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Simple Country Living

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Will I Stay Or Will I Go???

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.

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

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nat - Muddy Farmwife says

    March 6, 2012 at 8:09 am

    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.

    Reply
  2. Annie says

    March 6, 2012 at 5:52 am

    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 😉

    Reply
    • Jo says

      March 6, 2012 at 6:54 am

      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!

      Reply
  3. Jess@Diary of a SAHM says

    March 6, 2012 at 4:46 am

    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!

    Reply
  4. Rhianna says

    March 6, 2012 at 4:24 am

    I am sure before long you will be wondering how you ever lived anywhere else 🙂

    Reply
  5. robyn says

    March 6, 2012 at 3:29 am

    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

    Reply
  6. Misha - TheBlingBuoy says

    March 6, 2012 at 2:48 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Jo says

      March 6, 2012 at 2:58 am

      Thanks Misha!

      Reply
  7. Yvette @ Delightfully Tacky says

    March 6, 2012 at 2:40 am

    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)

    Reply
    • Jo says

      March 6, 2012 at 2:58 am

      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.

      Reply
  8. Jo says

    March 5, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    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.

    Reply
  9. Natasha in Oz says

    March 5, 2012 at 9:34 pm

    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

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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