There’s a big interest in leaving congested urban areas during a time of pandemic, and it’s understandable.
Add to that the ability to work remotely, and why wouldn’t you trade a shoebox sized apartment for a house with land, a more low-key lifestyle, and a little peace and quiet?
But there’s country and then there’s country.
A farmhouse on a hundred acres may seem like the dream, but the reality is that rural location might be half an hour or more to the closest gas station or grocery store. In bad weather, that charming dirt road might be one of the last to be cleared. Internet? Maybe.
A village home, particularly if you have small children or you’re older, might be perfect, even if you think you want to be out in the middle of nowhere. In upstate New York, there are lots of hamlets and villages that spring up unexpectedly, are surrounded by beautiful nothingness, but have strong communities, good neighbors, and offer the quiet life you crave without giving you total isolation.
Or maybe there’s a happy compromise. I thought I wanted a village. I live with a man who wanted no neighbors. We found an old home just a mile outside of the village that gives each of us a sense of what we wanted. And it’s turned out to be perfect.