4 ms·

I've found life in a rural or suburban area 15-45 minutes outside a city with a ~1-2 million metro population to be the sweet spot. Life is slower, there is mo

I've found life in a rural or suburban area 15-45 minutes outside a city with a ~1-2 million metro population to be the sweet spot. Life is slower, there is more of an emphasis on community, the cost of living is lower, the schools are solid, there is far less crime and homelessness, and you can commute to the urban amenities as needed. Does it have EVERYTHING an large urban area provides, obviously not, but life goes on just fine without those things. What's more important to me? A boxing gym in walking distance or being able to pay my house off in less than ten years?

anonyfox 4y ago
bonus points for good public transport, so you can live rural but still are ~30mins of a train or similar away from lots of workplaces.
- giantg2 4y ago
  Where are you that you think you can live rurally and have a (commuter) train?
  - anonyfox 4y ago
    germany, or I think many central/western europe areas have that
    - giantg2 4y ago
      Is that in a small town? Or how far is it from a farm to the station?
      - anonyfox 4y ago
        (please ignore the german texts, I only googled some accurate images for illustration) - nature looks like: https://www.alltrails.com/de/route/germany/wander-tour-harburger-berge-w1 https://www.alltrails.com/de/route/germany/wander-tour-harbu... - "rural" village https://www.hamburg.de/neugraben-fischbek/ https://www.hamburg.de/neugraben-fischbek/ (image gallery) that _actually_ is part of hamburg area, located at this nature, and - 35-42 minutes by train from that village centre (u can walk to the train station in like 10 minutes) to the middle of hamburg
  - epicnoodles 4y ago
    The best example of this is the Thameslink. Loads of towns like this in Hertfordshire. You could live in Biggleswade which feels very rural when you are there, and be into Kings Cross or Farringdon in 45 minutes. Very frequent and reliable train. edit: to take this further. You could live in Broom, a hamlet, which has a population of 579. Cycle or drive 10 minutes to Biggleswade station and get the 45 minute train in. In theory if you got really efficient, you could be in the heart of the City of London 1 hour door to door.
    - helij 4y ago
      Exactly. Hertfordshire is beautiful and Thameslink is amazing, comfortable and usually reliable. 45 min to the City when needed and easy access to nature.
epicnoodles 4y ago
Same here. Moved from London (9m pop) to suburban North Leeds (800,000-1m pop), much better. Still get the semi-anonymity of a city, and the things that I enjoy about them (varied food to eat out, markets, theatre, cinema, bowling etc), but I'm also 5 minutes from national parks, waterfalls etc. The beauty about Leeds in the UK is as soon as you go North, there is basically nothing major until you hit Scotland. So you can be away from people very very quickly which is rare in the UK, whilst also not cutting yourself off from the world. It's also ace as the city has a great identity and community. The running clubs are full of the most varied and grounded people, from all walks of life, that I have ever met. We do a lot of fell racing in the Yorkshire Dales in all elements. The community spirit found around running the rain, up hills, and bonding over cake, local beer and Yorkshire tea is amazing and reminds you of how great most humans are. There is also great civic pride in local food, drink, culture. There are incredibly accessible and affordable spas for weekend breaks to sauna and massage (Rudding Park) within a 20 minute drive, that aren't booked out months in advance or full of instagrammers or full of London city bankers. Just locals having a laugh. OP, I get the feeling, I almost did the same. But do not go remote for these reasons. Move somewhere smaller maybe (smaller cities have greater identity and community than large mega-cities without the drawback of towns or hamlets), but make sure you assess the world through the people you talk to and interact with, not the internet or news. Otherwise you will get way more depressed. Happiness is only real when shared.
rvieira 4y ago
Moved from London to Newcastle. My personal experience is that, despite London indeed having an impressive offer in terms of culture, entertainment, food, social life, etc. it's an illusion. Most people do home -> work -> home, with the exception of the local pub. Even meeting with friends which are not work colleagues is complicated, usually involving 1 hour commuting each way. So in London the choice is amazing, but I enjoyed almost none of it. In Newcastle the offer is more reduced, but I do find I can enjoy it _all_. Also I'm closer to nature (where I live), I can afford a big house and I actually _know_ my neighbours.
packetlost 4y ago
Yeah, this is the tradeoff. As someone living in a metro area of similar size, you will be disappointed if you're used to bigger cities. There's less of everything: diversity, food, entertainment, everything. The CoL is about the only benefit. If the suburban homeowner lifestyle appeals, I agree with GP that that's the sweet spot. If that doesn't appeal, do. not. bother.

anonyfox 4y ago

bonus points for good public transport, so you can live rural but still are ~30mins of a train or similar away from lots of workplaces.

giantg2 4y ago
Where are you that you think you can live rurally and have a (commuter) train?
- anonyfox 4y ago
  germany, or I think many central/western europe areas have that
  - giantg2 4y ago
    Is that in a small town? Or how far is it from a farm to the station?
    - anonyfox 4y ago
      (please ignore the german texts, I only googled some accurate images for illustration) - nature looks like: https://www.alltrails.com/de/route/germany/wander-tour-harburger-berge-w1 https://www.alltrails.com/de/route/germany/wander-tour-harbu... - "rural" village https://www.hamburg.de/neugraben-fischbek/ https://www.hamburg.de/neugraben-fischbek/ (image gallery) that _actually_ is part of hamburg area, located at this nature, and - 35-42 minutes by train from that village centre (u can walk to the train station in like 10 minutes) to the middle of hamburg
- epicnoodles 4y ago
  The best example of this is the Thameslink. Loads of towns like this in Hertfordshire. You could live in Biggleswade which feels very rural when you are there, and be into Kings Cross or Farringdon in 45 minutes. Very frequent and reliable train. edit: to take this further. You could live in Broom, a hamlet, which has a population of 579. Cycle or drive 10 minutes to Biggleswade station and get the 45 minute train in. In theory if you got really efficient, you could be in the heart of the City of London 1 hour door to door.
  - helij 4y ago
    Exactly. Hertfordshire is beautiful and Thameslink is amazing, comfortable and usually reliable. 45 min to the City when needed and easy access to nature.

epicnoodles 4y ago

Same here. Moved from London (9m pop) to suburban North Leeds (800,000-1m pop), much better. Still get the semi-anonymity of a city, and the things that I enjoy about them (varied food to eat out, markets, theatre, cinema, bowling etc), but I'm also 5 minutes from national parks, waterfalls etc. The beauty about Leeds in the UK is as soon as you go North, there is basically nothing major until you hit Scotland. So you can be away from people very very quickly which is rare in the UK, whilst also not cutting yourself off from the world. It's also ace as the city has a great identity and community. The running clubs are full of the most varied and grounded people, from all walks of life, that I have ever met. We do a lot of fell racing in the Yorkshire Dales in all elements. The community spirit found around running the rain, up hills, and bonding over cake, local beer and Yorkshire tea is amazing and reminds you of how great most humans are. There is also great civic pride in local food, drink, culture. There are incredibly accessible and affordable spas for weekend breaks to sauna and massage (Rudding Park) within a 20 minute drive, that aren't booked out months in advance or full of instagrammers or full of London city bankers. Just locals having a laugh. OP, I get the feeling, I almost did the same. But do not go remote for these reasons. Move somewhere smaller maybe (smaller cities have greater identity and community than large mega-cities without the drawback of towns or hamlets), but make sure you assess the world through the people you talk to and interact with, not the internet or news. Otherwise you will get way more depressed. Happiness is only real when shared.

rvieira 4y ago

Moved from London to Newcastle. My personal experience is that, despite London indeed having an impressive offer in terms of culture, entertainment, food, social life, etc. it's an illusion. Most people do home -> work -> home, with the exception of the local pub. Even meeting with friends which are not work colleagues is complicated, usually involving 1 hour commuting each way. So in London the choice is amazing, but I enjoyed almost none of it. In Newcastle the offer is more reduced, but I do find I can enjoy it _all_. Also I'm closer to nature (where I live), I can afford a big house and I actually _know_ my neighbours.

packetlost 4y ago

Yeah, this is the tradeoff. As someone living in a metro area of similar size, you will be disappointed if you're used to bigger cities. There's less of everything: diversity, food, entertainment, everything. The CoL is about the only benefit. If the suburban homeowner lifestyle appeals, I agree with GP that that's the sweet spot. If that doesn't appeal, do. not. bother.