The other day I asked on Facebook, whether there were any questions that people had about life in the country. One of my oldest friends from high school, commented that I appeared to be enjoying life down here, and had we decided whether to stay permanently or not.
We have been living in the country for two and a half months now, and all things considered, we are settling in pretty well. Country Boy is in his element – apparently all the space makes it easier to relax. He is loving having a giant vegetable garden, fishing, picking fruit off the side of the road and doing ‘country’ type things.
The kids are also loving the space to run around. They love picking vegetables, going on the motorbike with Country Boy, and feeding the chickens. Hannah has had a couple of stressful moments settling into school, but is generally going well.
I am generally settling in well too. I don’t know many people around here yet, so thank goodness for facebook which makes me feel a lot less isolated. It would be good to have some friends around here to spend time with though (I know these things take time). I am hoping that friends from the Blue Mountains will start coming down for visits soon too (we have a few booked in already which is exciting!). My job is generally going well, and I am enjoying working only part time.
We are still in the ‘honeymoon period’. Two months (one of which was a holiday anyway) is not long enough to work out whether this is going to work out well. I am not sure whether the novelty of pigs and chickens will wear off when we have to feed them in the freezing cold of winter, or whether the distance I commute to work might become too much.
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| So far the chickens are lots of fun! |
We haven’t yet worked out what to do about church. Going to church regularly is important to us, but so far we cannot decide what to do. The church in the village is not great, and we would be the only family with kids to attend. There is a good church in town, but it is a 35 minute drive to town, which limits our ability to be involved in many of it’s activities. Also after doing so much travelling during the week for work, I don’t really feel like spending more time in the car on the weekend. We really don’t know what to do about this issue!
Winter is also coming, and it is always COLD here. I am a warm climate person, and not being warm for several months is enough to send me back to the mountains (which are not cold where we lived). Next week we are installing a new slow combustion fire to try and make our house warmer.
I definitely miss the convenience of living in the mountains, and running into people when I am out and about (the sheep don’t seem to remember me from time to time). The mountains had everything I needed near by. I am actually planning to visit soon, so that I can stock up on clothes etc at shops I know (which sounds ridiculous I know).
Then there is the financial side of things… so far we are going well with Country Boy and I both working part time, but the reality is that to stay here long term, we need to be able to get ahead financially. If we were were to stay our house would need a rather large upgrade – particularly the kitchen. I am a bit afraid that if we stay here, our money will get swallowed up by things we need to live on the farm – trucks, tractors, sheds etc, and we won’t get to do so many of the other things we want to do. I am really keen to visit my sister who lives in South East Asia next year, but it may not be possible.
Whether we stay or go is still a decision to be made. Either way, 2012 is a year for us to take time out as a family and try something new. If we can resolve our concerns we will probably stay, if we can’t, well we will have had a great adventure for the year!
This post has turned in a bit of a brain dump. There are so many considerations. I hope I have (kind of) answered the question!
Do you have a question? Something you want to know about me, or life in the country? Leave a comment with your question and I will answer ASAP!
Linking up with Jess from Diary of a SAHM for IBOT
Wow, lots of thoughts, lots of positives and negatives.
At the end of the day it's what suits you all as a family and what is best for you and your family.
I love living in the country, despite being originally from the city, it's a great place to raise kids.
We live 30mins out of town, so limit our trips to town, making our own fun or keeping the farm going.
Hope the path becomes clearer for you as time goes on.
I live in a small country village about 40 mins from canberra, and i too am having issues on the Church front. There are 2 in the village (one Catholic and one Anglican)neither of which are very family oriented. I feel your pain, and am slotting you into my church finding prayers 😉
Hey Annie, are you north or south of Canberra? The church we like the most is about half an hour north of Canberra – email me if you are interested!
I can understand the church frustration; it's not just on Sunday's it's about getting involved during the week two.
I suppose too, soon you won't think nothing if driving those distances; it'll just be what you do!
I am sure before long you will be wondering how you ever lived anywhere else 🙂
That is a difficult decision! But at least you have time to make it. And 35 minutes isn't too far. We used to travel an hour each way to get to church on Sunday, but I think church is one of those things that is worth it. Good luck with it all xxx
My father was brought up on a farm and as kids we used to spend weekends visiting my grandparents, which was an amazing experience. I think it takes a while to get into the social networks, but once you do they are pretty supportive and may even help you find answers to some of the questions you are pondering! Good luck!
Thanks Misha!
oh wow.. its hard decision to make and only you and your family can make it! I would love to move to the countryside.. I would also love to make more friends around here – after 7 years in the UK – previous friends have moved on and not in contact anymore.. it gets a little lonely.. but I would see if there are any sport/music/drama groups to join for the kids, perhaps see if there are any cooking or crafting groups?
I love reading your blog.. wishing I was in the countryside (suburbian Perth here)
Thanks for the ideas and encouragement Yvette. It definitely takes a while to settle into a new place. We are just so lucky that we get to try out this experiment.
Thanks for the thought Natasha – I have been toying with the idea of putting some ads on here, but am really torn. I love the idea of extra income but also love the independence of doing it on my own.
Oh boy, that is a big question! I can see why you are so torn. I guess you might have already made up your mind? I am sure that whatever decision you make it will be made with lots of care, prayer and love.
I'm not sure if you would consider this but you could try Google ads on your blog for a little extra income? I am gobsmacked at how little you have to do to get a bit of money from your blog!
Take care and I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.
Best wishes,
Natasha In Oz