Country Life Experiment

Simple Country Living

Hannah Talks About Tree Changing

A few weeks back I posted about some of the downsides of tree changing. Hannah and I were talking about the good and bad parts of moving to the country. Her perspective was different to mine, being a child, so I asked her if she wanted to be interviewed for my blog. She was initially reluctant, but later changed her mind.

I wrote some questions for her, and then she answered them. Here’s what she thinks…

What are the best things about living on the farm?

I like the trees because you can climb them. There is always lots to do and there is lots of space. There is lots of room to ride bikes. We are allowed to play where we want because there is no traffic.  I like the animals, particularly Jazz (the dog). I like living close to Nana and Pa.
I like being in a small school. There are 12 kids in my class. Because there is not many of us we are allowed to do lots of fun things like guitar and ukulele lessons, or listening to music at lunch. We each have an ipad for us to use at school. I love playing Alice Greenfingers.
I get to ride on the motorbikes with Dad.There is heaps of food in our garden so if you’re hungry you just pick something like a tomato or a strawberry. You don’t need to go inside to eat.
I’ve learnt lots about animals. Like dogs don’t sit by your feet and do nothing (like they do in the city). There are lots of different breeds of each animal.

 What things don’t you like about living on the farm?

Not being close to anyone else besides Nana and Pa. We are a long drive from my cousins and other grandparents. I can’t walk to my friends house like I used to. We can’t just walk to the shops if we need something. The other day I wanted to have some bread and honey with butter, but we were out of butter, so we had no butter until Mum or Dad went shopping. It always takes a whole day to go shopping. You have to get everything at the same time so the fridge goes from being too empty to too full.

What was the hardest part about moving from the city to the farm?

Not seeing my friends from my old school. It was hard to settle into a new school, because the schools taught some things differently and all the other kids already knew how my little school worked. I had to get used to lots of different grades in the one class room. The size of the playground is a lot smaller, and I didn’t know where to go.
I had to learn to handle animals. I used to be afraid of dogs before we moved here and would scream if they tried to lick me or jump on me. Now I love our animals.
I miss our old house, because I was used to it, and I have lots of memories from there.

 Where would you like to live the most? Why?

That’s really hard to choose. I wish you could just load them both on a truck and pull them together. I wish we were closer to the mountains. I do like here better now, but it took a while to adjust. I wish my friends from the mountains would move here! Now that I am used to living here, I think it would be hard to live in the suburbs again.

Is there a difference between city kids and country kids?

Kids in the country get to do more things. My friend got a motorbike when she was six. There is more to do outside. We don’t play with computer games much. Sometimes we have to help around the farm (though I don’t have to much) or go with our parents while they are doing farm work. In the country you have more freedom and learn to do more things.

Want to ask Hannah some more questions about tree changing? Do you have a question about our life? Ask away!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sally says

    Fabulous answers Hannah! Very well thought out and expressed.
    I have 2 sons and we have lived in Melbourne, Houston (USA), Ulsan (South Korea) and now back in Australia (Queensland). When I asked the boys where did they like to live the most, they said all the places were good once you got used to them. However, if I pushed for an answer where do you think they preferred? It was South Korea! The reason was they lived in a small community, went to a little school and had lots of freedom to be outside, explore and learn new things. Not that different from you maybe?

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  2. Kathy says

    Totally love the interview and her answers too….my kids had to move schools 2 suburbs away from the one we were at and they felt the same way adjusting to a new school where kids knew each other, everything was different and they knew no one….we are now into our 2nd year and of course they love it so the moving schools applies also to the city within the city vs the city vs the country…they miss their friends until they make new ones….I love that she loves animals that she was once afraid of because she didn’t know much about them and particularly love her going to the veggie patch when she is hungry…………a lovely post. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane

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  3. Cat from thatbettiething says

    Wow. That was fantastic. We are considering doing the same thing. I wonder about how the kids will go (though I do feel kids are much more robust than we give them credit for!). It was great to have a child's perspective. Thanks!

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  5. Katie says

    Great interview, Hannah! I enjoyed hearing your opinions, and you put things very clearly.
    When you get that truck to pull the farm and the mountains closer, could you pull them over this way a bit too? Then I could see you more – I'd like that!
    Katie

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  6. Fashionista says

    "I wish you could just load them both on a truck…." made me laugh out loud, such Country Kid phrasing! Great post, well done for getting your children's perspective. We go along making life changing decisions without really consulting our children (because, well, we're doing it for the "good of the family") and yet the impact on them is as great as anyone. Lovely positive outcome though 🙂

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  7. Joolz says

    I loved her very open answers and I bet it gave you an insight into how the tree change had affected her. Loved that she loves being outdoors and not on the computer all the time. I think your children are so lucky to be able to experience all of this, even if some of their friends and family are far away. Sounds like the idyllic way to bring up kids. To be able to play outside without the worry of traffic and strangers…

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