Have we done the right thing by moving?

I have never understood the idea of moving to the country as you get older if you have never lived there before. We did it the other way round and now live in a quiet road in the middle of a town with plenty of trees and birds but also all the facilities we need to hand, apart from the morning and afternoon school run it is peaceful here.

It's a curious thing - noise. I grew up in quiet suburban roads in a time when there was little traffic. Now I live at the end of a no-through suburban lane which is mostly quiet but for delivery vans and the occasional building work. Urban foxes can be noisy at night and I still have one neighbour who has milk delivered. The delivery van rattles up the lane at 2:30am and often wakes me. A friend, who has recently moved house, swears by living on busy roads. She says one becomes used to the constant drone of traffic and it blots out those occasional irritating noises that we seem to notice more in an otherwise quiet environment.

We moved semi rural four years ago,it took a while to get used to the "silence" apart from birds singing, occasional tractor working.
The worst thing is I miss people, I need more around me, but have overcome this by taking my car to where we used to live and having a chat with people, before coming home to silence!

Moving to the country sounds idyllic after a lifetime in a busy city. However, my own observation of an aunt and uncle who did this in their mid 50s after taking early retirement has put paid to any yearnings I may have had in that direction. Basically, when they took this plunge they were both in good health, and my uncle could drive. So, they were able to enjoy all the lovely views and peacefulness. However, my uncle's eyesight deteriorated and he had to stop driving, my aunt was 'too old' to learn, so they lost their car and became reliant on public transport which was infrequent. As their health became worse and more hospital visits were required, they had to cope with very long journeys on several buses to get to these appointments, and when my uncle was unable to manage the public transport he had to either pay for a taxi both ways or wait for a hospital ambulance. Sometimes that meant a 10-hour trip as the ambulance picked up/dropped off other outpatients. All that for a 15 min appointment with a junior doctor!!! Eventually, my uncle was hospitalised for a month-long period and my aunt was effectively separated from him at a time when it was thought he might die as she was not allowed to sleep in the hospital with him (very backward attitude when compared to city hospitals) and she couldn't manage the public transport alone. The local post office was closed in a rationalisation of provision and they could no longer collect their pension in person, so these had to be paid into their bank accounts, and the bank was in the next town. So, whilst at the moment, your problems are just with normal rural noise, if you can't cope with this now you need to fast forward to all the other potentially annoying aspects of country life that will undoubtedly occur in the future. And just as one more sadness in this story, my uncle did die (but at home) leaving my aunt very lonely as the big circle of friends they had before early retirement were not available to her. It's a huge decision to up sticks and leave the city behind and you have to consider all angles - the grass is always considered to be greener on the other side, but at the same time we often don't realise what we have until we've turned our back on it and it's gone.

I can never understand people moving to the country, I did this 20 years ago (not by choice) and hated every minute of it, for the same reasons you are finding. I’ve just retired and now live 9 miles from Edinburgh and I couldn’t be happier.

I'm sorry to hear people have had such bad experiences of country life.
Don't give up Judith it can be good in the country just give it a chance.

Judithc2 You will get used to it! We did the same as you and moved from a busy London suburb to a small village on the south coast where we are surrounded by farms and fields and sea. The road outside our house is a bit busier than we expected at weekends but the advantage is we have easy access to other areas. We often have to crawl along narrow roads behind big farm vehicles, horse riders or ponies & traps, but that gives us time to really look at the landscape around us. Cows, horses, cockerills, pheasants and songbirds wake us up early but as soon as I see the rolling fields from the window I want to get up anyway. I don't even mind the smell of muck spreading, though DH was a bit miffed when I ordered a huge quantity of rotted manure for our garden this Spring - but our roses are doing so well now! I am still surprised and delighted when I meet complete strangers and they say hello or good morning - never got that in London. We are far more aware of the changes of the seasons and the never ending work that goes into producing the food we eat, and it's great to be able to buy fresh veggies and eggs from very local farms. So all in all I think life in the country suits us, it just takes a little getting used to.

You do get used to it all. I'm by the sea, with incredibly noisy gulls equally early in the morning. You do get used to it all!

I have a string curtain across the back door. If that doesn't keep the flies out, I'd buy another and double the density.

We have just done the opposite to you and moved from a quiet village to a busy one with shops.
I think it takes a while to settle down, in our old village we could go out and leave our door unlocked, we knew just about everyone. My husband is disabled and I know that if I had phone anyone who lived near us they would have been there to help.
We have moved to be closer to family and now live on a new housing estate where everyone goes out to work, as a result I couldn't even tell you what any of our new neighbours look like.
You will get used to the animal sounds and a different way of living it just takes time.

This reply is not going to help you but may act as a warning to others. We lived in a remote hamlet for 20 years and when we were working it was idyllic. Somewhere to escape to after a stressful day at work. Once we retired we felt it became a bit of a pretty prison. A thirty minute car journey to anywhere. Last year after a couple of years of trying to sell we moved to an urban area and we are still pinching ourselves at the positive move it has been for us. We watch the TV programme ‘escape to the country ‘ and wonder how people get on. The countryside is absolutely beautiful but it can be a lonely and expensive place to be when you get older.

String curtains are cheaper than I thought - under a tenner for the door
www.netcurtainsdirect.com/neptune-white-string-curtain.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwu_jYBRD8ARIsAC3EGCJlwqtr0upU1RXb_VF4TXC9yPd1kjfY5ZaMt85tqiPDo_dh3mTzaAMaApNQEALw_wcB

This criticism of moving to the back of beyond also works for people who buy their 'dream home' on retiring, which is far too big or has a lot of garden. They are not going to be 65 and in good health forever.
They may move away from trains and buses after a lifetime of commuting - they will have to give up driving one day. And country bus services do get cut, or services reduced.
And don't get me started on those (usually women) who hold a driving licence, but partner does all the driving, so when he(?) has a stroke or is hospitalised, the licence holder hadn't driven in decades, and is terrified of the roads.

SueDonim! Do you live near Colyton in Devon as it was there annual tractor run yesterday?

‘Their’ - DUH!

It is only for a very few weeks at this time of the year that birds sing very loudly in the early hours of the morning, and I am sure you will soon grow accustomed to both the sound of them and of the sheep.

Depending on what kind of windows you have, you may be able to find cheap nylon net screens in the right size that you can fit yourself. If that is impossible and it would be too expensive to have them fitted by a firm, most shops that sell dressmaking material will either have stout nylon netting, suitable for screens in stock or be willing to order it for you.

I made screens for our motor boat by sewing Velcro onto the edges of the net that was cut to measure door and window openings and then we glued the other piece of the Velcro round the frame. You could probably do something similar on the windows you want to be able to have open, during the summer.

I hope you soon settle down and realise that you have not made a mistake by moving. Country life has many benefits IMO.

We live in a small commuter village (not big enough to be a town). Drive 5 minutes north and we are in the country. At the end of our road we have the Thames Estuary and train station which gets us into London in approx 40mins. One DS and family live 1 road back from our seafront (blue flag beach). Other DS and family in walking distance.

I have the moving bug as house is probably bigger than our needs, but reading all these posts, from very informed gransnetters I think I shall stay put until the man upstairs calls my name!!!

I never understood why people who are getting to retirement age feel it’s a good idea to move away from transport links, hospitals etc just at a time when they are facing the probability of needing them more. You also hear of the cases of the townies who move into the country and complain about the noises the animals and birds make somwhy is it a surprise

Try sleeping through this just outside your bedroom window very early in the morning:

www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sound+of+the+kookaburra&&view=detail&mid=5FA0B16E349237C67DC75FA0B16E349237C67DC7&&FORM=VDRVRV

. Could be far worse then Jalima!

But, having done it and living the dream, surely it’s better to sit back and enjoy the good bits for a few years and be prepared to move on again? Judith doesn’t say how old she is but has probably got a good few years before decrepitude sets in. The countryside is noisy. Especially in early summer, but the birds quieten as the year goes on and tractors chugging by can be got used to. They’re not as frenetic as the rush hour cars nose to tail desperate to get to and from work. Where we used to live there was a haze of frustration over the busy road outside!

Yes, they can be very noisy! Add in the curlews and the dingoes during the night too and it's a wonder anyone gets any sleep.

My daughter lived in Shepherd Bush for awhile, it was so much quieter than our country life!

I live in a rural area and I think moving from London 48 years ago was the best thing my husband and I have ever done. I very rarely see a fly and the birds only wake us early in the summer with the Dawn Chorus.We are visited by lots of wild life including deer, foxes and hedgehogs and my grandchildren love visiting the cows in the field up the road. You don't say how long ago you moved but I do hope you settle in and start seeing how lucky you are.

I wouldn't swap the countryside for anything. The pace of life is wonderfully slow, the awareness of the seasons is uplifting, being away from the ratrace is calming. Give it time and try to adapt, it'll be worth it.
Go to bed early or use earplugs if you can't get used to the dawn chorus of birdsong.
Accept that the sound of farm vehicles is more gentle than 100s of cars, lorries and buses.
Keep the area immediately around the house free of bushes and trees but grow herbs which flies don't like such as tansy, basil, most lemon scented things like lemon balm and sage. Put them in pots or raised beds near doors and windows.
Hang wasp and fly traps around the garden, the pergola or garden umbrella.
Get to know your neighbours and ask for tips to help you adapt.
Sit back and enjoy a fresh cup of nettle tea with new friends.

I mentioned our screen doors earlier.
Thought a photo might be helpful....glass on the left; black net on the right.

Belgravian good decision very wise. I hope you make a good recovery. Yes, a second home would be lovely preferably in Florence lol but finances prevent.. We bought a mobile home on a lovely quiet site beside the Mournes and spend the summer months there. Its close to amenities too. You've got to be practical.