When you relocate from the city to the countryside, you might be in for some culture shock. There’s a lot of adjustments you’ll need to make. And you’ll have to prepare for the challenges of running a rural home. So here are some points you’ll need to consider when you prepare to move to the countryside.

Prepare to be Remote

One of the things you’re going to have to adapt to when you move to the country is the remote location. In the city, everything is a stone’s throw away. You can get almost anything you could want. But when you move to the country it’s going to be much more difficult to get hold of things you want. You’ll also find yourself more cut off from people and places. This is a transition you’re going to have to get used to.

Buy a Home

When you plan on buying a rural property you need to think a bit differently. In the city you have everything around you, and it’s easy to access. In the countryside there are less properties available and things are much further away. You need to make sure you contact Taylors and ask what they can recommend. Remember, you’re going to have to account for journeys to work and school, and how accessible the home is.

Move Your Stuff

As with any sort of move, you’re going to have to arrange to move your things. This might be a little more complicated when moving to a rural location. In the city, everything is in close proximity. And availability is everywhere. But when you’re moving out to the sticks it’s much more remote. So it’s often harder to arrange things. Plus you’ve got to remember that the journey will be much further. This may end up costing you more to hire a removal company. So try to bear these factors in mind when you make your decision.

Stay Connected

When you live in the countryside, it’s going to be a much more remote situation. You might be used to the city life where everything moves at a hundred miles an hour. It’s crowded and full of people. Connecting with others is simple, and technology is everywhere. But, when you change to a rural way of life this will all change. You’re much more remote, so you need to take measures to stay connected. You have to keep connected with friends, but also with the outside world. The best way to do this is to make sure you connect through the phone and the internet. This means getting top-of-the-range phone and Wi-Fi services such as those offered by TEC Internet Services and other similar firms. Since you may not know how to go about it, having an internet provider that is specialized in providing internet service in rural areas may be a good fit. You’ve got to have technology that’s reliable and will keep your finger on the pulse of society.

Go Green!

You’re already taking big strides towards greener living by moving to a rural location in the first place. So the transition should be considerably easier. You may well be out in the middle of nowhere and this can make things like shopping tricky. However, you can rectify this by growing your own fruit and vegetables. This is a big part of having an eco-friendly lifestyle. There are many other ways to go green, including solar energy and LED light bulbs. Going green is an important part of modern life and helps you look after the environment.

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Moving from the city to the countryside can be a big culture shock. It’s a huge transition, and one that a lot of people struggle to adapt to. You need to make sure you’re prepared for your move to the countryside. It’s going to be a big step for the whole family. By using the points on this list you can prepare for your move.

So you’ve finally bit the bullet. You’ve bought your dream home in the country and you’re excited to start a new chapter in your life. The problem is, the property has seen better days to and needs a little TLC to look its best again. Don’t worry, renovating a country home can be a great opportunity to impart your own tastes along the way. There are also plenty of home remodelling guide’s to help! Here’s what you need to know.

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Not too long ago, we traded our hectic city lives for a peaceful rural cottage. It’s the best decision we’ve ever made, and we’re certainly not looking back! However, it came with its fair share of challenges. Not least, a handful of repairs and improvements that we’ve had to take on. We’ve loved taking this fixer-upper and turning it into a cosy home, but it wasn’t easy. This morning I found myself thinking back to those first few months in the house. The stress of repairs came flooding back! Here are some of the trickiest jobs we had to take on.

Foundation repairs

Living in the country comes with the difficult job of working with nature! Living in the country meant that our home was built on less-than-suitable ground. The house itself had a little problem with subsidence. In layman’s terms, it was sinking! We’re only talking about a few cm a year, but we didn’t want it getting any worse. We hired the experts to do a full slab foundation repair before we moved in. We’re happy to say the house has been steady ever since!

Chimney repair

One of the best things about living in the country is access to a real fire. In our tiny city apartment, we were lucky if we could keep a candle burning. Now we have a huge fireplace with a roaring log-burner. Despite our initial excitement, we had to fix the chimney first! It’s an old house, and the brickwork and cement had begun to crumble near the apex of the roof. We didn’t trust ourselves to DIY this essential repair, so this was another one for the experts.

Double glazing

We love living in an older property. It has so much more character and personality than a city apartment. There’s a sense of history in the walls and there’s a warmer ambience. Of course, there are compromises with an older house. For starters, the cottage didn’t have double glazing. We put this near the top of our list so we could keep the house warm and energy efficient. Since putting in double glazing, the energy bills have come down significantly!

Installing solar panels

Despite the country lifestyle, there’s still a little hint of city thinking in our brains! We’re still keen to keep costs down and make technological additions. We wanted to find the perfect balance of rural living and modern technology. There’s no reason they can’t work together. So, we decided to install solar panels. After all, we’ve got acres of space and it doesn’t hurt to be a little more self-sufficient. The installation cost is quite high, but we anticipate making the money back through energy savings.

Renewing the damp proof course

Lastly, we had to tackle a rising damp problem in the kitchen. It’s quite a common repair for an older rural property. It’s a fairly simple process of injecting preventative chemicals into the wall. It didn’t take long (but it did make a mess of the kitchen!)

Phew! I’m exhausted just thinking back to it! But I’m glad we took the time and got the problems ironed out. Now, we can sit back and enjoy our wonderful new house.

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Odds are with the new 5p fee for using plastic bags kicking in in October, you will find yourself with lots more paper bags in your home.  If you are a cat owner, you already know that paper bags are among a cat’s favourite place to hide and explore.  However on the off chance that you have too many to keep your cats occupied, here are five ways to use them:

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