Moving from the city to the country.
Moving to the country or the "Bush" as we call it here in Australia is a huge lifestyle change!
G'day!
Have you been thinking of making a "tree change" and moving to a rural property or a farm? Want to escape from the rat race? Get back to nature? Live life at a slower pace?
After living in the city all my life, on the coast, near beautiful beaches and close to lots and lots of people and shops, I never imagined that I would one day move to a small country town, a long way from the city.
Here are just some of the things I took into consideration when I was looking for the right property for us to move to. I was basically looking for a hobby farm.
Location: If you have children, the distance to school is an important factor. Can the kids walk to school? Or is it too far to walk? Can you drive the kids to school and pick them up? Or is there a school bus service? When you move to the country, not everyone can live close to a school, especially if you live on a huge property.
Type of house: What sort of home do you want? Do you want a house that needs renovating and restoring? Do you have the time and the skills to renovate? Can you afford to pay a tradesman to do the work? You could build a new house but that can take a long time, even up to a year! Do you want to wait that long? It could work out cheaper to build yourself rather than to buy a house that has just been built. Do you want a brick house or one that is timber clad? Brick can cost more than timber but timber will need more ongoing maintenance, like painting.
How many bedrooms do you need? When you move away from your family and friends, you will lots of visitors and they can't always drive home because of the distance, so a guest bedroom is a must. It's not just your family and friends that will come to stay, it's your children's friends from the school that they went to that will come to stay as well.
Do you want a swimming pool? We moved to a town that has very hot summer's, up to 46 degrees Celsius! So we definitely wanted a pool. They are perfect for cooling off after a hard days work on the farm. It's also a great way to relax, freshen up, cool off, have fun and enjoy the outdoors instead of sitting inside with the air conditioning on.
Land: Do you want a huge property? or a house on a small plot? A few acres is ideal, after all you are going to be living in the countryside. Ten to thirty acres would be ideal to run some sheep or cows. If you don't have livestock to keep the grass down, you may need a small tractor or ride-on mower, depending on the size of your property. Or you may prefer to let things grow wild.
This will give you some things to think about when making that big step to move away from the city to the country. Good luck! I know you are going to be happy you made the move!
