From City To Countryside: How I’m Preparing For a New Way of Life

ad gifted | Sometime this month, my partner and I are going to *finally* be moving to our new home. It’s been a long time coming, especially considering it’s been ours since FEBRUARY but circumstances have prevented us moving in until now. But the time has finally come and I’m very excited for this next chapter.

We’re moving to a small village in Lincolnshire, which will be a huge change for me, considering I’ve lived in Essex my whole life, in a built-up area, not far outside of London.

I’ve spent more time than I could possibly count in London, especially as a teenager with old friends. And whilst I still love London, I am definitely ready to move on from it, especially now that I’m almost 31 and a “proper” adult.

I’m mostly ready for a change of scenery and a new way of life, a chance to meet new people, experience new things and of course, have my own home, finally!

I’ve spent 31 years of my life in the same place – a place I’ve never really liked anywhere – it’s definitely time for this next chapter.

But I’m under no illusion that it won’t be a huge change for me and will probably take some time to adjust to. Which I’m fine with, I like change and I’m always ready to embrace something new.

Here are 5 changes I’m preparing for when I move to the countryside:

Lots more driving

This isn’t really a positive or a negative for me, it just is. I drive a fair bit now but I can go for days on end without driving anywhere, which certainly won’t be the case when I move. Unless I’m walking to the co-op in my village, everywhere else will require me to use a car.

The only downside of this is the environmental aspect. It would be nice to have more places that I can walk to but it is what it is and I’ll have to figure out some other way to be a bit more environmentally friendly when I move, to make up for the driving I’ll have to do.

A change in my wardrobe 

Of course a move from the city to country won’t require a WHOLE change of wardrobe. I will still be wearing skirts and dresses to out for an evening and jeans and nice tips for a day shopping in Lincoln. But I will admit, my wardrobe isn’t *that* practical for outdoor related ventures.

So I may need to buy a few new pieces for those dog walks (when we get our dog) in particular. One piece that will come in very handy (especially if the weather this Summer is anything to go by) and that’s this beautiful raincoat from Lighthouse Clothing.

Lighthouse Clothing do such an amazing range of raincoats, in an array of colours and styles similar to this one. This one in particular I instantly loved because of the outer colour and the lovely striped lining on the inside of the jack and the hood, which is also really soft as well.

It has two generous buttoned pockets at the front, well big enough to fit my chunky iPhone 13 in as well as two open pockets on the side. There’s also a drawstring to cinch it in at the waist, should you want a more fitted look as well.

I’m thrilled with my choice here because not only is it really comfortable but it’s also goes with a lot of things in my wardrobe and looks nice, which the same can’t be said for all raincoats! I got this in a size 16 which gives me room inside for an extra jumper and plenty of space in the arms as well.

More community aspect 

Where I lived before, there was no community aspect at all. Apart from the odd few neighbours, everyone kept to themselves. Our house and the one directly next door has had a feud that’s gone on for years. It wasn’t an area where you could rock up and ask for teabags or get together for a glass of wine once a week.

Our new place will very much be the opposite of that. They have a monthly village newspaper that gets sent around, with tons of classes and things to do, despite the fact the population is around 2,000 people! We’ve already met some lovely neighbours who have invited us over and there’s a real sense of people being there for each other and I can’t wait for that.

Slower way of life

Despite what you do for a living or how much you have doing on in your daily life (children, pets, jobs etc.) I think in the country, there’s always a slower way of life. At least that’s what I’ve felt, every time I’ve been there. There feels like a visceral shift in the air.

People are always more willing to stop and chat, to help if you need a hand, the day seems to go slower and it’s nice to see the views over the countryside as the light changes from dawn to dusk. I’m really looking forward to this slower way of life.

Less convenience

Although this could definitely be seen as a negative and I do suspect, at times, I probably will get a bit annoyed at the fact that not everything is at my fingertips but that’s only because I’m SO used to everything being so convenient. This is actually one aspect I’m quite looking forward to.

For example, if my boyfriend and I want sushi now, all we have to do is order it. If we want sushi when we move, we’re going to have to make the effort to go to a restaurant that’s around 30 minutes away. Which can certainly be turned into a positive as that means we have the excuse to go on more date nights.

Do you live in the countryside and find any of these to be true? Let me know!

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