Most people have at least a small dream to live in idyllic rural surroundings, even if they only have that as a half-formed idea and not a lifestyle they long to live. After all, there are certain caveats about living in a rural area, not least how little might be going on, knowing all the names of your neighbors (and losing a kind of anonymity residential or city living affords you), or just how black it gets at night.
But there are many benefits as well. The fresh air, often lovely people, lush spaces, this experience can be aesthetic and mindful in all the best ways. In actual fact, rural home ownership can even teach you a fair amount about good homeownership practice, especially because you can’t rely on the conveniences residential areas can. You might not be connected to the standard sewage network for instance, or be more affected by the weather and wildlife nearby.
In this post, we’ll discuss some of the lessons that come with that, which may be appropriate to your plans back home. With that in mind, let’s go:
Water Management Is Key
Living in the countryside means dealing with water in ways we never have to think about in the city. It’s not uncommon for a house to rely on a private well for drinking water, which sounds romantic until you realize you’re responsible for testing and maintaining the whole system yourself. Rain becomes much more important to consider too, as proper drainage around your property can mean the difference between a dry basement and a soggy disaster, espeically if you live near rivers or at the bottom of hills.
You’ll learn to watch weather patterns more carefully and plan for heavy downpours or extended dry spells. Many rural properties have septic systems instead of connecting to the city sewage, so understanding how water flows through your land becomes important. The ground around your house needs careful grading to direct water away from foundations, and you might discover that gutters and downspouts require more attention. Those aren’t bad lessons to bring to a residential property, even if it just means landscaping for water routing.
Roof Investment Helps
Rural properties take more weather punishment than suburban houses, so your roof becomes incredibly important for protecting everything underneath. For instance, unobstructed, you’ll see that snow loads can be heavier, wind speeds higher, and storms more intense when you’re exposed on open land with fewer buildings around to break things up.
This means you’ll quickly find out that quality roofing materials pay for themselves when you’re dealing with harsh country weather conditions year-round. Roof thatchers working on traditional cottages understand this principle well, as they use techniques designed to handle decades of exposure to the elements with a system that still looks good.
Privacy, Lighting & Security Matter More
In a rural space you might love the peace and quiet, but that same isolation means help is further away if something goes wrong. As such, outdoor lighting becomes more important for navigation and security, and that goes twice during long winter nights when darkness falls early.
Privacy is also worth considering, as your nearest neighbor might be half a mile away but still able to see your house clearly across open fields. Many rural homeowners invest in landscape features like hedgerows or tree plantings that provide natural screening over time, or won’t mark private roads so it’s clear no house is alone down the bottom of it. These lessons can help us think about perception as it relates to security in our own homes.
With this advice, you’ll be certain to see what rural properties teach us about home ownership.
Featured Image by Ron Lach
