15 things to consider when moving to the countryside from the City

Moving to the countryside from a city is, for many buyers, one of the most rewarding decisions they make.

It reshapes the rhythms of daily life in ways that take time to fully appreciate, and those who approach it with the right preparation tend to find it suits them well. It is not the right move for everyone, but for buyers who go in clear-eyed, the adjustment is rarely as daunting as it first appears.

Whether you are relocating from London or another major city, the guidance below covers what you need to consider before making the leap. For buyers relocating from overseas, the process carries additional complexity; Garrington’s international relocation service can help navigate that alongside your property search.

This guide focuses on buying rural property in England and Wales. Property law, access rights, drainage regulation, and conveyancing processes differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so for buyers considering these locations, our local experts would be happy to help.

Here are 15 things to think through carefully before committing to moving to the countryside.

1. Property prices for country homes

Rural property markets are not uniform, and the assumption that moving to the countryside is always cheaper than a city address is one that regularly catches buyers off guard. In prime rural areas, the equation frequently runs in the other direction.

Well-located village properties in popular counties like Oxfordshire, Hampshire, North Yorkshire, or the Cotswolds have historically attracted strong buyer demand, and a well-positioned farmhouse near a mainline station or a period cottage at the heart of an active village will generally be priced to reflect that.

Setting a realistic budget requires understanding the local market rather than relying on county-wide averages.

What buyers often do not account for is the structure of the market in lower-supply areas. Some prime rural properties are marketed discreetly or shared through agent networks before appearing on public portals. Buyers relying solely on the property portals may not see the full picture.

Professional representation can help buyers understand local pricing, assess opportunities, and approach a search more strategically. Understanding this dynamic and positioning yourself accordingly is one of the more consequential preparations you can make.

2. Will I be on a tourist track?

If a location is beautiful enough to attract you, it will attract visitors too. That is worth understanding before purchase rather than after.

Villages that sit within National Parks or close to well-publicised landmarks can see considerable seasonal footfall. In some cases, this is benign, even enjoyable; in others, summer weekends bring gridlocked lanes, parking on verges, and queues at the one local shop. Visit at different times of year if you can, and in particular visit on a summer bank holiday weekend to understand what you are actually buying into.

That said, tourist popularity is not inherently a problem and often supports the very amenities that make a village worth living in. A well-regarded gastro pub, a thriving deli, and a busy calendar of local events are frequently found in the same places that attract visitors. The question is whether the infrastructure copes, and whether the quiet you are seeking is actually available for most of the year.

3. Am I moving to a place with too many second homes?

A high concentration of second and holiday homes changes the character of a place. In winter, villages with large proportions of intermittently occupied properties can feel sparse; school rolls may be smaller than they appear in summer, and local businesses can struggle to sustain themselves on seasonal trade alone.

This matters practically as well as atmospherically. A village that functions as an active community, with residents who use the post office, support the pub through January, and organise the summer fete, will integrate a newcomer differently from one that serves primarily as a weekend destination.

Where possible, visit your shortlisted location out of season. The bones of a place are easier to read when the seasonal visitors have gone.

4. Are there any like-minded people living close by?

Community compatibility is a legitimate consideration when moving to the countryside, and there is no point being coy about it. A retiring couple looking for a settled, multigenerational village will want something quite different from a family with young children who need playmates within cycling distance, or a working professional who wants neighbours who understand the demands of a busy career alongside rural life.

Spending time in the village at different points in the week, including on weekday mornings and weekday evenings, gives a reasonable sense of who actually lives there. Check local noticeboards, look for an active village online group or residents’ association, and note whether the pub has a good midweek trade. These are imperfect indicators, but they are better than nothing.

5. When moving to the countryside from the city, will I feel isolated?

Isolation is a possibility that many urban buyers overlook when they think about moving to the countryside. This can be more relevant for individuals or couples than for families. Cities provide constant ambient social contact, from colleagues to neighbours to the social life of shared commutes and coffee shops. That texture disappears in the countryside, and its absence is felt differently by different people. The antidote is active community involvement rather than passive proximity.

Rural areas typically offer substantial social infrastructure if you seek it out.

This can include sports clubs, choirs, horticultural societies, parish councils, and the varied cast of a village pub. The transition is easier for buyers who move towards community rather than simply away from the city.

Broadband and mobile connectivity deserve consideration here too. The government’s Project Gigabit programme supports gigabit-capable broadband in hard-to-reach parts of the UK, but coverage and rollout vary considerably. It is worth checking Ofcom’s Connected Nations data for the specific postcode of any property you are seriously considering, rather than relying solely on the estate agent’s characterisation of connectivity. In an era of remote and hybrid working, inadequate broadband is not a minor inconvenience.

6. Is my view going to stay that way?

The dream of moving to the countryside often involves an idyllic view over open fields. This has tangible value, both financially and in terms of daily quality of life. It also has no automatic legal protection unless the land it crosses is subject to specific planning constraints.

Your solicitor’s searches will identify planning permissions already granted nearby, but they will not necessarily flag an application that has been submitted in the past week, or land that a farmer is quietly preparing to promote for housing.

The practical steps are worth taking independently: check the local planning authority’s portal yourself for applications in the surrounding area, and if there is any uncertainty about an adjacent field or site, a brief enquiry to the local authority’s planning department before exchange can clarify what is known.

Conservation areas, National Landscapes, and National Park designations all provide meaningful protection, though none is absolute. A specialist rural solicitor will understand the distinctions. That matters more than it might appear.

7. Can I really walk where I want to in the country?

The romantic image of stepping out of your back gate and walking for miles is, in some properties, entirely accurate. In others, reaching the nearest public right of way requires a careful read of the OS map and a walk along a stretch of B-road first.

Before committing to a property, examine the definitive map for the area, which records all public rights of way.

Your solicitor can also confirm what access rights attach to the property itself. For dog owners, horse riders, and families with young children, the practical geography of walking from the door matters considerably more than the general attractiveness of the surrounding landscape.

8. How cut off could I be, and what does the property actually run on?

Buyers moving to the countryside from urban areas can underestimate the infrastructure beneath a rural property. In a city flat, utilities arrive invisibly through pipes and cables. In the countryside, the picture is often more complicated.

Oil-fired central heating requires periodic deliveries and a storage tank that needs maintaining. In England, private drainage via a septic tank or package treatment plant carries obligations that became more demanding under Environment Agency rules that took effect in 2020. Properties discharging to watercourses without the correct consent are in breach of those regulations, and some septic tank systems could require replacement or upgrading before a purchase can proceed.

Responsibility for any required works can often be agreed between buyer and seller as a condition of sale, but your surveyor and solicitor should both be asked about this explicitly. In Wales, separate Natural Resources Wales rules apply: buyers should check whether any private sewage system is registered as exempt or has the necessary permit, and should ask for maintenance records before exchange.

Power outages are more common and longer-lasting in rural areas than in cities. Flooding and snow can affect access to lanes that are not gritted. These can be manageable realities for many, rather than dealbreakers, but they can carry implications that should be weighed up from the outset.

9. Is my car right for the countryside?

Country driving is materially different from city driving, and a car that was perfectly adequate for urban life may feel inadequate for narrow, unpaved, or heavily-cambered rural lanes. This is particularly relevant if you are buying a property at the end of a long farm track or in a location that floods seasonally.

Electric vehicles are entirely practical in most rural locations, provided the property has off-street parking for home charging. Check the location of public rapid chargers for longer journeys. The more practically relevant question is usually not range but charging infrastructure on specific routes.

Find out where the nearest fuel station is, where the nearest garage offering servicing and MOTs is located, and how long a wait for a breakdown recovery tends to be in the area. These are unglamorous questions that become important at inconvenient moments.

10. Don’t underestimate the school run

Families moving to the countryside from cities, where schools are typically within walking or cycling distance, often find the school run one of the larger practical adjustments of rural life. A school ten miles away means four journeys on a school day, and those add up to a substantial weekly commitment in time and fuel. Research transport options thoroughly.

School buses do operate in rural areas, and where they exist they provide a genuine alternative to the parental taxi service.

Additionally, travelling to school this way offers children an early introduction to their local peer group. The annual cost varies, and it is worth establishing this before purchase.

For families with older children approaching secondary age, check the catchment areas for any oversubscribed state schools with care. Rural catchments can be large and non-intuitive. And if independent schooling is part of the plan, factor boarding options into the financial modelling: several of the strongest rural independent schools offer weekly boarding precisely because their catchment is geographically dispersed.

11. Does your new rural location meet your dietary needs?

This point is less trivial than it might appear. Urban food culture, with its proliferation of specialist retailers, organic delivery services, and restaurants catering to every dietary requirement, is a product of density. Rural areas have their own food culture, which is often excellent but differently organised.

Many villages with thriving local food economies have independent farm shops, butchers, bakers, and a well-stocked village shop that punch well above their weight. The gap is more likely to be in specialist dietary provision, and the practical adaptation is usually to plan shopping differently rather than to go without.

12. How easy is it for relatives to visit?

Proximity to family tends to feel less important before a move than it does afterwards. A journey that looks manageable on a map, two hours on a decent road, becomes a different proposition over time, particularly for elderly relatives who do not drive or grandparents who want to see young grandchildren regularly.

On the other side of the ledger is space. The property you are buying will most likely have more of it than something of comparable cost in the city and guests can stay rather than commute.

A room that becomes a regular guest room changes the economics of distance for family and friends considerably.

Think through the practical pattern of visits rather than simply the distance.

13. Could I let my rural property?

It is worth having at least a passing thought about the let-ability of a rural property at purchase, not because you necessarily intend to use it as a holiday let, but because it provides useful information about the property’s wider appeal and practical usability.

Properties that work well as holiday lets, with generous parking, accessible layouts, enclosed gardens, and proximity to attractive countryside or coast, tend also to be the ones with the broadest buyer appeal if you come to sell.

The qualities that make a property a good family home and those that make it an attractive rental overlap more than buyers typically expect. Check your mortgage conditions and building insurance before making any commercial letting decision. If Airbnb is part of the plan from the outset, discuss it with your solicitor at the point of purchase.

14. How secure is the property?

Rural crime patterns differ from urban ones in ways worth understanding. Residential burglary rates are generally lower in rural areas, but outbuildings, vehicles, and agricultural equipment are potential targets, particularly in isolated locations or those accessed by single tracks with low passing traffic.

A CCTV system linked to a smartphone offers practical reassurance and is straightforward to install in most rural properties. For listed buildings, any external fixtures will require approval, so factor this in during survey and legal due diligence. Smart locks and alarm systems can present challenges in older buildings, and signal strength for remote monitoring should be verified for the specific property location rather than assumed from the postcode.

Adequate specialist insurance for a rural property, particularly one with outbuildings, livestock grazing, or a thatched roof, requires a policy written for that purpose rather than a standard home insurance product. This is worth arranging before exchange rather than after.

15. How good is the pub really?

For many, the idea of moving to the countryside paints a certain picture, and a cosy village pub is often part of that, even for non-drinkers. A functioning, well-run pub is often the social anchor of a rural community, the place where newcomers are introduced, where the village cricket team drinks after a game, and where news travels. Its presence or absence says something meaningful about the health of a community.

Read recent reviews with scepticism, since a pub under new management can shift quality quickly in either direction. Visit on a weekday evening rather than a summer Saturday to get a realistic sense of regular trade. And ask the agent how long the current owners have been there; tenure is a reasonable proxy for stability.

Villages that have lost their last pub often find it harder to replace than residents anticipated. It is worth treating a working pub as a material amenity rather than a lifestyle bonus.

Before moving to the countryside: three things every rural buyer should get right

Get the survey level right

A standard RICS Level 2 HomeBuyer Report is designed for conventional, reasonably modern properties in good condition. It is not designed for the older rural stock that often attracts city buyers moving to the countryside. Listed buildings, thatched properties, anything built before 1900, and properties with substantial outbuildings almost always warrant a Level 3 Building Survey.

The cost difference between the two levels is modest relative to the financial exposure involved. A Level 3 survey on a 17th-century farmhouse that surfaces a structural problem, a failing septic tank, or signs of subsidence can more than justify the additional outlay. Instructing the wrong level of survey can be one of the more expensive mistakes when undertaking a rural transaction.

Instruct the right solicitor

Rural conveyancing is a specialism. Solicitors experienced in urban apartment transactions will not necessarily be equipped for the legal complexity that attaches to older country properties: chancel repair liability, public rights of way crossing the land, restrictive covenants on adjoining parcels, shared private drives, riparian ownership of riverbanks, and the implications of agricultural tenancies all require specific knowledge and experience.

Ask any solicitor you are considering about their rural caseload and their familiarity with Land Registry title plans for rural parcels. The quality of the legal due diligence on a rural purchase matters more than on a straightforward urban transaction, and cutting corners here can prove a false economy.

Consider professional representation

In a market where some of the best stock moves discreetly and local relationships matter, having professional representation on your side can make a material difference to the quality and breadth of your search. Garrington’s consultants work exclusively for buyers, with detailed knowledge of rural markets across the UK, and can help you understand local pricing, identify suitable properties, and approach the process more strategically.

If you are considering moving to the countryside from the city and would welcome a conversation about where and how best to narrow down your search, we would be pleased to help. Contact us for a no-obligation discussion about your plans.

Frequently asked questions about moving to the countryside from the city

Is it worth moving to the countryside?

Many buyers find it one of the most rewarding moves they make, particularly when the decision is well-prepared. The appeal of space, a slower pace, and a stronger sense of community is real. Those who find the adjustment harder tend to be those who moved without fully thinking through the practical implications: transport dependency, utility infrastructure, higher maintenance costs on older rural stock. Moving to the countryside suits buyers who go into it with clear expectations rather than idealised ones.

What are the disadvantages of living in the countryside?

The main disadvantages are practical rather than aesthetic. Transport dependency is significant: a car is not optional in most rural locations, and its absence reduces quality of life materially. Access to specialist services, whether medical, educational, or cultural, requires more planning than in a city. Private utilities carry ongoing cost and maintenance obligations that urban buyers are not used to. Broadband can still be inadequate in some locations. And for those without an established local network, the early months of rural life can feel more isolated than anticipated.

Are people in the countryside happier?

Official survey data shows that rural adults in England tend to report higher local-area satisfaction and a stronger sense of neighbourhood belonging than urban adults, though individual wellbeing varies considerably by person and place. The effect appears strongest for those who have chosen moving to the countryside deliberately and understand what rural life involves day to day. Buyers who move with realistic expectations, and who invest in building local connections, generally find the adjustment more straightforward than those who approach it as an escape from city life rather than a considered lifestyle choice.