Moving to the Country: Is it For You?

You might have a dream about moving to the country but living out of the city isn’t all cows softly mooing in the background or collecting fresh eggs in a wicker basket. Moving to the country is not a decision that should be made quickly. In fact, I know quite a few people who’ve made the ‘tree-change’ only to move back to the city a year or so later. Read on to find out how we made the move and why moving to the country is the best thing we ever did. Plus, a few tips to help you decide if a rural life is REALLY for you.

Mr GGF and I wanted a country life for as long as I can remember. You can read about it in the post, OUR COUNTRY DREAM. As I said then, we’ve always wanted a country home. However, I’m pretty sure we were living in fantasyland. Though I love the country life now, I don’t think we would have coped with moving to the country earlier. There’s a lot of work involved behind the scenes to create this idyllic country life.

Why Moving To the Country Has Been Good For Us

Country life is not for everyone but for us, it’s been the best move we ever made. Despite the fact my friends would describe me as possibly the life of the party, I find mingling with groups of people I don’t know challenging – though I love a good music festival or big sporting event. The noise of inane pointless chatter is not something I enjoy, so being in the teachers’ workroom at school is not a part of my day I look forward to. (Gosh, I sound like a complete grump!) For this reason, the quiet of the farm is heaven to me. Being in lockdown recently has been like the perfect dream.

What Living In the Country Means to US

For Mr. GGF, the country dream has meant a return to his childhood. He loves animals and the garden. He loves being outside and having something to do with his hands. He’s often told me he doesn’t think he’d cope well being cooped up on a suburban block. He liked the city when our children were young but that was because we were always out visiting or taking the children places, going to parks and rugby games. We spent little time in our yard at home unless we were entertaining. Being on the farm is Mr. GGF’s dream. He can build, care for our animals and walk the fields every day.

Another reason country life has been our best move ever is the chance we have to become more sustainable and self-sufficient. We’ve wanted to create a smaller footprint in the world and live more sustainably for a while now. Being on the farm means we can raise animals for food and grow fruit and vegetables. We know what the animals have been fed and how they’ve been looked after. We know our food has been grown without pesticides. Having more time at home has enabled us to try preserving, jam making and beekeeping. Yes, we could have done it in the city but the space was very limited.

My Top Tips if You’re Considering Moving to the Country

• Decide On Your Non-Negotiables: And I do mean NON- NEGOTIABLES! The area needs the services you require. Top of our list was within an hour of the city. This was followed by close proximity to a pub, cafes, doctor etc. Our little town is a ten-minute walk from the farm and has all this, plus a post office, hardware, mini supermarket and butcher! Because, I mean, we want the rural life but we don’t want to live in the middle of nowhere! Your must-have list might be totally different from ours.
• DO YOUR RESEARCH! I know people who have moved to an area without investigating what it’s like. They then discover the next-door neighbours have an ugly collection of cars, there is no employment and if they love Zumba the nearest class is an hour away. One way to research the area, other than visiting, of course, is to talk to some locals. Go to the local shops or bakery and chat with people. It’s amazing what you can find out.
• The distance from a city and your friends should play a big part in your decision. We have friends who wanted a farm life but decided against it because they can’t live without constant social interaction and think an hour is too far to drive to go shopping. It doesn’t bother me. Shopping is now a fun event, not something I do every weekend. And seeing friends is something I make a point of. I’d rather have my country home and have to drive than live in the city. Likewise, your job may affect the location you decide on.

• Think About the Type of Property You Want. Will you build, renovate or do you just want to move in and live the good life? If you’re going to build, it could cost more to hire a rural builder. You will need to factor this in. Then there’s the problem of actually finding a builder when you know nobody in the area. It’s no point finding the house of your dreams if you can’t fix it up.
• Does your Country Dream Involve Raising Animals? Like getting a puppy, people dream of chickens and sheep or a herd of cows. The reality is the animals have babies, get sick, jump fences and possibly die. You have to be prepared for a steep learning curve where livestock is concerned and for the fact you might never get to have a holiday away from your land. Let’s face it, getting someone to housesit an entire farm of animals won’t be easy.
• Think About What You want to Grow and the Type of Land this Requires. Many farms in Australia have little or no access to water. some have been in drought for years. If you want your home to provide an income this will be a factor.
• How handy Are You? And What are you Willing To Learn? We love doing things ourselves but there are still tasks we outsource because we’d rather have it done properly. Finding trades to come to rural areas is a NIGHTMARE!!! So, if you don’t have a DIY bone in your body and no inclination to learn, the country life might not be for you.

All that said, whether you choose to come to the country or not, the place you live should be one you love. We love our home and wouldn’t trade it for the world!