How Did You Make Your Move To The Country?

southerncomfort said:
Can I ask a slightly sensitive question? For those that have moved to Ireland / Scotland / Wales from England....did you ever encounter any anti-english sentiments?
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I did get some abuse in Edinburgh one time (I am from Cambridge). I lived in a posh part of town and was wearing riding clobber as just back from a lesson. The bloke giving me abuse didnt see may ancient Polo (seriously, it was an old A reg) or was to know I lived in a very dusty attic for £100 pcm as a student lol. So I was getting in the neck for being posh and English. A lovely older woman came to my' rescue' and told him where to go. I have had more abuse for being posh (in England and Scotland) than I ever have for being English. And I married a Weeg. I now live pretty rural and everyone has been very welcoming and friendly.

Thats not to say it doesnt exist, not everyone in the world loves the English (my FiL occasionally needs reminding I am English lol). I've heard anti-English sentiment when I lived in the US, in Wales and in Australia. Just deal with it and move on-also dont believe what you read in the press about the Scots/English 'divide' either! Its an amazing place to live, wouldnt live anywhere else now.
 
My fingers are crossed that we will get a good valuation on our property when the estate agent comes out tomorrow.
Then it will be a giant leap of faith. In my hands I have the details of some lovely properties. Wonderful Coastal Smallholding-Lovely 15 Acre Smallholding-Smallholding Set in an Idyllic Rural Location-Character 15 acre Country Holding.I know estate agent spiel but still it is so exciting as this is my dream. Thankfully my OH comes from a farming family, so hopefully we will be able to see the pitfalls and not make to many giant mistakes. Life is for living to the full, it would be quite easy to stay in suburbia to worried about the "what if's?
I hope you find your perfect property and go for it!
 
We moved out to where it was affordable (turning commute of 25 min into one of 55min), and also bought a property needing renovation....

Don't regret it at all, and have been there for 15 years now :)

FIona
 
southerncomfort said:
Can I ask a slightly sensitive question? For those that have moved to Ireland / Scotland / Wales from England....did you ever encounter any anti-english sentiments?
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This was a concern for me when we moved. I lived in Wales for a few years (many years ago) and there was a fair amount of passive hostility, not invited to community events, switching the conversation to Welsh when you walk in the local shop etc. I haven't had any at all here in Ireland though.

The attitude in general to immigrants (e.g. Polish) is very different here to the attitutude in Somerset, even though they are both quite similar in many other ways. In Somerset there was a fair amount of hostile "taking all our jobs" type talk, which you don't get here at all. Rural ireland is still under-populated and loses a lot of younger people to the US, UK and Dublin so "blow-ins" (as we are called) are very welcome, especially young(ish) ones with jobs and kids.

I think our choice of property helped there too, I'm forever coming across people locally with a connection to it (parent/grandparent was born there, spent a holiday there etc) and they are all pleased its not derelict or knocked down.
 
southerncomfort said:
Can I ask a slightly sensitive question? For those that have moved to Ireland / Scotland / Wales from England....did you ever encounter any anti-english sentiments?
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We moved from Cornwall to Scotland, albeit countryside to countryside! Not had a problem at all :)

Good luck with the big move when it happens :)
 
I usually find the further north you go the nicer the people are so never found any descrimination. Lived in Scotland for years lived in Lincolnshire for longer but still consider Scotland my home. Find southerners a lot more prickly
 
We were lucky with the housing market - bought our first small house in a village when prices were rock bottom, sold 5 years later for over double. Sold the next one, also in a village at a lesser profit having improved and extended, but along with an inheritance, selling that one allowed us to buy a run down 3 bed bungalow with 3 acres 2 years or so ago. We had to take out a second mortgage to do it up, and we still have loads to do - we spent way more than our budget and haven't even scratched the surface of the outside/fencing/outbuildings. However, we count our blessings every day because we are surrounded by lovely countryside, no near neighbours, and the horses/chickens are very content.

We could have got a lot more for our money if we'd moved area - but we had kids in a good local school, and GCSEs underway. Our plan is to move once we retire, maybe to Wales or Devon.
 
When I packed in working with horses in the south east I had a mad five minutes that involved calling a university in the West Midlands and somehow got myself accepted on an engineering degree....and then I set up camp in the most rural place I could find within a 45minute drive. I went to the pub a lot and fully embraced my new role as the village outsider with a posh accent.

10 years on there is nowhere in world I would rather be than my funny little adopted home, and somehow I even managed to get my city dwelling, south east loving parents to move up here. One year on they have admitted that they thought they had made a mistake at first, but can't believe how much they love it now.
 
Really glad I started this thread. And Laura's blog has now made us expand the areas we are looking in to include Ireland! ;) We both have family in Northern Ireland so wouldn't be a complete unknown for us. :)

Will keep you updated!
 
Sorry to jump on this thread, but how have people found moving out the area they are originally from?

OH and O would love to move away to somewhere that we have more space and land for horses and a bigger garden for the dogs, but I cant bring myself to do it out of the worry of not knowing anyone (ridiculous I know). OH is a lorry driver so moving away isn't an issue for his job.

My ultimate dream is to live in the countryside with a detached house and plenty of outside space - but how do you bring yourself to actually do it?
We live in a Kent village so we aren't exactly in a built up area, but its VERY expensive and getting more and more built up!
 
Although I already live in the country, I am looking to move to a different part of the UK but keep to the countryside. I guess mine will be a slightly easy one as it will be for work once I've finished my degree so will be meeting locals almost straight away, added bonus is I'm looking to work within equine nutrition so nearly everyone will be as horse crazy as me :D
 
0310Star said:
My ultimate dream is to live in the countryside with a detached house and plenty of outside space - but how do you bring yourself to actually do it?
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I moved to Ednburgh from Newmarket without really knowing anyone but then I've moved away from 'home' several times in my life-always without knowing anyone.So I dont really understand the question lol, but accept that I never considered 'home' where I should be and have never felt any strong family ties . I always hankered to live on a moor with no neighbours, now I do.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
I moved to Ednburgh from Newmarket without really knowing anyone but then I've moved away from 'home' several times in my life-always without knowing anyone.So I dont really understand the question lol, but accept that I never considered 'home' where I should be and have never felt any strong family ties . I always hankered to live on a moor with no neighbours, now I do.
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I mean to actually bring yourself to move... I find some lovely houses and lovely places then I chicken out due to the unknown!! lol
 
Yep, you're totally right! Maybe its because I am close with my family, I don't know, but I don't want to be stuck in the same place forever.

If I went further north, for the same price I paid for my 2 bed semi detached house I could get a 3/4 bed detached house with a couple acres! I don't know why I keep chickening out...
 
As MoC above, I have never had an issue moving to a new area....but then my parents did it a lot when we were kids so I'm used to being the outsider with a funny mash-up accent that nobody can quite place.
Seriously though, if you want it, do it. Put your house on the market, find somewhere you want to live and go there - seize the day and all that :D
 
0310Star said:
Yep, you're totally right! Maybe its because I am close with my family, I don't know, but I don't want to be stuck in the same place forever.
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My parents moved when I was 8-from Surrey to Suffolk. I am quite fond of Suffolk but never really understood why I should stay there just because they chose it. And noone could pay me enough to move back to Surrey (sorry Surrey poeple). I am not sure mum was best pleased when she realised I wasnt coming back down south but then I never said I would and she's lucky it wasnt Australia frankly. My father dies before that and I am not close to my brother. My niece is young enough to get up here often enough herself. I left home at 16, I've always been very self reliant (or antisocial ;) )

I wont fib though, being away from parents when they are very elderly is hard work and expensive. And also, not sure if you have/want kids or not but being very rural with kids is also hard work and expensive.
 
I spoke to OH last night and we discussed maybe renting our house out and then going somewhere new for a couple years (or until we decide we want to return - if ever)
Because of where we live, we would have to move a good 2+ hours to get a cheaper standard of living so job changes etc would be in tow.

I like Norfolk but it doesn't seem as easy to get somewhere with land, not as much as it would be further north anyway. Cumbria looks beautiful although I have never been!

Anything advice on things we need to look for when researching places?
 
0310Star said:
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I like Norfolk but it doesn't seem as easy to get somewhere with land, not as much as it would be further north anyway....
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There are ports of Norfolk that are still cheap - like towards Yarmouth, and Kings Lynn, but the rest is not cheap and even with the dualling of the A11 is still a pain to get to/from if you need to travel outside of the county.

I'm trying to persuade my brother to move up north - his commute from Bexleyheath to inner London, is longer by 20 mins that it would be from where I am in Cheshire. What he paid for his place, he could by a very nice smallholding with plenty of land for horses.

We missed out on a project farm because OH dragged his heels. In fairness though, it's worked out for the better as we are in a house that is massive (albeit no land at all), but we are very comfortable with the mortgage we have and are not stretched like we would've been. But this is why I'm trying to persuade the Brother to move up here :D
 
Nugget La Poneh said:
There are ports of Norfolk that are still cheap - like towards Yarmouth, and Kings Lynn, but the rest is not cheap and even with the dualling of the A11 is still a pain to get to/from if you need to travel outside of the county.

I'm trying to persuade my brother to move up north - his commute from Bexleyheath to inner London, is longer by 20 mins that it would be from where I am in Cheshire. What he paid for his place, he could by a very nice smallholding with plenty of land for horses.

We missed out on a project farm because OH dragged his heels. In fairness though, it's worked out for the better as we are in a house that is massive (albeit no land at all), but we are very comfortable with the mortgage we have and are not stretched like we would've been. But this is why I'm trying to persuade the Brother to move up here :D
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Can I ask why you decided to move? Was it purely for a more comfortable lifestyle or work etc?

I hate the fact that where I live we are packed in Sardines, barely any garden and costs a fortune...
 
0310Star said:
Can I ask why you decided to move? Was it purely for a more comfortable lifestyle or work etc?

I hate the fact that where I live we are packed in Sardines, barely any garden and costs a fortune...
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Work. OH was working up here and was commuting back to Norfolk. After about 6 weeks of it taking him about 9 hours to get home on a Friday I made the decision to move up here as my job and horse are moveable, whereas as OH's job limits where in the UK he can work.

It's only in the last couple of months that I have really started to miss being in Norfolk, well Norwich. And the beach.

But it takes us less time to get to London from here though, despite being 100miles further north :D
 
Nugget La Poneh said:
Work. OH was working up here and was commuting back to Norfolk. After about 6 weeks of it taking him about 9 hours to get home on a Friday I made the decision to move up here as my job and horse are moveable, whereas as OH's job limits where in the UK he can work.

It's only in the last couple of months that I have really started to miss being in Norfolk, well Norwich. And the beach.

But it takes us less time to get to London from here though, despite being 100miles further north :D
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Ahh ok! We are lucky as OH can work anywhere being a lorry driver, but I guess its a case of working out where we want to live. OH says anywhere as long as it isn't where we are now (easy!) but I think I really need to give it some thought!
 
0310Star said:
Ahh ok! We are lucky as OH can work anywhere being a lorry driver, but I guess its a case of working out where we want to live. OH says anywhere as long as it isn't where we are now (easy!) but I think I really need to give it some thought!
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I'm quite nomadic, so for me if I can afford it I move. I've yet to be particularly attached to a property, and while I miss Norwich and the beach, I reckon I would soon be bored of it if I was to move back!

I was really hoping that we could move to Italy as OH was offered an interview (with a 85% guaranteed offer chance) near Modena, but again, he got spooked so dragged it out so that's not happening for a while :D
 
Nugget La Poneh said:
I'm quite nomadic, so for me if I can afford it I move. I've yet to be particularly attached to a property, and while I miss Norwich and the beach, I reckon I would soon be bored of it if I was to move back!

I was really hoping that we could move to Italy as OH was offered an interview (with a 85% guaranteed offer chance) near Modena, but again, he got spooked so dragged it out so that's not happening for a while :D
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Wow, Italy sounds wonderful!!

Thing is, I've never lived anywhere else so its a scary thought BUT I don't want to look back and regret... My ultimate dream is New Zealand, its my most favourite place in the world but that really is a big move lol
 
In the spirit of updating threads....! :D

OH has been offered a job in a place that will finally allow us to achieve our dream of buying a country property and keeping the horses at home! Will update again with more details once we know exactly where we are moving to. I will no doubt be picking brains re: vets/farriers etc too.

Exciting times! :)
 
Moved from Leicester to Northumberland for my job. Have not yet acquired the land but live in a sizeable cottage in a (not so popular) village outside Alnwick with views of the sea. Plan is to upgrade to a house with land in a few years, which we can do easily for the same amount of money as my parents 4 bed detached house in the Leicester suburbs cost.

I've never really been a townie, lived on the very edge of one (as in fields started behind garden) through my childhood but there is something about the wilds of Northumberland that I feel most at home with.
 
southerncomfort said:
In the spirit of updating threads....! :D

OH has been offered a job in a place that will finally allow us to achieve our dream of buying a country property and keeping the horses at home! Will update again with more details once we know exactly where we are moving to. I will no doubt be picking brains re: vets/farriers etc too.

Exciting times! :)
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congrats :)
 
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