To escape to the country?

[Manchmallehrerin]

DH and I are fantasising about leaving our outer London suburb and getting a nice house in the country...

We are both fed up with living in such a built up area and DH’s job has become WFH... (I can work anywhere..) we have both lived rurally before, but not for years and not with DCS. I would like a large garden, maybe a pony ( or 2) and a bigger house. Financially it would make sense.

However, are very lucky with amenities here... train to London on the doorstep, green space and opportunities for almost any activity the DCs might decide to do. Good health services, leisure centres/ theatres etc. A selection of good or outstanding secondary schools when the time comes. The DCs can cycle to school and will be able to visit friends etc independently later on. We are not dependent on a car if we dont’t want to drive.

but, it is busy, noisy and there is a lot of anti social behaviour and traffic congestion. We don’t have family here and not many local friends. DH is sensitive to noise and hates living in an attached house. We can’t afford detached around here.

Is it fair on the DCs to move them away from all the opportunities they will have here? Will I just spend 10 years as a taxi driver?

[brightbluegentian]

@pigeon999 There is no reason not to move to Gloucestershire, like DontLook my reasons are purely personal.

Yes like anywhere it has its issues but it has a lot to recommend it.

[DontLookTwice]

pidgeon

It’s a beautiful county with much to recommend it. My experiences were purely personal and nothing against the place itself.

[ConcreteUnderpants]

OP i constantly fantasise about this too.
I realise that some of it is to escape lots of stuff in my life. Is there some element of that too?
Only asking as I’ve realised (stupid I know, but it was like a lightbulb moment) that unless I sort that stuff out first, it will just follow me, even if I am in the most idyllic place in the world.

There are so many pros and cons of leaving/staying. I understand your quandary.

[pigeon999]

Did you have a bad experience/association there? The wealth divide is very stark in Gloucestershire, more than other places? Or just the whole aristo thing is alive and well and not an especially good thing to be around?

[DontLookTwice]

Nothing to do with the place itself. Just has some bad associations for me. It’s a strange county. Some really impoverished/rough areas and huge areas dominated by very wealthy people . PC and Zara live there. Stroud is a town with a lot of alternative people and a boho vibe, but lots of poverty and drug taking too. Cheltenham and Gloucester , though a few miles apart, are like chalk and cheese.

[pigeon999]

bright and dontWhat were the reasons for not wanting to move back there? We are thinking of relocating to Gloucestershire and would like some insight if possible.

[DontLookTwice]

I have personal reasons for not wanting to move (back) there.

Yes, me too.

[midnightstar66]

Having grown up in the middle of nowhere no, I wouldn't move somewhere with dc that didn't at least have a bus service. My parents absolutely were taxi drivers for many years but I still missed out on lots

[brightbluegentian]

I can see that the Gloucestershire area does seem to fit the boxes but I have personal reasons for not wanting to move (back) there.

[ivykaty44]

speak out

I live 15 minutes from the station - but market town, 80 minutes to London, 10 minutes cycle to countryside. I like visiting the countryside and then going home

[Timesdone]

The number of people that move to the country then complain about church bells, smells, cockerels, tractors, 4x4s, mud, horses, horse boxes, horse riders, horse shit, cow shit, sheep shit, rabbits, hunting and shooting, poly tunnels spoiling "the view"... the list goes on.

[speakout]

Pick somewhere on a train line with a station very close

Sound advice.

I can be in the heart of the capital within 20 minutes.
I bought my house - 5 bedrooms, surrounded by ancient woodland- a couple of years ago for £210K. Train station is 10 minutes walk.

[ivykaty44]

Pick somewhere on a train line with a station very close
Morton in Marsh would fit that, anywhere local is rural.

[speakout]

If you want a good bus service do not live in a village near a town, move to the town itself.

Depends on the bus route.

I live in a hamlet near a town, but buses come past regularly as I am on a bus route from other areas.

[Honeyroar]

Winter can be harsh though, much more than the town!

[DontLookTwice]

Some good ideas here. I know Stroud well and am considering it. I don't know Hampshire at all so that's a new one to look at, or the Pennines. Being able to walk to the train station would be ideal, it's finding all the other things to go with it!

[StCharlotte]

I did it for a decade. Five years back in civilisation and my overriding memory is still MUD.

[LuaDipa]

We moved to a village from the suburbs when we had dc1. Loved the community feel and village life (some of it anyway!). We have now moved to somewhere even more rural, but with easy access to the motorway for work and there are excellent rail links to the nearest city and town.

It will mean that the kids are quite reliant on us to transport them, even if they get the train, the station is on country roads so not ideal to walk, but they love it here too and their friends are all in the same boat. It was a wrench at first but I am so glad we moved from the city.

[Honeyroar]

Don’t think the photos liaded

[Honeyroar]

We’re in the Pennines, 12 miles NE of Manchester with regular buses to the next big towns and trams from there into Manchester. Very large, active villages close to other villages but still lots of community spirit and charm. Glorious open country all around. Weather can be harsh in winter though. Look up Saddleworth.

[Emmapeeler1]

Ps if you like Gloucestershire look at Dursley or Stroud. Also Frome or Warminster are on a trainline, or outskirts of Trowbridge depending on budget. Dorchester in Dorset also has a trainline and lots of surrounding villages.

West Hampshire also lovely and near sea. Look near Andover or Downton in Wilts, or Fordingbridge area on the Wilts border. Or New Forest is not far from Southampton.

[AntiHop]

Could a comprise be funding somewhere walking distance from a train station, so your DC have some independence?

[Emmapeeler1]

I can definitely relate to that DontLookTwice and following for interest

[DontLookTwice]

Emma

Yes, that's probably true. I just want to get away from traffic, noise, pollution etc. Great countryside is a must as well.

Honey Have PMd you!

[Emmapeeler1]

The village I grew up in had a bus running to the nearest city (45 mins by bus, about 30 mins by car without the stopping through other villages!) every hour from 7am- 8pm.

Tory cuts since 2010 means this sort of great bus service is very unlikely now, especially in the evenings and at weekends. Rural routes in my county usually end at 4pm and do not run on Saturdays with commuter times if you are lucky. You need to factor in family members driving if moving rurally.