One hundred years ago, everyone wanted to migrate from the rural areas towards the urban ones – mostly for economic reasons, but for many other reasons too. As of lately though, the “trend” has started to reverse itself – and more and more people choose to move to the countryside from the city.
Of course, there are a lot of benefits to doing this and you will definitely want to get accustomed with them before you make any decision for you and/or your family. What are the main benefits of living in the country and why would you make such a huge change in your life as well? Read on and find out more.
Living in the Countryside: The Major Benefits
If you are interested in learning more about why living in the country is so great, here are some of the most important things to keep in mind:
1. The silence
There’s no true “silence” when living in the city. Some of the people learn to live with the constant buzz, others hate it deeply and others somehow learn to love it as well. But if you are among those for whom the buzz of the city is nothing but an extra source of stress, you will definitely want to make sure you get as far from it as possible. And the countryside is the perfectly silent place you are searching for.
The silence of living in the countryside cannot be compared to anything. For some of you, this will be almost awkward and odd at first, especially if you have grown accustomed to always hear some kind of noise. Nevertheless though, it is an absolutely blissful thing to experience and it will surely relax your city-stretched nerves.
Nothing Like a Country Road Ride!
2. The air
While pollution is a worldwide problem that has reached even the most remote places on the planet, the truth is that the air in the countryside is always fresher than that in the city. This makes perfect sense, actually, especially when you take into consideration all the cars, all the factories and all the constant “smoke” hovering above (and around) big cities.
Some country air will do your brain, your lungs and your entire body extremely good – and only living there will teach you just how important it is to actually get a mouthful of fresh air every morning you wake up.
3. Room to breathe
If you have always lived in an area where your neighbors where stacked on top of each other (e.g. in a block of flats) or stacked into each other (e.g. in a neighborhood made out of houses), the privacy offered by living in the countryside will amaze you. At first, it will be almost odd to know that the closest neighbors you have are not right there, just one wall away. But as you grow accustomed with this new kind of privacy, you will definitely learn to love it more than anything else.
4. Open spaces
If there’s one thing only living in the countryside means, that’s the open space. Your eyes do not have to be constricted by tall buildings and your feet do not have to turn around every corner to reach their destination. The open space is there, full of possibilities, full of optimism and full of freedom.
Your Kids Will Love Living in the Country!
5. Freedom
Whether we like it or not, we are animals (well, not quite, but still, we are born to live out in the nature and not constricted in cubicles, watching the screens all day long). You may not even realize it just how much your body and your mind crave for pure, unaltered nature – and you will become conscious of how you missed it without even knowing only when you move to the countryside.
Living here will provide you with a completely different outlook on nature, on the relationship between man and nature and on how amazing it can feel to be at balance with the wonders surrounding you from all sides.
6. Better living
Studies show that living in the country side also means that there’s much more safety for you and your children. Criminality rates are much lower in rural areas – and if you got tired of always hearing about a crime happening very close to where you live, moving in the countryside is definitely for you.
7. Friendly people
Really, people living in the countryside are much friendlier than those living in the cities. This may be related to all of the benefits mentioned above, actually. When people are more relaxed, when they feel safer, when they are more “even” with what surrounds them, when they are healthier and when they feel less constricted by the space in which they live, they do tend to be friendlier too – so this actually makes a lot of sense.
8. Being able to produce your own food
While you may not be able to be 100% self-sustained (or at least not from the very beginning), in time, you can actually get to produce your own food – be it vegetables, fruit or livestock (and products “created” by livestock). This will offer you the option to eat much (MUCH) healthier, cheaper and to be genuinely proud of what you have produced as well.
Plus, Fresh Milk!
9. Plenty of things to do
If you are worried that living in the countryside is boring, please reconsider your opinion. There’s nothing boring about living in the countryside – from the fact that each season comes with its agricultural duties to the fact that there are a lot of natural lakes to swim in, plenty of open spaces to play whatever you want in and a lot of opportunities to enjoy trekking and walking in nature as well. There’s nothing boring about the countryside and only living here will teach you just how entertaining it can all be!
10. Being part of a community
Some people say that the city has alienated us – and that’s actually true, in most cases. We rarely feel like truly belonging to a community when we live in the city. At the same time though, living in the countryside can provide you with an amazing sense of being part of a community (which comes with benefits and responsibilities too).
11. It’s a much better alternative for your children
If you have read all the benefits mentioned above, you have probably realized the fact that living in the countryside is genuinely better for your kids. They will be healthier (both physically and psychologically), they will have a more carefree childhood, they will be able to enjoy great food, great people and the special relationship with nature only people in the countryside have.
Obviously, living in the countryside should not be regarded as an idealized thing. It does come with its downfalls (and for some people, these disadvantages are actually hard to accept). At the end of the day though, most people would agree that the country is much better than the city and that they are happy they eventually made the move.
Before deciding on anything, think of the things you may find disadvantageous about living in the country – and balance them out with the benefits of doing this. In the end, only you can decide if this is a good option for you (and/or for your family too)!
