To wonder if any of you have moved from the city to the country...

[Daisymasie]

and how it worked out? It's one of those things I dream about sometimes when I'm fed up of rude people in supermarkets, aggressive drivers, litter drifting around the gutters etc.
But I know I probably have a very Enid Blyton/Miss Marple view of country life as being all cosy and fragrant and safe and friendly so would like a reality check.

Altogether now, and to the tune of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony:

The country, the country, the country gets you down -
There's nothing like the country to make you want the town

Moved from city (London) to countryside and love it.

But we are very sporty / outdoorsy and spend most of our time running, cycling, horse riding etc.

We are also only 10 minutes drive from a market town which has cinema (small one), leisure centre etc so not completely isolated.

There are loads of lovely pubs if we fancy eating out.

I absolutely love it and can't even imagine moving back to London (at least not through choice).

We moved from a small city to a house in the sticks. Seven miles from a village/shop/petrol.
It's so lovely. We sat outside having our dinner tonight and didn't see a soul. The kids play outside at every opportunity and I love having practically no neighbours.
We live in an old barn which we converted and its gorgeous.
However we are 40 miles from a clothes shop/cinema/soft play and so weekends and holidays can be a bit predictable as even in the town there isn't really much to do.
When we go away we really notice this, how there is so much more for families to do than where we live.
But that's the trade off I guess and it suits us. Bad weather hasn't ever stopped us getting out either.

Joking apart - moving to somewhere remote is all very well until you - or one or both of you if you are a couple - can no longer drive.

London to a small country village.

Never looked back; would never move back.

To the point bowlersham, and i'd like to add:

Wouldn't be able to afford to move back (even if we wanted to).

Another thing to consider, actually, if thinking about moving properly out of London.

I have the best of both worlds ... I live in a small village about 15 minutes walk from a market town that has shops and bars and restaurants. My village has a corner shop and two great pubs but is on the edge of miles of unspoilt countryside.

I have lived in Central London and Manchester, as well as a tiny village as a teenager. Where I am now is perfect. But yes, village mentality can be a bit bothersome!

Define your terms - having grown up in moderately remote country, I would never move back anywhere like it, but would move to a reasonably large village very happily (i.e. with a shop, a church, preferably a pub, and a school). Does that count as 'country'? I'd agree with manin, live full time wherever you are and get stuck in to whatever's happening locally - also expect at least a few months if not years where you feel a bit alienated, then anything better is a bonus.

I moved from Northampton to a tiny village in the Lake District, and I don't regret it for an instant. Yes, the nearest pint of milk/post office/newsagents/pub/school is 4-5 miles away, but on the plus side the crime rate has been zero in the village for the last three years. There are no exhaust fumes, and we have cows and sheep in the field opposite the house. I love it!

I went from country to a city (a small nice one though)...I wouldn't dream of going back. Love living near to stuff!

I moved from the city centre to a smallish village 3 years ago and have never looked back. Granted, my village isn't completely cut off, as it's about 10 miles in each direction to a city centre and the buses are good, but there's very limited shops in the village, most of which close early, plus close Wednesdays and Sundays. I've rented here since moving and am now in the process of buying, as I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon.

Plus points for me are an excellent, small primary school, low crime rates (plus low house and car insurance rates), lovely community feel and loads of village events (scarecrow festival, big Christmas lights switch on etc), and easy access to open fields if you enjoy walking, which I do. I also love how safe I feel wandering around the village late at night; even the teenagers loitering on corners aren't actually very menacing, and will smile and nod whilst moving out your way, instead of being rude and sullen which is what I'm used to on a whole from the ones where I used to live!

Negatives are very few for me, but you can't sneeze without the whole village knowing about it! This can be handy, as no one could commit a crime without half the street seeing, but can be a pain when you stagger in drunk after a Christmas party The big downside is the aforementioned Christmas party will have cost £25 to get home from in a taxi, as the buses don't run late.

Overall, I love it and I would never, ever live in a city again.

My parents moved us to the middle of nowhere as 3 teenagers (from a big city). It was absolutely horrible. Totally, totally boring and depressing. Mind you they were not willing to drive us about much and bearing in mind we lived 3 miles from the closest village that meant I did bugger all for about 5 years.

However, now I am an adult and live in the city myself I would give almost anything to live somewhere more remote now. I have enjoyed the city for many years but now I crave space and peace and actively want to be away from the shops, bustle, people etc......I couldn't do it to my DD though. She is almost a teen and I think it would be deathly boring for her.

I grew up in the country and moved to the city when I was 21 - would never never never go back. We live in the suburbs, countryside within 10 mins drive if we want to go and look at it (!), but all the conveniences of the city - public transport, shops, hospitals, close at hand and accessible.

rude people in supermarkets - plenty of those in the country I'm afraid!

aggressive drivers - you'll frequently find some twat tailgating you on tiny windy single track roads, somehow thinking that driving up your exhaust pipe will make you levitate out of their way. These same twats hoon around the lanes as if it's their own personal racetrack, forcing you to brake hard/dive into a hedge/have heart-stoppingly close near misses when they appear round a sharp bend at a ridiculous speed.

litter drifting around the gutters - litter dumped on verges and in ditches is just as common, and sadly fly-tipping is getting worse too. My grandparents used to take a plastic bag out on their evening walks and return with it full of rubbish. :(

cosy and fragrant - fragrant? Don't live downwind of pig or chicken farms! That acrid stench will scorch your nasal passages!

The only things that bothered me were how everyone knows everything about you so you cant get away with anything! And how screwed you are if your car breaks down.

Desperately miss Norfolk though......would love to move back, just wish there were more jobs!

Yes I moved from a busy London suburb to a large village in the Home Counties. The station is three miles away ??
I really like it.
Reasons for moving-OHs family live there. House prices. I want my children to gont

Yes last year to a small village in Bucks. No neighbours. We love it. Apart from the foxes attacking our chickens a d the dogs finding little bunnies to chase.

..trying to post whilst on the train..not good..
I want my children to be able to walk to school, go to the local school, play outdoors with their mates. The kids here play in the fields. It's a bit of a time warp. It's lovely and quiet. Very little riff raff.

I left London because of riff raff. The area where I'm from is rapidly going downhill. Crime is increasing. I want my children to have the idyllic 70s/80s childhood I did. That's not possible in London IMO.

I've thought about it but think I only want to do it while the kids are young then move back into town. I think I might have left it a bit late though.
My city is small but filled with things to do - I can be at the beach or at the base of a hill in around 20 minutes.

I grew up in the country and we had lots of land as my DF was a farmer. I had pet lambs every year, fed calves and had a disastrous spell of owning a pony. Lots of freedom and constantly on my bike.

But - needing lifts to go any distance
Hanging up outside the village pub was the primary evening entertainment
Very small village school so limited friendship groups

Town definitely has its attractions

I have always lived in the city but moved to the country last year and quite honestly it's the best thing I have ever done.

I did and I hate it. Would rather live in a one bed flat than have a 5 bed mansion, even on the edge of a small town. I really, really, hate it.

We did Edinburgh -> Outer Hebrides.

10 years later we moved to Glasgow.

It was good when just us, hard going with babies, great with toddlers but by school age they were missing out.

We go back often on holiday.

I love it, but don't regret returning to the greatest city ever!

We moved from a large town to the edge of a large village / small market town about four years ago and love it.

Personally, I love the fact that:
My children know practically every child in their school.
My children can go out to play / explore.
Where I live us pretty. I love the starry nights in winter etc.
I love the fact that when I'm in my back garden in the summer, I hear nothing but birds and sheep.
Much calmer pace of life. Everyone's friendly and says hello, even if you don't know them.

Downsides: only a couple of busses a day and the last one is at 6pm. If your car breaks down you're screwed.

Have to drive everywhere. To get DDs to their hobbies in the big town is at least a 25 minute drive, so once I'm there, I have to stay.

Yes yes yes to the stink of muck spreading!

Being miles from everything. We're lucky that we have a few facilities where we live (butcher, post office, shop etc) and it's improving - small supermarket is now only 7 miles from my house, not the 15 it once was, but if you need anything in a hurry, basically it's not going to happen!

I've moved to the country, back to the city and then now again back to the country (same area)! VERY rural and a small village.

I don't drive so that is a bit of a nightmare. When I first lived here I rented a hill farm but this time round I am about 3 miles closer to the village. As I have no car lots of walking, I am rather fit!
I can honestly say though I always had these images of hills and animals etc, and the country is like that and it... isn't. It mostly smells of poo instead of pollution, the animals are mean! And potentially dangerous! The farmers aren't the tender loving heardsman that you imagine and mostly farming involves a lot of shouting/swearing, machinery and animal mess. Other than that it is beautiful!

If you want to find somewhere affordable to live that is rural then look in wales, most people imagine the move to be huge but it really isn't.

I moved back to the city because my ex got sick of it etc and wanted away "from it all" ... yes he was talking about the stress of the countryside ... so we moved back to he city where I hated it. I moved back here as soon as we split because although I'm not from here the community it so warm, friendly and caring, they remembered me right away. Offered me help with lifts/transport down, they are just amazing. If you move to somewhere truly rural you do learn what it is to have friends and community behind you and it is amazing. I'd say go for it.
I was born in the city and always lived there yet when I came back here all I could think was "I'm on my way home" as I started to see the landscape change.