Finding Your Dream Location: Country Living Versus City Living

The city or the country? When things come down to picking where we want to live, this is often the first question we ask ourselves. Do we want the vibrant life of the cityscape in an elegant, inner-city apartment or do we want to head out into the sticks and get a wholesome home in a country development?

There are numerous advantages to both options. We love the opportunities of big city living where there's always something going on. We love the serenity and peacefulness of country living where everything moves at a nice, slow and manageable pace.

In this blog post, we are going to delve into what each option offers, running through their advantages and why they might just be the right choice for you:

City Life

Across the UK, we are lucky to have a wealth of attractive cities right on our doorstep. Each one has its own character and its own identity. From the international buzz of London to the historic charm of York, the old-world beauty of Edinburgh to the robust spirit of Manchester and the everyday elegance of Cardiff to the regional bustle of Belfast, there are so many options to choose from. Let's dive into some of the reasons why city living might be right up your street:

1. Entertainment

One of the major reason's city living works for many people is the number of events, performances, parties and festivals that happen in and around cities across the UK. Arenas, music venues, art galleries, theatres and opera houses are always buzzing with different things going on, and taking a walk through a city can throw up a huge variety of things to see and do. You can catch a football game without having to travel to distant stadiums, you can watch your favourite artists without having to hop into a car and you can catch all the major shows that only tour in the larger cities.

2. Eating Out

It's a common truth that one of life's greatest joys is good food. When you want to eat out, having a wide range of cuisines and different dining styles to chose from is just fantastic. Top tier food from around the world is always available in cities - restaurants, cafes, diners and bistros can keep you eating out every day of the week if that's your thing, and the takeaway options are just as diverse. Not only that, but you'll also get some of the best restaurants in the country in the larger cities, with all the best chefs flocking to vibrant and exciting restaurant scenes. Just look at somewhere like Chelsea or Camden, both in London, for good examples of what city life has to offer the food lovers among us.

3. Transport

Our cities are home to the main transport hubs, so it's no surprise that city dweller's value where they live for that very good reason. Whether you're headed out of the country for a summer holiday via an international airport or you just need to get out into the countryside for a change of scenery, you've got the options to get you where you need to go. Outside of the cities, it can be a lot harder to get around and generally, you'll need a car to get where you need to go - if you're keen on taking public transport for cleaner living and cost-saving, then city living, with all its transport connections, is the one for you.

Country Life

The UK is home to some incredible countryside, with beautiful bucolic landscapes stretching across rolling hills, sumptuous coastline, and gorgeous valleys. Dotting this beautiful scenery are various villages and towns that are charming in all the right ways, corralled and conducted by a slower way of life that just cannot be found in the inner city. There is a lot to love about country living so let's have a quick look at some of the highlights of buying a home in the country:

1. Peace and quiet

Perhaps the biggest advantage there is to live out of the city and in the countryside is how peaceful everything is. Often as humans, we suffer from sensory overload in the city; there's too much going on, too many noises, too many smells, too many sights - we just can't keep up with it all - this can often have a negative impact on our mental health. Moving out to the countryside takes us back to our evolutionary roots, replacing traffic jams and night clubs for birdsong and the morning chorus. It also provides an escape, a place to slow things down and get more perspective of what's really important. Our Edenbrook Village development in beautiful Hampshire is a perfect example of what's on offer for those who choose the tranquillity of the countryside over the buzz of the city.

2. Outdoor pursuits

If the outdoors is right up your street, then country living is for you. We're fortunate to have so much to explore in Great Britain, and our hiking trails and public footpaths are just the thing to get you out in the world and enjoying everything nature has to offer. Living in the country means you're never far from being able to set out on an outdoor adventure no matter what your ability level is. For those who want a bit more adrenaline in their lives, mountain biking, climbing and kayaking are just a few examples of what you can get up to on a daily basis if you move out of the city.

3. Child-friendly environments

Doing what's best for your children is high up on the agenda for many people and moving your family into the countryside when the kids are young can make all the difference in their childhood. Having the space to roam, the chance to explore the world and the opportunities to learn valuable skills are all advantages that can add colour, excitement and education into your children's lives and it's all just a footpath away when you live in the country. If you choose somewhere like our Leighwood Fields development in Cranleigh, Surrey, for example, you can also raise your kids somewhere they can experience town life as well as country life, giving them the best of both worlds.

Regardless of where you want to find a home, in the heart of the city or the rolling meadows of the countryside, we've got a host of properties in developments across the south of England that will tick all kinds of boxes no matter where they are. For more information take a look at our developments.