Thank you to everyone who left a comment yesterday. It was really interesting to hear your stories and experiences. The edge of a town/village sounds ideal but I would be worried that it wouldn't remain that way. When we moved here we were on the outskirts of the city surrounded by fields and quiet lanes but within walking distance of the city. It was ideal. Now every field between us and the city has been built on, the city has engulfed us. The fields are gone forever along with the creatures who lived there. The quiet lanes where we used to walk our dog are now rat runs for people driving into the city, you risk life and limb if you walk along them. The quiet footpath that runs beside our house that we walk along to get to the woods is now covered in dog poo as people on the new estate use it as their dog toilet. Even the beautiful path through the woods (owned by a nature reserve otherwise I am sure they would have ploughed it up and built on it) is covered in dog poo, beer cans and other rubbish. It breaks my heart. They are about to build a few hundred more houses and a supermarket near us, making it even harder for us to get around as the traffic will increase even more. I love my house and garden, if I could pick them up and move them I would. It is also worth mentioning that the 'city' I live in is probably the size of a big town anywhere else. It is our only city in Cornwall, and it is a beautiful little city with lovely parks. It is the thousands of houses being built around it, gobbling up the green fields and the huge increase in traffic that upsets me so much. They cram as many houses as they can on the sites with no thought to where children can play or designated areas for people to walk dogs. The greed of house builders has ruined the outskirts of the city. Their so called 'affordable homes' are not affordable to our young people. They are building hundreds of so called family homes with very small gardens and no play areas, so the children are on the streets. How the hell do the planners/builders or whoever else makes the decisions get away with this! OK rant over.
Although I grew up in a town, we have lived out in the country, though it was a few years ago now. I never worried about safety/security but I don't know how I would feel now if OH was away on business and I was on my own. There is an awful lot to think about.
I can relate to what you are saying Frugally Challanged and Sue. OH elderly parents still live on the farm he grew up on. His father can't drive anymore, I don't know how much longer his mother will be able to. They are miles from any shops, their doctor and there is no bus service. They will become very isolated when they can't drive. But they are adamant they will not move.
Our move out to the country will not be our last move. When we are getting to the time when we can't cope with the land or driving becomes an issue then we plan to move back into a town. I don't want to have to rely on my children, I want to have my independence and be able to get to the shops etc either by walking or on a bus route. An apartment overlooking the sea, where there is no maintenance to worry about would be perfect, and if we become immobile we can still have the view of the sea. Now we just have to find somewhere we can afford that ticks all the boxes. It may take a while!
Louise, it is so hard for people to get their feet on the first step of the home buying ladder. We moved around rented accommodation before living in a caravan for three years to save for a deposit on a house. Our children have also found it hard. Our eldest son has a flat through the shared housing scheme, part buy part let. It was the only way he could afford his own place. I hope things work out for you xx
Angry Parsnip asked about the gluten free cheese scone recipe. It is in the BBC Good Food Gluten Free book. I can't find that recipe on line for you so I will post it on here.
We had this vegetable pie last night and it was delicious, but you know what the best bit about it was? It included vegetables that I had grown, that gives me huge pleasure, another reason to have more space around us.
I have had two phone calls today, one telling me a virus is downloading to my computer every time I use it. Obviously they didn't listen to me last time when I gave them a piece of my mind. The other telling me that they had received my details after I had been involved in a no fault vehicle accident. What a load of lying gits!! Makes me furious!
I am back at work tomorrow after 7 weeks, 6 of those on sick leave after my operation. I am feeling a bit nervous about it. I'm finding I get very tired just being at home, so will be tired and grumpy tomorrow evening!
Chickpea xx
Welcome to Elizabeth :)
It's so frustrating when I read a blog post on my phone and have to wait until I am on the laptop to answer because what I want to say needs a proper keyboard where my fingers can fly, and not those teeny-tiny, minute alpabetically marked symbols on my "smart" phone.
ReplyDeleteRMan and I moved to our rural smallholding at a time when most people retire. We made sure that we had a hospital (and doctors) nearby, and a town close enough to visit once a week to replenish our pantry cupboard.
The peace and quiet, the "solitude" (although we have neighbours roughly a kilometre away), the freedom of the size of our smallholding - I wouldn't trade those for a spot in a town again without a major battle. No police sirens, no noisy neighbours, no noisy parties, no beggars ringing the doorbell, no pollution, very few vehicles travelling passed our plot - it really is wonderful. If (and when) we get to the stage that we need a "Shady Pines" situation I'm not sure what we are going to do. We have become spoilt on our smallholding. And surely, that is what life is about - enjoying it, as opposed to putting up with less than the best. Especailly as we get older. If you are able, I would advocate moving out of town. If you need assistance (labourer for heavy work) I'm sure that there will be a local from your closest village who would be willing to help out - and there are also WOOFERS ( http://www.wwoof.net/ )
P.S. Good luck with the return to work - take it easy and one day at a time.
ReplyDeleteBy the way - that veggie pie looks delicious :)
I have had phone calls saying we have a virus on the computer, when I say who would you like to speak to they won't answer, we are ex directory, so I don't know where they got the number, I gave them a few choice words before they hung up on me. We have just had the heating on for an hour this afternoon, as it really did feel cold.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on all the things in your rant!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response too. Your veggie pie looks so good, is that gluten free too? I meant to ask about the scone recipe as my Dave can't eat wheat. I don't do a lot of baking as we don't have the space to store ingredients, but I do collect recipes as one day I hope to have my own kitchen!
We've had the same computer call. I wasted quite a lot of his time asking for his telephone number and offering helpfully to ring him back because I wasn't near the computer. It went on for quite a while until he eventually hung up on me. He hasn't rung back :o) My son tells them he won't be a moment and is going to get me then leave the phone hanging.
ReplyDeleteThe vegetable pie looks delicious. It's wonderful that you're able to include vegetables you grew yourself - I bet they taste even better. :)
ReplyDeleteThose phone calls and texts drive me nuts too. I had a call yesterday to advise me on claiming for injury due to a no-fault accident. I actually hit a concrete bollard on a car park. Who do I sue? The bollard??
ReplyDeleteThat pie looks delish...
I really enjoyed reading this post and your previous one, as it's something we've thought about a lot, but for us the cities are where the jobs are, so that dictates our future moves to a certain extent. Part of me would love to live in the country but I don't think this will ever really happen. I hope you make the move that suits you best. And those veg pies look delicious! x
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post and your previous one, as it's something we've thought about a lot, but for us the cities are where the jobs are, so that dictates our future moves to a certain extent. Part of me would love to live in the country but I don't think this will ever really happen. I hope you make the move that suits you best. And those veg pies look delicious! x
ReplyDeleteGood luck going back to work - I'm sure you'll be fine once you get back into it. Where we live is so far out that there will come a point when we can no longer manage here so we'll have to look for a happy medium, or move into the village again. xx
ReplyDeleteI hope that you find somewhere that you love to live wherever that ends up being! You are so right to think about these things and make plans though. Those phone calls really are so irritating aren't they. Have you signed up to the telephone preference service? That helps a bit to get rid of calls. Also, if I get calls as you described, I tell them that the police are recording all our calls and will be in touch with the caller, that stops them in their tracks I find! Or just hang up!! xx
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