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Original poster

could you/do you live somewhere really isolated? what's it like?

30 replies

hatwoman · 19/04/2008 13:22

we are trying to move - to the rural area I grew up in - and one of the houses we're interested in is pretty isolated. It's next door to a farm. next nearest house is a mile away. nearest village - which is a good size (school, couple of restaurants, green grocers, chemist, butcher, pub etc) a mile and a half away. unusually for a rural area there is a big city 25 mins drive away. so the isolation is not persistent - everything we could want is accessible - but by car. couldn't buy a pint of milk, or visit anyone, (except the farmer, and no, he;s not a dairy farmer) without getting in the car. There's a bit of me that's always wanted to do this. and I get a lovely gut feeling about places like this (possibly from reading too much of the Brontes when a teenager...) but what's the reality like?

OP posts:
posieflump · 19/04/2008 13:23

a mile and a hlaf for milk is definitely walkable!!
also bikeable

posieflump · 19/04/2008 13:28

I grew up in a village 9 miles outside a large city
the nearest shop was a mile away
school was 4 miles away so my mum shared school runs with other families and we used to get the bus back (sometimes on my own at age 10)
the only downside was when I was at 6th form college and none of my friends lived nearby. It's important to think how such a move will impact the kids - I used to sleepover at a friends house a lot as after we'd been out there was no bus home or the last bus was a bit grim for a 17 year old girl on her own

Heated · 19/04/2008 13:28

Make sure you have good security esp with no nosey neighbours around.

lljkk · 19/04/2008 13:29

Depends if there are footpaths, or how much traffic there is to cope with, posie.
Personally I wouldnt want to be so dependent on car travel for everything, most the country side you see out your window will be strictly off limits, so it's like living on a island for your kids. Where could your dc learn to ride a bike or skates?

It works fine for many people, though. Good luck.

Tutter · 19/04/2008 13:30

pros and cons

i grew up in a rural location on the edge of the pennines - half a mile from a village, 3 miles from a town

loved the ability to roam

hated the feeling of isolation as a teenager

Original poster
hatwoman · 19/04/2008 13:35

if it were nice rolling or flat country lanes - bikes would be ok but it's up on the moors and the climb from village to the house is about 800 metres. and yes on a lovely day I'm sure we'd spend our morning walking to the village for a paper and a coffee - (if we weren't up for that wouldn;t be much point in moving to the countryside...)so there is some stuff that could be done without a car - but not much...(esp in teh context of working, busy family schedules etc etc)

OP posts:
Original poster
hatwoman · 19/04/2008 13:37

teenagers aren;t a consideration - it's a temporary move. we plan to come back to civilisation before dcs turn 13...

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beaniesteve · 19/04/2008 13:37

I grew up in Donegal in the 1970's. My mum did not do well being so isolated with three kids but it was great for me.

throckenholt · 19/04/2008 15:27

I was going to say it sounds fine to me - a mile and a half is not a long cycle. BUT I would not want to be so isolated at 800m on top of a moor. The chances of being unable to drive because of ice or snow in winter would be more daunting. Presumably kids would have to get up and down it every day to get to school (speaking as a lowlander here .

Also - why would you move temporarily ? - if I went somewhere like that I would be reluctant to leave it to go back to "civilisation" until I had to.

Original poster
hatwoman · 19/04/2008 15:45

we're moving temporarily because, essentially, we're schizophrenic. we enjoy London but have inklings to go back to the country. we realised recently that there was never going to be a eureka moment when we decided to move out of london for good. the more likley situation was that we'd spend the next 10+ years or so living in london, vaguely thinking about when to move out. so we came up with the plan to do it for a couple of years - renting a house rather than buying, and coming back when the kids (and us) are bored...

OP posts:
sophy · 19/04/2008 17:24

Go for it.

We moved out of London to the country a few years ago and love it.

I wish we were more isolated than we are.

But you will need to get a dog or you won't get any exercise.

TheProdigalShow · 19/04/2008 17:31

I'm probably considered isolated to most. We live on a farm, nearest village is a mile and a half but has no facilities apart from a park and some swings. Otherwise it's a 5 mile walk for milk or a few miles to a park and ride and into the city on the bus. I can cycle to the city in 45 minutes.

I don't drive and dh works long hours. I absolutely love it. We walk and cycle lots (I cycle, dd sits in the child's seat), it's peaceful and beautiful, dd loves the animals on the farm. I make the effort to walk to the park and ride twice a week and take dd to toddlers and the library and we take her out at a weekend as a family. Friends and family love to visit too and any visiting children roam round the farm and can run and play safely. I really must learn to drive in case of emergencies but the benefits of living here far outweigh any perceived problems.

TheProdigalShow · 19/04/2008 17:36

Thinking about it, the only real problems are power cuts and we get round them by being prepared. Our water is supplied by a natural spring and pump but if the electricity goes (happens more often than in populated areas because we're high up, flat, windy, old power transformer etc) we have no electricity to operate the water pump. We have lots of bottled water and gas canisters/stoves for emergencies.

dinny · 19/04/2008 17:47

I grew up on a very small island

loved growing up there, wanted to leave at 16 to continue education and now we are moving back there enxt year with the family and I can't wait!

things that I know I will find hard are when it's bad weather and there's no post/papers etc etc

potential lack of social circle

no hairdresser

only one school, if kids don't like it, it's tough

most things like cinema, eating out in different places etc I will give up happily. it is a small sacrifice to livein the place I love.

good luck to you, Hatwoman! go for it! thing is, the internet makes everywhere much less isolate anyway....

admylin · 19/04/2008 18:26

I went to school with loads of farmer dc who all lived far out and isolated. They were all really happy, healthy rosey cheeked dc and when we got invited out there we loved it having fields to run up and down and climbing walls and trees. As you want to move when your dc is 13 then I would say it would be great. As long as you know you will always be financially well off enough to afford to run a couple of cars.

We lived in a small village when the dc were born but had to move when finances ran out because dh started his PhD and we were on student money, we needed 2 cars otherwise I would have gone mad. You do get a feeling of being 'locked up' when you don't have the option to walk down a busy street and have people around you. I used to walk the steets of our little village praying that someone would be walking too just to see another human being and there never was I was happy to leave in the end. The dc only have good memories of their country life though, they loved it.

yurt1 · 19/04/2008 18:29

Would love to live on a moor. Instead we live in a city within a short drive to the moors (and I go quite a bit).

Still hanker after the moor at times.

admylin · 19/04/2008 18:32

I love the moors too, something about the wind and the far horizon! I always go up on the moors when we come to visit the UK - the dc think I'm strange!

expatinscotland · 19/04/2008 18:40

We live in an isolated place, not as isolated as the house you describe, though.

It takes some getting used to, BUT it sounds like your situation is ideal in that you can easily walk or cycle to the nearest amenities. Ours are 13 miles away and a city is quite far because it involves a ferry crossing or a couple hours drive on A roads.

One thing you need to keep in mind is how you will earn your living.

High paying jobs are very limited around such areas and usually involve travel to a city, so check out the public transport. If it is lacking and you need to get some work, you may need a car. The available public transport may also be quite expensive and affect your budget.

Like I said, it took some getting used to, but now we won't be going back to a city. We'd like to be closer to one, or with easier access, but otherwise, no way. It's not for us.

Go for it!

Original poster
hatwoman · 20/04/2008 09:38

thanks all - some interesting stuff here. I haven;t even seen inside said house yet but I invcreasingly want to go for it. the job situation is sorted expat. dh and I are both going to do freelance consultancy work.

OP posts:
lilymolly · 20/04/2008 09:42

we live in the country 5 miles from nearest shops schools etc and everything is accesable by car (can not walk or cycle as road is too dangerous)

but I love it, we have acres and acres of land to walk about in or ride our horses, (with farmers permission)

We can pop next door to the farm and have a cup of tea and a bit craic.
Everyone in the community helps each other out but also know all your business!

GrapefruitMoon · 20/04/2008 09:48

Don't think the place you are considering is that isolated! Sounds very similar setup to where my mother grew up - nearest neighbour out of sight and about 5 minutes walk away, village 2 miles away (and this was in a time when people didn't normally have cars, at least in that area...). Though they did have a small farm so no problem getting milk!

How about a bicycle for trips to the village to save getting in the car all the time?

Personally would also consider the issues around when you children are teenagers - but it may depend on their personalities and interests!

The most isolated place I lived in was 250km from a big town/city. Had a supermarket and post office (and thankfully a library) but if you needed new clothes or shoes it was a 500 km round trip - and this was before internet shopping was available! Don't think I could have lived there long-term!

Original poster
hatwoman · 20/04/2008 09:52

you;re right grapefruit. it's not truly isolated. we can;t get up there to see the house for a couple of weeks. I really really want it now...

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smallwhitecat · 20/04/2008 09:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
hatwoman · 21/04/2008 17:43

what do you mean by Bronte land? if you mean Haworth, then no - it's Derbyshire. the village in question is where Charlotte stayed and based much of Jane Eyre. It's reputedly the village she called Morton. The house is about a mile from the house that was meant to be the basis of Thornfield. I know the area well - lived there until I was 19. but in a village. not oop on t' moors.

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alfiesbabe · 21/04/2008 19:38

Lovely for the moment, but hell on earth for teenagers, or even 9/10 yrs upwards I'd say. So only do it if you're SURE you will move back to civilisation before then. Our teenagers moan about just going to visit our isolated property for a week. No way would they live there!!

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