To ask if you live rurally....do you enjoy it?

[PottererCrouch]

As title really, I live rurally and really enjoy it, but I was at a party on Saturday night and got talking to a friend of the host, they asked where I live and when I said where it was, pretty much gasped and said 'good lord, however do you cope living there? It's the middle of nowhere, no, I couldn't be doing with that. I always wonder why people want to live rurally, just doesn't appeal at all to me. Do you actually enjoy it?!'

They were very drunk but I couldn't help but feel a bit offended for a start, it IS a small village (300 houses) but it does have a pub and primary school and we're only 6 miles to the nearest town so not completely 'isolated.'

I see a lot of people on here warning others off living rurally as it isn't good for kids and they regret it etc.

If you live rurally, do you enjoy it and why?

I live rurally, grew up rurally, only lived in (small) cities during university and for about 7 years when I worked for a big media organisation.

I can't stand cities, but I completely understand why other people like them. I wouldn't be offended by someone not comprehending rural life - it is very inconvenient if you're used to towns. Why take it personally, OP?

Wow that's rude. I live in a big city, but I love the countryside.

My living hell is suburbia where you have to drive everywhere and could still throw a rock and hit your neighbours house. Worse of both worlds IMHO.

We live over 300m up the side of a mountain in Snowdonia. We love it.

We both drive but currently only have one car plus an e bike and manage fine. DH doesn't drink at all and I rarely drink, so driving to socialise isn't an issue. DD primary school is 3 miles away, so we can't walk but do ebike when the weather is good (she has a shotgun seat and will have a tag along when she is older).

I think if you drive, aren't too fussed about drinking and enjoy being active in the outdoors then living very rurally is great. If you don't like those things then you'll probably hate it.

I do wonder how much time I will have to dedicate to being my DDs taxi service as she gets older. She is an only child so I won't want her to feel isolated.

Well if everyone was happy to live rurally their countryside would be a lot more crowded.

We're very rural, tiny house in the middle of nowhere! My DC are 16 and 18 and love to visit a city a few times a month (we're between Leeds and Manchester) but gasp with horror at even the most fancy gorgeous houses 'on a street' or in an estate/town. We drove thru Mere in Cheshire last week and they were both really scathing about the multi million pound houses describing them as "on a main road" and 'overlooked". I find it funny they are so set in their ways. I see big advantages for both lifestyles but choose to be remote because I keep animals.

Absolutely hate it, where in a bigger village around 6 miles from local supermarkets, I find people here like to gossip the gossip travels fast and ends up Chinese whispers, I also don't drive so when DP is working I'm stuck out here with 4 children and no where to go but in fields.

I wish I’d done it when the DCs were small but now I’m nearly 60 kids are looking for work I’m thinking it’s not ideal if you don’t drive - access to healthcare, shops, transport and things like cinema, restaurants. It makes me worried to be entirely reliant on the car - but does that make sense?

I live in a village on an Island.Couldn't love it more. My children have never looked back since we left the city and thrive on being outdoorsy and sporty. The two eldest at 13 have never mentioned getting a phone and rarely watch TV as they are always out.
There are sone inconveniences but that's related to the grossly unreliable ferry service rather than rural living. When ever I am I town I cant wait to leave. I couldn't ever go back.

Also does anyone else find it claustrophobic at night? Like a blanket of darkness; or do I sound like I’ve been on the gin before lunch? 🤔

I was brought up very rurally and it was shit so I’ll never go back to it. Sure we played unsupervised as kids but it had risks. There was a high rate of suicide and most hung themselves in the local woods so kids were often the ones to find them. Unsupervised was really a euphemism for unsupported with most farm kids (from about 8-10 up) having a field car and a bike or 4 wheeler to play on. Addiction was also rife along with poverty but without the infrastructure to help and people were always really reluctant to call social work even in really clear cases of abuse because they didn’t think it was a ‘thing here.’ Getting to and from friends houses was a pain and all of us found moving to uni a massive culture shock.

We love it. Big house, lots of land, no neighbours. Most people are arseholes so it’s good to be away from them. 🤣

I love it. People talk to each other, you know your neighbours, all the kids play together, go to school together, so know each other when you pop to the park. Kids can have a bit more freedom, without you worrying that you will lose sight of them if they are more than 2 metres away.

Flip side, no secondary schools nearby so DC will need to commute to nearby big town when the time comes. Few jobs/entertainment (eg. Cinema, bowling etc) so I will probably end up being a taxi service when DC are teens.

Initially, no. I was in my late 20s and moved from London to a small village in a very rural county. Now that I’m a touch older, with a small child and with lock down, I’m appreciating the open spaces the countryside offers

She was rude, but to give the other side, I live in London and have people practically queuing up to tell me how they couldn't possibly live here, it must be awful, etc etc. It's always people who've never tried living in London, mark you (or those who say they have and then it turns out they lived in Surbiton or somewhere
Personally I would not choose to live rurally or in a small town or a village, but I don't eagerly tell people who do how much I'd hate it and how wrong they are.

I love it. People talk to each other, you know your neighbours, all the kids play together, go to school together, so know each other when you pop to the park
That doesn't only happen rurally though. My neighbourhood is like that.

I couldn't bear living in a town. We are 3 houses. Absolutely wonderful.

No stress last night as no Halloween shenanigans; we can see the stars; have everything we need. Gorgeous local walks from the house. Horses at home.

Local village has PO, shop, chemist and train station with towns a bit further a field. Ocado deliver as do the local Chinese and Indian and we now have fibre broadband.

Wonderful to come home from work to silence and no people.

I live very rurally and love it. I love having no near neighbour, no noise, no traffic, no hearing other people's music/screaming/shouting.

I love the views and the uninterrupted peace and quiet. I used to think I was quite sociable and enjoyed commuting to work and mixing with a lot of people. Since lockdown I've realised I'm not really very sociable at all and could think of little I missed about the world or work and people.

My idea of complete hell is living cheek by jowl in a city with others. I watch Location Location to be utterly horrified at how expensive it is in London (and other cities, such as Bristol) - how tiny the space people get is and how close they are to others. I thank my lucky stars I don't live like that.

I also have a horrified fascination with threads on MN detailing how noisy neighbours are driving people to distraction. I would be seriously suicidal at some of the stuff I've read on here.

I live fairly rurally and would love to be even more so. We have 12 neighbours and that's 12 too many. They are lovely but I don't want to hear their lawnmower and their dogs barking.

I have my eye on a house up in a valley which can only be reached by an unmade lane and is 2 miles from the nearest road and 3 miles from the nearest village. If that comes on the market it will be mine if I have to beg, borrow or steal to get it.

We moved from a hamlet of 8 or so houses( no gas, streetlightsetc) to a small village. It feels really busy! We have a thriving village hall but the nearest shop/Post Office is in a bigger village three miles away. Seven miles to tbree biggish towns. It’s lovely. No Deliveroo but we rarely eat takeaways. There is a pub about half a mile away.

I love it. The peace and quiet, the beautiful night skies, the sense of community, bliss! We regularly have friends and family come to stay and say it’s like being on holiday it’s so idyllic. Granted winters can be a bit bleak and isolating, but I’m an introvert so I don’t mind that.

I used to dislike it when we first moved here but have bedded in ok. I really started to love it during the first lockdown when I realised we weren’t within sneezing distance of thousands of other people. I like seeing the seasons change and seeing the fields being worked and the crops growing. It’s great to lie in bed at night with the window open and hear wildlife going about doing its thing (although the screaming foxes were initially unnerving).

I don’t like the mud, though. The mud is a bloody nightmare and it’s everywhere.

I don't think it's particularly rude, certainly not worth being offended!

It's also all so subjective isn't it. I wouldn't call 300 houses 6 miles from town rural, I'd call it a suburb! But I imagine someone in central London might ask her how she copes!

I loved it as a kid, hated it as a teen, no transport to anything fun. Went to uni, did London, and now crave it but I don't want to be the taxi for my kids every weekend so it's a retirement aim now.

We live rurally but only 3 miles from one town and 5 from another.
Love the peace and nature, night skies, no annoyance from neighbours or people knocking doors. Can often go out and leave door unlocked. Privacy. Fresh air.

Only disadvantage is needing to drive everywhere which will be a problem in older life

I don’t think it was rude and not sure why you’re offended. She’s talking about herself and what wouldn’t work for her presumably. I live in a small town surrounded by countryside. It’s a good compromise for me. I used to live very rurally as a teenager and really hated the isolation and lack of transport links.