More expensive to live in rural areas?

[Desperatehousewife]

Article recently which says living in the country is £60 a week more expensive than living in a town or city. I'm desperate to move out of the city to a quieter more rural existence. I'm worried now though. I can't afford to be any worse off than am currently! What are your thoughts/experiences?
This is the article: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6901028.stm

Without reading the article:

• Car costs will be higher, often no buses in rural areas so you need to run a car. Fewer corner shops so the need to go into town for food.
• Higher heating costs in many cases - where you are away from mains gas you have to heat with oil which costs a fortune.

On the other hand though, depending on where you are, your rent/mortgage is likely to be lower.

Swings and roundabouts I reckon.

I have to drive everywhere as there are no buses, and nowhere local to buy anything. And I can't choose the cheapest petrol station, or any shop come to that, because it's the only one in a 15 mile radius and can charge what it wants

We've got no gas, so rely on oil, which is more expensive, and no mains sewage system so gave to pay to have our poo taken away, yet we don't appear to pay less council tax

And all my ancestors peasants hovels have been snapped up by weekenders and now cost many times more than we can afford so we have to rent

But it is pretty

Yes it is more costly. Mainly fuel and if you use public transport you pay more for tickets as you are travelling further.

Our experience though was/is that if you shop online, plan well ahead, get a freezer and dont live in too remote a place then most goods will cost what a city dweller would pay if you get them delivered.

I always advise living on the edge of a small town/city so you can enjoy countryside nearby as well as still being near shops and transport hubs.

Remote countryside is where I grew up and I would not advise it for anyone with teenagers and/or if you have never lived in a rural area before.

I think essentials cost more - as others have said cars and petrol are not luxuries - they are completely essential. but you can save quite a bit on leisure spending and luxuries. a family meal out used to be at our local italian - now it's more likely to be a picnic and a thermos. we socialise at people's houses rather than go to expensive pubs. a trip to the cinema is more expensive because of petrol but we just don;t do it much.

I live in a rural village, and without reading the article, I would say Ut can be more expensive (it's nice up here on the fence )

• You need petrol to go anywhere. My village has no shop, no school, no pub, no doctors, no anything. So you're looking at at least a 4 mile round trip to go anywhere. Doesn't sound like much, but that's 50p extra when you run out of milk. Makes that emergency milk very expensive.

• If you run out if something (bread, milk, etc), the nearest shop is a Spar it similar, not a Tesco or similar. So everything is a bit more expensive. Or you spend extra on petrol driving to tesco.

• There is very little public transport. So even if your regular system is all planned out and you minimise journeys to reduce petrol costs etc, the taxi fare you inevitably need sometimes is big.

• Oil is the norm as there is no gas supply. Oil costs fluctuate wildly, so you can't guess how much it'll be.

• Commuting costs are ridiculous if you commute to London.

On the other hand, it is so inconvenient to go out in the evening (see point about taxi fares, lack if transport etc) or to fetch a takeaway (no deliveries here, oh no), that you don't do those things. that saves money

That might sound a bit doom and gloom! The benefits if living in the country are not financial - they're about peace and quiet, friendliness, open spaces, larger property/£ and that kind if thing. I guess all those benefits come at a price.

I hope you get to live you're dream in the country

awww thanks so much. Great responses. Really appreciate it!