallish town), as it was a lot cheaper housing (and everything) really. When I moved to the city after school to start university, and met a lot of people who grew up in the city, I was really surprised by their attitudes - looked down their noses at me and where I grew up, and they had a LOT more sheltered upbringings than me , and were a a lot more naieve (sp?) about things.
not dissing people who grew up in the city, there were a lot of advantages, but I seriously don't think I missed out on anything on where I grew up.

I reckon a nice market town could suit me - I can think of one with the best deli ever, no problem with the pint of milk and more - yet without getting into the car you can be out in the country. What's not to like?

(currently live in village which was great but the shop closed recently )

i live in london and know all my neighbours. it's also green and pleasant in much of london, something many out of towners overlook - when they visit they sweat their way down oxford street or leicester sq at rush hour wondering how anyone could put up with this all day every day without really seeing the real london as londoners live it.

living in a big city like london isnt all about being disturbed by traffic noise and shouting at all.

have lived in the country in houses up farm tracks, in towns and in London and would be equally happy to live anywhere. it's what you make it.

Couldn't afford to live in a city with good catchment area. That's why we live here now.

OP I feel like that sometimes.

But then I leave for work at 5:30am (yes, bleugh) and step outside to the stars (or the dawn) and the silence (give or take some sheep), and the spectacular view, and the fresh air, and I remember.

Also I then get into London and find that colleagues who live in crowded expensive suburbia got up at exactly the same time to get there.

That's why I order groceries online drive every single day for everything.

I live in the countryside - there are disadvantages but they don't bother us that much. What is great is not having to lock your doors, knowing evryone, knowing that someone will help out of you are stuck etc. Also the space, animals, big gardens. I know that you can know all the neighbours in london but I was there a couple of weeks ago - everyone locked evrything and most businesses seemed to have wire mesh on the windows. Here people leave doors open and many businesses still operate on various forms of honestry box etc.

I live in a tiny village. The milk is delivered and if I did run out I could borrow a pint from a neighbour anyway.
Tesco and Ocado deliver and there's a co-op a couple of miles away that's open until 10pm. People in towns jump in their cars to go half a mile. My workmate commutes from a city and is often late because he gets caught in the school run traffic inside the city boundaries.

The biggest niggle living here is the hoards of townies coming for a walk - parking in passing places, dogs off leads, silly nordic sticks clacking away, yelling at each other to TURN LEFT or whatever and fiddling with their phones wondering why there's no signal. We love having no signal!

OP I am so with you! Each to their own and I totally respect those who love the countryside but I could live nowhere else but London - I love it! IMO the country is good for a few days but after a week max I am itching to get back, I think having kids in London is fab too, there is so much going on and everyone is so diverse I love it. During this winters snow there were always places for me to get out to when my Toddler was going stir crazy shut up in the house, I did wonder at the time what those who were snowed in miles from any facilities did to stop their little ones going nuts. The parks are fab here for summer all the green space I need, yes there are some lovely views in the country but mainly they consist of the same things - grass, hills, a few cows.

I totally love the city and having a city kid and in my opinion bringing up kids in the city doesn't at all mean they have a worse quality of life, in fact I sometimes think it is better.