When residents of multi-storey buildings imagine life outside the city, they imagine a huge house with a spacious local area, clean air, peace and tranquility. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages to living in a cottage. Some of them are obvious, and some are revealed only some time after moving into the house. And in order not to overshadow your move with unpleasant impressions, it is important to familiarize yourself with all the pros and cons of living in a cottage.
Advantages of living in a cottage
Let’s first look at all the positive aspects of living in a country house. In general, when compared with an apartment, it is quite obvious that a house located outside the city in the fresh air without annoying neighbors right behind the wall is a real paradise for a city dweller. This lifestyle has a number of advantages:
Fresh clean air
Residents of megacities often move to country houses to improve their health. It is no secret that the environmental situation, especially in large cities, today leaves much to be desired. Exhaust gases from cars, dust from highways and waste from enterprises with constant exposure to the human body can greatly affect his health.
In this vein, living outside the city is a completely new feeling. Firstly, the quality of sleep significantly improves in the fresh air. You can finally fully relax and not feel tired just a minute after waking up.
And secondly, fresh air affects the quality of food and water. And the absence of dust from the roads eliminates the need for daily general cleaning.
Benefits from the garden
Even if you don’t plan to plant different crops, living in a country house is a big plus in terms of consuming organic vegetables, fruits and berries. You can either take care of the seedlings yourself (which also allows you to take a break from the hustle and bustle and concentrate on a specific process), or buy everything you need from your neighbors and be sure that you and your children eat fresh meat, milk, and ripe fruits.
Open space
When living in an apartment, you are often limited to four walls. Of course, you can go for a walk in the city. However, in this case, you will have to get ready for a long time, cross roads and traffic lights, and run into other people.
Outside the city, you just need to leave the house to an open terrace, which can be decorated as you wish. You will be able to supply:
- gazebo;
- children’s playground;
- pool;
- bath;
- garage, etc.
Unforgettable walks
When leaving the apartment, you find yourself in the courtyard of the house or in crowded playgrounds. Some neighbors are smoking, some are walking their dogs, some are trying to park, and some are arguing with friends or family. Agree, this situation does not set you up for a relaxing holiday. An important advantage of a country house is that outside the local area you have a new exciting and interesting world.
Now you don’t have to think about where to gather with friends. You can go to a barbecue in the forest, or go to a river or lake near your home.
Do you want to relax in peace and solitude? Ride a bike, go fishing. And family boating or skiing, ball games or joint picnics bring people together and leave a lot of pleasant memories.
No frames or restrictions!
Everything – from designing a house to decorating the local area – is now limited only by your imagination. In the city, it is simply impossible to think through the design of a house on your own – you will have to collect a bunch of different papers and permits.
Outside the city, you can design any type of building: one-story or multi-story houses, classic or non-standard exterior, etc.
By the way, today any cottage can have all the necessary communications: water, gas, internet, which makes living in a country house much easier.
Freedom here extends to everything. You can get dogs and cats, letting them out for walks in the local area, create a beautiful flower bed and garden on the property, or order a luxurious landscape design.
Disadvantages of a country house
In most cases, people who are thinking about moving to a country house know only about the advantages of living in a cottage. However, those who live outside the city for at least a year understand that this style of living is not suitable for everyone. In addition to the advantages of fresh air, spacious territory and the absence of neighbors, a country house also has some disadvantages:
The absence of noisy highways can be regarded as a plus of living in a country house. However, in general, transport accessibility outside the city is very poor. In most cases, villages are located far from bus stations, railway stations or even a banal bus stop.
True, this disadvantage is easily eliminated by purchasing personal transport. With your own car, you will not be limited by the bus schedule (which may pass by the village every few hours) or weather conditions. The main thing is to make sure that the village or town has good roads.
A house is a living organism that requires constant “diagnosis” and care. Especially if, in addition to the building itself, you also equipped a bathhouse, swimming pool, garden or vegetable garden. And, if you can make one repair in an apartment for 5-10 years, then in the house you often have to finish or redo something.
In addition, in the summer you need to mow the grass, in the fall you need to collect leaves, and in the winter you need to clear snow.
It is also important to take into account that there is no housing office outside the city that will be responsible for electricity, water or gas, and calling a repairman may take an indefinite period. So over time, you will definitely have to learn how to solve basic issues on your own.
Lack of infrastructure. This is especially true for small villages where there are no ordinary clinics and hospitals. In this case, if you need to be under the supervision of a doctor, it is better to stay within the city limits. But in general, the infrastructure in the villages is lame – as a rule, outside the city it is difficult to choose a school, kindergarten, sections and clubs. So, with children, it is better to live near the city in order to take the child to the city school.
By the way, today the situation is improving – many cottage complexes have private kindergartens, schools with good teaching staff, supermarkets, etc. within their territory.
Collection of all necessary documents. This cannot be said to be a downside to living in a cottage, but the process of preparing an agreement is quite complex and includes many aspects. Make sure in advance what the rules are for registration and check-out. Perhaps the construction also includes the location of communications, which is especially important if you plan to do a major renovation.
Over the past few years, moving from an apartment outside the city has become a real trend. People, tired of city noise and cramped panels, dream of starting a new life in a spacious cottage. Now you know about all the advantages and pitfalls of living in a country house and can more accurately determine whether this lifestyle is suitable for you or not.
