Life in the Country

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Well, I'm just the right side of 50 now...my wife is about to be made redundant after 35 years of continued service, with a tidy little package...And I think the time has come, to move away from the hustle and bustle of Newcastle city.

 

We are both country lovers at heart...we have the son, who is 13 (and will still go to the same school)...who's eternal dream, since he could walk and talk, was to pursue a life in Farming....he's as nuts about animals as we are..possibly more so actually... and wants to pursue a degree in Agriculture/Animal husbandry.

 

We have plans to move further North, into the tranquil world of Northumberland...renting out our current house, with a view to it's future investment once the mortgage is paid.

 

We have two close friends, who have been in that business for several years, and hopefully, the opportunity to rent a 200 acre Farm, with two cottages will be a possibility next year.

 

Sheep mainly...and possibly, a Carp syndicate lake, Cattery, Kennels are all a real possibility.

 

City life is fun, for the younger people of the world...but it has never sat right with us.. though necessary to get to where we are now...it's time to move outta there.

 

Have to say, I have rarely been as excited before...this is what we have dreamed of, and worked hard towards.

 

My only real pre-requisite....broadband!....I will still need you guys, for my daily fix!

[Olham 164]

You won't regret that, Widow - the countryside will quickly make you so much quieter, calmer.

And it makes you forget all the things you want to run after in the city.

Although I still like living in a city, I feel it coming, that some day I will move back to Ostfriesland.

 

I hope you will be able to have a broadband connection there - I wouldn't want to miss you here.

You will find a way, eyh? All the best for those plans, old chap!

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Thank you Olham..oh yes...I believe they've had electricity for several years now!

[Hauksbee 103]

...and now you'll have a yard big enough to land your Snipe.

[Shiloh 12]

That's fantastic news Widow! My wife, my two young kids and I just made the move to the country 6 months ago and we don't regret it for a minute. We live in a small town on the river but all around it is working farms (horses, dairy, corn, etc.) and when we go for a drive we pass beautiful meadows, hills, farms, animals and rivers not strip malls, traffic, billboards and filth - sorry got carried away. And yes, I do have high-speed internet.

 

Anyhow, that sounds like a wonderful move and I hope it works out for you.

[Fubar512 1,350]

I live in a smallish town (population 1,500), in an apartment complex that's literally surrounded by stables and small farms. Moved here from the city almost six years ago, and have not had a moment's regret.

[ShrikeHawk 384]

This reminds me of a Three Dog Night song, "Out in the Country." Here's some of the lyrics.

 

Whenever I need to leave it all behind

Or feel the need to get away

I find a quiet place, far from the human race

Out in the country

 

Before the breathin' air is gone

Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime

Out where the rivers like to run

I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

 

Whenever I feel them closing in on me

Or need a bit of room to move

When life becomes too fast, I find relief at last

Out in the country

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

This reminds me of a Three Dog Night song, "Out in the Country." Here's some of the lyrics.

 

Whenever I need to leave it all behind

Or feel the need to get away

I find a quiet place, far from the human race

Out in the country

 

Before the breathin' air is gone

Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime

Out where the rivers like to run

I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

 

Whenever I feel them closing in on me

Or need a bit of room to move

When life becomes too fast, I find relief at last

Out in the country

 

 

Amen

[crl848 9]

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

 

Fabulous Song...by the Maestro!

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

 

This is the song that does it for me...I can't stop listening to it.

(the Northumbrian Pipes are magical)

Like bagpipes..but far less Vulgar!

[Wombat 1]

30+ years ago, while riding the Long Island Rail Road to and from Manhattan from suburban Long Island, I said to myself, "Terrence, this is stupid stuff!"

 

Got a job at the University of Maine, moved up here and never looked back! Have always lived here in a small rural setting which is better for me, better for the kids, and even somehow better for the dogs and cats we have had round us.

 

If that's what you want do do, is get away from the city, then yes,man, run for your life!!! You won't regret it.

 

Now about renting houses.....make damned sure to vet your tenants is all I can say.

 

Good luck, sir.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Thanks Wombat!...Yes, we are in the fortunate position of having another friend, who owns a letting company...and he vets all tenants.

 

I'm running baby!!!

[Hasse Wind 46]

I'm sure you won't regret it, Widowmaker. I hated living in a big city. Too many people (and too many criminals and other idiots among them), too many cars, pollution, noise, long distances to get to anywhere, ugh! Unnatural and unpleasant. When I had the opportunity years ago, I moved to a smaller town and haven't regretted the decision for a second. Life is infinitely better here than what it used to be for me in the city. Just make sure you have a decent Internet connection (they are becoming better even in the countryside) and you won't lack anything.

[Bullethead 12]

My only real pre-requisite....broadband!....I will still need you guys, for my daily fix!

 

 

Good luck in your new digs :). Nobody with any sense wants to live in a city.

 

I'm totally with you on the broadband access, though. Where would we be without porn?

 

Where I live, broadband's a real problem. Over the years, I've been repeatedly promised both DSL and cable but those have continued to be put off or canceled indefinitely. The current thing in the process of not happening is U-Verse. A few months ago they ran the cable by right in front of my house but so far haven't done anything else.

 

Thus, my only option is satellite, which isn't optimal. There are usage limits, a built-in 3-second lag that utterly prevents MP gaming, it isn't terribly fast to begin with, and it doesn't work on rainy days (which means the drought has had 1 benefit). And in your case, your high latitude might be another factor, especially in the winter.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Yes BH...I think 'most areas of the UK now have broadband...my friends are up in the wilds..and they have it.

 

Can't you use the Mobile Phone network where you are m8?

[Hasse Wind 46]

I think the main problem in the US is the huge size of the country. It's a lot easier to build networks in most European countries, even in more remote areas, because the distances are usually shorter. That being said, at least in Finland some areas are so utterly remote that they have no access to almost any kind of web.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Yes...The term World Wide Web appears to not be quite what it claims..certainly in some parts of the world

[Slartibartfast 153]

It's the Banjo Players which should worry you... when they stop playing its time to paddle faster...

[Bullethead 12]

Can't you use the Mobile Phone network where you are m8?

 

Cell phone coverage is as spotty hereabouts as broadband. And even if it worked better, it's damnably expensive to use it as your ISP.

 

I could tell you many horror stories of people in this region who called 911 one their cell phones and got a completely different jurisdiction than they were in, but which (due to an extraordinary lack of imagination amongst the locals) had roads of the same name as where the caller was having his problem. Thus, the emergency responders in the wrong jurisdiction went out on a wild goose chase while the problem for the caller got worse and worse before anybody realized the mistake.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Widowmaker, I wish you all the best in your move to the rural life. I was born and raised in the country myself and after living for 15 years in various cities I moved back to my roots. I love everything about being away from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan areas, except for the gawd aweful cell phone and internet coverage out here in the hinterlands. But I can put up with that when I weigh it against all the advantages.

 

.

[tranquillo 10]

I, too, wish you all the best in your venture, WM. I moved to the country about 27 years ago to a small community of only 28 people. About 4 years after that I moved back to the crowds, to a community of a staggering 85 people. I couldn't move back to the hustle and bustle now.

Good luck m8.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

All very encouraging gents...Many thanks