In a popular 1970s song, a mother advises her son to move out to the country. There seems to be a human urge to get away from city life at some point in everyone’s life. Selling the in-town home and getting a smaller place, far from the teeming masses, that boasts great views and wide-open spaces is a perennial longing. It’s an age-old question and bears examination in the digital age, perhaps more than ever.
Should You Move to the Country?
With so many professional people working from home, it’s no longer as necessary to be near the center of a big town as it used to be. Lawyers, accountants, writers, even doctors are discovering that they can leave the hustle and bustle of the urban world and reside far, far away in the countryside, all while still earning a living. If you are giving serious thought to breathing cleaner air and living the country life, here are a few key points to ponder before pulling up stakes and saying goodbye to city life.
Review the Benefits
For so many who make such a move, the primary benefit is a generally better quality of life, both in terms of physical and mental health.
Congested cities and dirty air are not conducive to long-term happiness if you believe those who have taken the plunge and exited the big cities.
Living amid chaos makes it hard to practice daily mindfulness let alone achieve a goal of a fully relaxed style of living. You’ll also meet new people, but more importantly, new kinds of people.
In most cases, your neighbors will be a bit farther away but will have a lot in common with you. The majority of folks who reside in the countryside these days are former urban dwellers.
Life is slower, less stressful, and generally happier when you make your home inland spreading out, far and wide, as the old saying goes.
Cover the Costs
Even for those who can work from anywhere and who easily sell their homes in today’s tricky real estate market, there are significant one-time costs associated with ditching the urban lifestyle and setting up shop in the countryside. One of the first steps should be a budget review.
Try to find line items that can be reduced or eliminated. For example, many who do make the move turn to private lenders in order to refinance student loans. Working adults typically discover that with better credit and established employment history, refinancing can get them much lower monthly payments. Often, they get other benefits like more favorable interest rates and very reasonable payback periods.
Choose a Destination and Make a Checklist
Spend time choosing a precise location, based on where you currently live and how far away you want to move. It’s common to stay in the same state and region, but making a huge geographic break appeals more to particular types of people. The point is to decide on a spot and create a detailed checklist of to-do items and important things to know in preparation for the transition.
Do a Short-Term Trial
If you’d rather just do a trial move, rent a home, or sign a short-term lease. That way, if things don’t turn out as you plan, you can always move back to the city, regroup, and make a fresh strategy. Some other ways that you can test the waters without tying yourself down to any major timelines or commitments are:
- Car sharing: Similar to how Airbnb and VRBO work for vacation rentals, companies like Turo are making it a possibility to rent a car from a private owner for an established length of time. Rates are typically more favorable than formal rental companies and the terms for pick up and drop off are generally more flexible.
- Work contract jobs: If your formal job does not support your moving, or remote work is not open and you must quit, do not let that derail your plans. Instead, look into contract jobs in your field of expertise so that you can still earn an income but not be locked into employment indefinitely.
- Find a mentor: Mentorship is generally reserved for professional or educational capacities, but it can be extended into many other areas of your life, including experiencing a new way to live. Find some local clubs in your chosen countryside destination so you can hit the ground running living as the locals do. Be vocal about your desire to learn about the area, meet people, and really get a feel for what permanent residency would look like.
Conclusion
This planet is all we have and if living a life that gets you closer to it is on your radar, now is as good a time as any. According to (Windridge, 2021) many startups have attempted to fast-track fusions energy, to achieve net-zero emissions but the truth is if the people do not also make some changes, that might be well out of reach. While this move may be made in an effort to simplify your life, a move is still a significant undertaking. As with any of life’s challenges, you should expect some elements of ease and others of strain. Your quality of life should feel improved upon as a result of making this choice so be honest with yourself if that does not end up being the case.
photo source | adobe