To think this house is too remote to be feasible

[HungryHouseHunter]

Name change. Posting in AIBU for traffic. We are considering putting an offer on this house. It's exactly the style we want with more land than we wanted but I'm worried it's too far from Winchester where we started looking. To get the train station I'll need to drive, to get to the shops I'll need to drive! Does anyone do this ? Do you end up resenting the inconvenience? For example I couldn't just pop out for a big shop, I think I would need to drive to Winchester and pay for parking etc. Would need to pay for parking at train station when using it (at least twice a week). Do these things just get more and more annoying. Currently live somewhere where car isn't even really needed.

Also value for money?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145236887

I lived in a house where the kitchen and sitting room were on different floors. It was a bit of a pain in terms of constantly seeming to carry a mug or glass up or down. The most transition in houses is between kitchen and living spaces and that would be different here - stairs to move between those spaces. Worth considering if that would annoy you after a while.

😂🤣😂😂😂

Weirdly I've also lived in a house like that so that didn't put us off. Just that extra 5 seconds of thinking "anything else I need from here" before leaving the room is ingrained in me already !

Are the surrounding fields organic? I would be worried about pesticide spray. Plus the epc is v poor so would need to look at investing in some renewable.

No, not everywhere. Shopping trolleys ftw! Or panniers on a bike.

We live very rurally . Our view is to die for .. it makes me incredibly happy everyday whatever the weather.. so I had to do two ESSENTIAL things before moving .. teach all the kids to drive as am NOT doing pick ups .. and remind myself NEVER to moan about driving 5 miles for bread/milk..

I accomplished all that fairly swiftly.. and have never regretted a single moment ..

See also significant muck spreading onto grain crops every spring. Do not underestimate the scale of the work on that farm, it's clearly a very large and busy one.

Have you checked road noise? We rented about that distance from the M1 and it felt like a background roar.

Doesn't look remote to me, you'll be fine.
We're 15 miles from the nearest (small) supermarket and manage perfectly well. You just learn to stock up and not rely on being able to pop out for things (although in this location I don't think that'd be a bit deal).

I've never looked back since moving to a rural location, I love the peace and quiet and being close to nature. If you like a drink though, bear in mind one of you will always be driving if you go out....although so close to a city maybe taxis will be ok...?
Where we are, taxis, takeaways and good internet speed are not an option, so check these kind of things out if they're important you.

The house isn't to my taste, for that price I'd keep looking, it looks cold and soulless and the land needs a lot of work to make it interesting, but if you love it then go for it 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'd also check for noise as you're very close to the motorway 😐

@HungryHouseHunter Either you want to live rurally (not that this really is) or you do not - if driving, paying for parking and not having 1 or 5 coffee shops close by are really of interest to you then any rural property will not be for you.

To live rurally you have to accept there will be differences in how you live.

Large areas of grass can be mown with a ride on mulching mower, therefore no cuttings to worry about.

The property is a converted barn which would have been part of a farm, therefore you are always going to have other farms close by, so there will be silo's, combines working late at night, livestock noise and smells, tractors on the road etc etc - it goes back to by first point either you want to live rurally or you do not. Make your choice.

That's not rural! Sainsbury's is literally 5 minutes away.
I wouldn't buy that if I had your budget:
Style over substance. A lot of wasted space and expensive to heat.
Apart from the master, the bedrooms are tiny - for a £2.5m house. Bedrooms are also on the ground floor and away from main bedroom. I wouldn't want small children on ground floor if I was a floor above.
The garden isn't secure so you couldn't just let your child/dog out in the garden without supervision.
Noise from the motorway.
No 'community', you'd be isolated and 'satellite'.
I think this is nicer, and cheaper, at least you'd have some sense of community.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144574994

You get a ride on mower that mulches as it goes. It’s really not an issue.

what are your specific concerns. It looks like there’s a village straight down the road? That’s really not that remote.

If you actually want to live in Winchester I'd keep looking. As others have said it's not hugely remote (and I've shared my positive experience of living remotely above) but it is remote compared to living in the middle of a city and a lot of money to spend for a house that is not what you actually want. You'll also need either to spend a lot of time on the garden or employ a gardener.

I'm quite enjoying trawling Rightmove in Winchester with my pretend budget of £2.5m.

You could buy this and walk everywhere. With your budget I'd buy this and maybe spend the extra £500k on a seaside cottage.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146864975

Mulching just means the grass is left on the surface @HungryHouseHunter it looks unsightly and if you have a dog, it’ll end up everywhere in the house.

Agree you should visit on different days when the wind direction changes as the motorway noise will be different according to wind speed and direction.

Another 150k, about 250 less sq/ft, more bedrooms and central.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148998566#/?channel=RES_BUY

That is stunning to be fair. Love the music room !

Not really the same as I lived in a 3 bed ex local authority semi, but I lived in the country. We had a pub. Everything else was a drive. I felt so isolated with two young kids. I was so pleased when we moved to somewhere with stuff and folk. I didn't know if feel like that. But I'm not you.

There seems to be quite a few very nice properties available for your budget in Winchester, why are you even considering the barn when it doesn't seem to meet your most important criteria?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147329174#/?channel=RES_BUY

Yeah we saw that one online. Looked quite frankly weird. Think we were just blown away by the space and the style of the barn. Plus the huge outside space.

It’s amazing but your idea of remote and mine are clearly very different. I was expecting the Scottish highlands, not within sight of a motorway.

That will get old very quickly if having amenities on your doorstep really matters.

Don’t be jealous

I grew up in the middle of knowhere and we drove everywhere. You have to decide how much you can cope with that.