After years of watching Escape to the Country, you’ve decided to organise your own escape to a regional or rural area. You’re loving the thought of peace and quiet, pretty scenery, walking down the main street where everyone knows your name, and plenty of room for pets and veggie patches. All of this sounds delightful after years of living in bustling, busy suburbs. These dreams could come true but consider these points before you start your new journey.

For starters…

It can take several years to settle into a lifestyle many hours from a metropolis so ensure your plans are well set and well made, especially when it comes to financial and social points. Stay with regional friends – even just for a weekend – before your potential move and during this visit, ask them about the best and worst parts of living away from the city. Long-term suburbanites may want to rent a countryside home before buying.

Rustic downsides

It sounds obvious but you might find yourself missing shopping centres, restaurants and a good café latte more than you think. If so, consider moving into a larger regional town rather than an isolated abode thousands of miles from anywhere. Remember too that regardless of where you live, you may still see advertisements for McDonalds and similar even though the nearest one is two days’ drive away. There’s also the weather to consider. Again, it’s an obvious issue but if you’re moving to another state or completely different area, check the temperatures all year round beforehand. Ensure your new house has reliable heating and air-conditioning, remembering that older, cheaper properties may not have any installed. Going back to convenient amenities, warmer places may not have a local pool or shopping centre you can escape to on scorching hot days – and the same goes for exceptionally cold locations. Loneliness and isolation can be another downside to country life particularly if you’ve left family and friends behind in the suburbs. Finally, states can be poles apart when it comes to rules and regulations so investigate potentially different laws that could make working – or other city details you take for granted – difficult.

Rural benefits

Country living as a rule is quieter and time tends to move at a slower pace, with few crowds around. Walking around town, you’ll invariably meet someone you know. A wonderful place to raise a family, regional and rural towns boast big gardens and room for pets along with important amenities such as schools, shops, hospitals, libraries and restaurants. Larger places frequently feature airports, ensuring easy access to the city and suburbs for work and visits. Lovely lifestyle elements and enviable tourism hotspots including rivers, lakes, bushland, beaches, mountains and wineries are mere moments away, which ensures you’ll enjoy plenty of metropolitan visitors as well. Last but definitely not least are the fantastic real estate prices. Suburbs and cities can undoubtedly be great places to live but buying in a regional or rural area will have you staying in the red for a far shorter period, while spending less time commuting and more minutes with your family.