Who has moved to the country from a city and been very happy they did?

[NormaJeanBaker]

We have had an offer accepted on a place two miles from the sea surrounded by fields. I am a Londoner and had considered VERY carefully all the drawbacks for me - have thought about and discussed it for six years and hear all the negative stuff all the time. Who has done this and wonders why the hell they didn't do it years ago? Happy stories from people who are glad they moved!!!

We moved from central London, to a Midlands village about 5 years ago. It is lovely and I don't miss London except for friends and occasional shopping nostalgia. You do need to get stuck into some local activities to make connections and build up friendships - do you like sailing by any chance?

Maybe not relevant, but some relatives of ours relocated to a remote area in Scotland after a rather traumatic experience. They had an open mind about it, in the end they moved back to be nearer family after a few years, but it was the right thing to be there for that time and a really excellent experience. Good luck!

Am in NE Fife, hatwoman! We're no even in a touristy bit, but the cafe is fab. We also have lovely children's shop selling gorgeous wooden toys, poncy florists, fancy hairdressers and a SPAR.

oh ok. so I can;t remotely play a northern card then

so. next week. I go in. and check out the cafe for evidence of capuccino and take aways?

am I allowed to walk the dog whilst sipping my capuccino? or do I have to hurry home to my desk?

we have an art gallery too. and in fact we have anotehr cafe that does rather good chips.

next village has a florist and a shop selling wooden toys. (and a michellin starred restaurant).

You have an art gallery, and are within spitting distance of the fancy restaurant? The cafe will do cappuccino!

Bray? no way. much more earthy.

It's a funny mix round here. the next village has got a bit of a yummy mummy reputation. ours is more mixed. and the cafe is very tea-room.

the art shop thing is not that uncommon - and, tbh. a wee bit sad - they are there, I presume, for the tourists, usually in what were once village shops. it's not touristy touristy round here but has, I believe, one of the highest levels of day tourists of the National Parks because of its proximity to 2 big cities. the nearby market town, imho, has gone all twee in the last 10-20 years. too many gift shops.

btw "gallery" is pushing it a bit. shop is probably what I meant

Thanks for all your comments. I am not sick of London at all - I love it unashamedly and always will I imagine. I am a Londoner, as were my parents and all grandparents so there is a lot of family history here in the street names etc (of the East End). But we can't afford the space we would like here - we have three young children. The children would be outside all day if they could - in all weathers. DH works from home and all is good for us on that front at the moment although could change of course - but that could happen anywhere anytime. I already know what I will miss I think but the reality is since we've had children we don't go out in the way we did - not together. We have friends who babysit but the going rate for other sitters is £10 per hour so don't go out much at all. We are lucky to have access to my brother in law's place in central London to stay whenever so can still come for weekends and in holidays to do 'cultural things' although there is plenty going on in a less obviously glam way elsewhere and I think an open mind is what gives us our richest experiences anyway. DH and I are outgoing and tend to make friends quite easily - or new acquaintances who might become friends at least so not worried about that.

I went to university by the sea in Scotland and I miss the lovely coast - winter and summer - even though it's 15 years since then and I feel uplifted by the sea more than anywhere else. All my family connections in London are nostalgic now - my brother and his family are thinking of heading out in the next couple of years too and the rest of my family has died so the memories are sometimes too raw and fresh fields, pastures new feel healthy to me. I think it's worth a try for us but lots of my London friends so perceive me as the 'true Londoner' amongst us - most are from elsewhere originally - and are sceptical - so I wanted to hear other people's positive experiences. I do love the city even the run down grimey side but I also grew up going to school in the centre but with Epping Forest close by at weekends and was just as at home on my uncle's Yorkshire farm so I have been on roads without pavements before! I don't expect all to be instant perfection but we are ready to work at it.

FLEECY - A couple of miles inland near to Sheringham along the coast from Holt.

NormaJean - I wasn't sick of London either. In fact, paradoxically, it was the fact that dh and I weren't sick of it that led us to move. We had always thought that at some stage we would move - and sub-consciously we were waiting to be sick of it. But it dawned on us a year or so ago that if we waited for that it was never going to happen. At the same time we realised that dds were the right age for a bit of countryside - young enough to adapt, old enough to appreciate it and have some extra freedoms because of it. so we kept our house in London (supposed to be renting it out but no-one seems to want it. bit of a bummer) and have rented one up here for two years - the idea being we can re-assess them and decide what to do for the longer term. However, having said that I wasn;t sick of London, I am increasingly thinking that it would be really hard to go back.

Sheringham is lovely a nice high street, the Lobster pub, great times sitting in the garden eating pub grub!

I think it is ok if you don't move to a small provincial town and really go for the country village thing full on.Because if you don't go far enough from your original life like we did you can really miss it

I agree NoddyH - I don't want a sort of watered down version of a city - go for the whole change or stay here. And I do think I'm more likely to regret not trying than finding in a couple of years we gave it a go and then wanted to come back. I had the best of both worlds in the part of London where I grew up but can't give that to my children without moving. Got to be good to pick them up from school on a summer afternoon and go to the beach. Hatwoman - think I will feel as you do but good to have your perspective from wher you are now.

Def.
Moved from sth manchester to Glossop, north Peak District, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Fresh air, view all around, excellent walking and biking stuff all around. M/c a 40 min train ride away. and so much a better environment for dd to grow up in. It's a small town with a vilaagey feel to it.
Downside is the friends bit. Much less contact now - more email and the ocassional meet up with the m/c crew, but have new friends here now as well.

"Got to be good to pick them up from school on a summer afternoon and go to the beach". It's heaven going to the beach whenever you get the whim - midwinter in snowsuits for dd. I think you may recognise our beach, from the description of your university years! DD's nursery is 50 yards from the sea, so they go for walks on the beach, collecting shells. etc. I don't think I could live far from the sea again.

We did it three years ago, and are very happy, although we're not in the middle of the countryside, but in a small town full of refugees from the city.

One thing that did strike me though, is that my DH works from home too (one of the reasons that we could do this) and he has found it a bit hard to meet new people, esp as he has no desire to play 5-a-side football, which seems to be the only way blokes are allowed to do this. So it might be worth thinking about ways round this. I'm the main childcarer, so have met various mums, plus go out to work one day a week and talk to people there, but he doesn't quite know where to start.

I agree with other people too who say that they go back to London and don't like it very much. We also have a 'bolthole' - a friend's C London, toddler friendly flat which we borrow once a year when she is away, but tbh I don't even know if we'll do that this summer

You will be OK in Nth Norfolk - tis Chelsea-on-Sea come summer time. Parts are expensive though. You want to move somewhere like Kings Lynn where you can really get bang for your buck.

(Seriously? Nth Norfolk's fab, but if you have DCs, think about schools. Bit of a mixed bag.)

"I'm the main childcarer, so have met various mums, plus go out to work one day a week and talk to people there, but he doesn't quite know where to start."

We've taken to inviting a few friends I've met through toddlers' etc over for early dinner, and taking it in turns - the girls entertain each other, we have lots of fun, and DH and the other men have really hit it off, are arranging to go to the pub, go running etc.

Habbibu - that's a good idea - thanks everyone!