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Original poster

Country or city - Anyone happy in small village? Have to decide today!

26 replies

kerala · 23/04/2008 09:47

We have exchanged on our London house and just pulled out of our proposed purchase in a city in the south west for various good reasons. As we have to move in a few weeks we need to choose between rentals til we find somewhere to buy. Cant decide between:

Lovely old and gorgeously renovated cottage in small village near a lake with a shop, church and pub only. 3 miles from my parents who I get on with very well. 10 miles from sister and friends who live in city. Envisage lovely country summer. I will have a car. I am pretty self sufficient but would a village be too isolating? Also am 11 wks pregnant and with last pregnancy got SPD so may be hobbling about so be good to have parents so close to help with toddler.

Rent in city where I can walk (if am able to walk) to soft play/swimming etc like I do in London. But when I look at the rentals they look so squashed in and longing for open space of the country.

Aaargh need to decide today and have pregnancy brain so liable to make mad decision.

OP posts:

FluffyMummy123 · 23/04/2008 09:48

Message withdrawn

Dragonbutter · 23/04/2008 09:51

What about renting in the country to try it out? It can be isolating but depends entirely on the personalities involved.

saadia · 23/04/2008 09:51

First option sounds good to me, main advantage being proximity to parents but also sounds idyllic.

ecoworrier · 23/04/2008 09:56

Is there a mid-way option? Personally, I would always go for a small to medium town. I don't like city life, but also don't like being too isolated. I like being within walking distance of most day to day facilities, and an easy train ride to a bigger town or city for days out or more occasional activities.

A market town with easy access to both countryside and bigger facilities wins every time for me.

The first cottage sounds lovely but perhaps too isolated - would you spend your whole life driving in order to access day-to-day things?

Mercy · 23/04/2008 09:57

No contest imo - option 1 (I say that as a Londoner with no family nearby)

sleepycat · 23/04/2008 09:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

McDreamy · 23/04/2008 09:58

I would choose option 1

fairylights · 23/04/2008 10:00

I would def go for the first option - you won't be there forever and it will give you the chance to really suss out whether you would like to live in the countryside or in town (i think you had a thread about this a while ago?!) also wouldn't it be handy to have your parents close if you do get SPD?
Oooh i think option 1 sounds lovely

2sugarsagain · 23/04/2008 10:03

How old are your dc? Mine are 8 & 10 and it always bothers me when we drive through surrounding villages the amount of 'yoofs' collected around the post box/bus shelter/village shop/church, looking very, very bored.

fairylights · 23/04/2008 10:04

ps forgot to say, moving into a new city (having recently done it) can also feel a bit isolating til you really get to know people, and speaking as someone who grew up in a westcountry village, people really are usually v friendly and interested in newcomers, esp if you make an effort - you just might have to get used to it seeming a bit in your face and nosey if you are used to london!

Bramshott · 23/04/2008 10:05

I am blissfully happy in a small village, and we don't even have a pub or shop! Try it out!

ILikeToMoveItMoveIt · 23/04/2008 10:07

I would go with option 1.

I have lived in villages about 9 miles from a town, and in medium sized towns. I liked both, but my current situation is my favourite. I live in a small village with a few facilities, but the village is only about 2 miles from a medium sized town.

Living in a country village with town amenities 10 minutes drive away - utter bliss

Original poster

kerala · 23/04/2008 10:09

Dd 20 months and pregnant - so tiny. We are planning on buying eventually in village on very edge of town with bus service but not found right house yet so thinking of giving country living proper a go but while renting so not too bad if its not for us.

OP posts:

2sugarsagain · 23/04/2008 10:10

1 then

Mercy · 23/04/2008 10:10

Going from one child to 2 is very tiring ime so I think it would be good to have friends and family nearby. Plus with 2 little ones you don't go out as much as you think you will tbh (ime again!)

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 23/04/2008 10:33

I'd choose the village for all the reasons previously given.

Can you have shopping delivered? Is there a milkman? These are my 2 favourite things for 'how to make life easy when you have small children'!

Also, I don't think 10 miles from a city is isolated, it's only a 20-30 minute car trip.

bellavita · 23/04/2008 10:37

I live in a village - love it, pub, shop, butchers, primary school, can have milk delivered and papers too.

Lived here since DS1 was 16 months.

8ish miles from the city, 4ish miles to the nearest market town.

Gumbo · 23/04/2008 10:41

I live in a tiny country town (it has several shops and a few pubs so slightly bigger than a village). We moved here on a whim (mainly due to the prices - we could buy a large 4 bed house by a river for not much more than we sold our 3 bed terrace for).

We've been here 3 years now, and we're only now starting to 'fit in'. However, it's been well worth the slog and effort we've made to do so - the lifestyle can't be beaten!

So - defintely option 1! It's a no-brainer!

VanillaPumpkin · 23/04/2008 10:46

Oh option 1, but then I grew up in a village without even a shop. We did have a pub though....just. Bus service once a week that gave you 2 hrs in town if you wanted to get the return service .

Prufrock · 23/04/2008 10:49

When we first moved out of London I rented in a small town and hated it - none of the real amenities of a proper city, and none of the sense of community in a village - we then bought in a village 5 miles from a proper city, so culture and shopping are but a short drive away, but also have the small village school and the community and easy chance of making friends that a village brings. Agree with duch that having milk delivery is wonderful. You will find that there is a huge amount of soft play/M&T groups in the village halls of all teh surrounding villages, and if you have a car you'll be fine.

throckenholt · 23/04/2008 10:50

I would always choose the country.

But - for you - how about renting in the country - and then you will know whether it is a long term solution of not.

fairylights · 23/04/2008 13:12

vanillapumpkin - did you grow up the same village as me?! ditto on the bus service..
they now have a bus twice a DAY - the kids there don't know they're born

VanillaPumpkin · 23/04/2008 15:37

Twice a day . How very spoilt! .
Village was in Suffolk....

Fennel · 23/04/2008 15:41

We are very happy having moved to a small village (in the south west) from a big city, but it is on the edge of a little city and we can walk into the city if we feel energetic.

we get supermarket delivery and milkman.

I have been really impressed with how friendly our village is, people were very welcoming and it's been the opposite of isolating.

whereabouts are you moving to? we are near Exeter.

VanillaPumpkin · 23/04/2008 18:00

Ooh, I went to Uni in Exeter. Lovely part of the world!

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