Escape to the Country

Scott

I keep falling in love with the idea of moving to the country. Whether it’s you or a happy-go-lucky couple I recently met, it seems many people are singing the praises of the ‘simple life’ ‒ ditching expensive inner city rents for a modest country abode with a manageable mortgage. But is the country life only suited to freelancers who have flexibility and work from home, or is it still worth it for those of us in our early 30s who will face a long and possibly dreary commute?

Roxy

Hi Roxy,

You’re falling in love with the ‘idea’ of moving to the country. Understand that the grass never looks greener than when you’re stuck in the concrete jungle, tailgating a Kia Rio.

Now, if you can run your own show (like I do), living in the country is bloody brilliant.

The Australian Wellbeing Index has repeatedly shown that people living in regional Australia are among the happiest in the country. Part of that is because you can avoid becoming what I call a ‘postcode povvo’. Deakin University Emeritus Professor Robert Cummins and his team have found that financial insecurity (read: mortgage stress) produces similar feelings to that of physical torture. Struth!

However, the grass starts to look a bit patchy if you have to commute back into the city each day. A study from a university in Sweden found that relationships where one partner commutes longer than 45 minutes are 40 per cent more likely to end in divorce.

My view?

I’d look at it as a three-year plan.

First, swing on the employment trapeze by building up some freelance work.Second, after that, look at renting in the country for 12 months to try it out. (That’s what we did. While I’m from the country, I shacked up with a woman who was born and bred in the hipster suburb of North Fitzroy, where even the ducks have their own bike lanes. So we both had to be certain that country life would work for us.)

Finally, if after all that you’re still in love with the idea, make the move!

Scott