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Country Life Experiment

Simple Country Living

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Questions Answered: The Difference Between City And Country Lifestyles

So every now and then I get asked  a question about country living. Here is one from a few weeks back:

The idea of Australian country living fascinates me. We are entrenched in the city but have sampled a country life with a six month stay in the country when we first arrived here. It took no time at all to get lynched by the scarier local wildlife and a lot of effort to make friends. I was really glad to get to the city. The community seemed more embracing and the wildlife less likely to appear. That said, it is an increased crime rate and there are more obvious junkies (with their paraphernalia littering the street) how do you feel about the differences between the two lifestyles?

I’m not convinced that crime is the major problem that many news outlets would have us believe. The problem we do have is that social media makes things that happen rarely and far away seem like they happen near us all the time. Having said that, I also know it depends on which part of the city you live in. When we lived in the city, we were fortunate to live in a pretty good area. Yes there was some crime, and probably junkies etc too, but we didn’t see a lot of it. Here in the country there is crime too. A friend of ours had his brand new quad bike stolen earlier this year, and there has been a murder in one of the towns near by. I feel quite safe out here, but at the same time, I felt safe living where we did before.

In terms of making friends, yes it takes time, and yes it is hard to do. Heaven knows, we are not out going people, but we know we need to make an effort to get into the community. I am one of those people who tends to look at life how it is, and just get on with it, so my attitude is “since I am here I might as well get on with it, and make friends, and integrate”. I find that the locals are keen to welcome anyone who is willing to be involved in the community. At times I struggle with living in a small community, and I have a policy of not saying anything to anyone (other than CB) unless I am happy for the whole community to hear about it.

Possibly, having CB’s parents living near by, and CB growing up in the community has made our transition easier (but then again maybe not!).

I enjoy our current lifestyle (for the most part), but it has its draw backs too, (but then so does city life). When people here we have moved to the farm, the common expression is “you are living my dream”. Like all dreams, the reality is somewhat different. For me, I find it incredibly frustrating trying to get things our family needs like shoes and clothing. I used to be able to shop at end of season sales, and garage sales and have everything ready in advance of needing them. I internet shop a lot, but my inner frugalista hate paying full price (I used to get most things on end of season sales for the following year).

Of course the space and freedom for the kids, the bountiful supply of home grown food, and a husband who is in heaven, are just some of the benefits of the country life style.

If you want to read some of the other questions I have answered try here:
Where I talk about when our kids will have to leave home.
The how and why of once a month shopping
Why the simple life is not that simple
What my kitchen looks like

Do you have a question to ask? Want to know something about our life, me, or anything else for that matter?

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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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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…
A picture perfect Autumn afternoon to end the scho A picture perfect Autumn afternoon to end the school holidays. We’ve been busy spending time with friends and family, harvesting the last of the summer produce, as well as a short escape to explore the big smoke. After the craziness of last term it was the break we all needed. It’s back to school for me tomorrow, and the kids are back on Wednesday. Shearing starts soon and so it’s all systems go over the next few weeks.
Covid has made some late changes to our weekend pl Covid has made some late changes to our weekend plans so we are embracing the unexpected and doing not much at home. Plenty of time for hanging out on the dam and enjoy the perfect weather.

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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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