Looking for a tree change? You’re not alone. In recent years, many cities across the globe have been experiencing some of the largest migrations to the countryside. This effective exodus from city centres has largely been inspired by two main factors: the development of digital technologies for remote work, and the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns.

With the internet allowing people to work from anywhere in the world, many long-time city slickers are starting to weigh up whether their urban lifestyle is as rewarding as they’ve thought it to be in the past. After all, why live wall to wall when you could have all the space you need, and steady employment to boot?

Even so, making this big move isn’t a simple endeavour. There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to relocating you and your household to a rural town. So how do you make sure your move to the countryside is as comfortable for everybody? Following these 6 tips could be a good start!

1. Finalise your living arrangements ahead of time

The first thing you’ll want to do is sort out all the foundations of your new life in the countryside. This means finding a suitably sized and well-positioned home, and securing a suitable home insurance policy for this new property.

If you’re moving with your family, you’ll want to make sure that your new property has enough bedrooms for all your kids and plenty of backyard space to keep them entertained. For larger families, you’ll also want to make sure your new home is equipped with more than enough bathroom facilities, just so you won’t all be fighting over the shower in the morning.

And speaking of bathroom facilities, it’s common for rural properties to be fitted with their own septic tank systems and perhaps even their own local water supplies rather than relying on a regional water system. Similarly, your local council district may not offer curbside rubbish collection as frequently as your old inner city council district. With that, you should read up on your property’s water, waste, and perhaps even power management requirements well before your move, just so you know what to expect from your new life.

2. Familiarise yourself with local climate conditions

As country towns are typically free from skyscrapers and tend to have more dirt roads than asphalt ones (in some cases, at least), weather conditions often have a more immediate impact on residents than they would in urban areas. With that, new residents to any rural township are encouraged to get a good handle of local climatic conditions and how they can expect to be impacted by these conditions.

For example, local climatic conditions can impact everything from local food production and delivery capabilities, to country driving conditions. So knowing exactly what to expect and what you must prepare for, can help this new relationship with your local environmental factors to go more smoothly and with far less tumult.

3. Assess local schools and other amenities

If you’re planning to move to the country with your family, then the quality of your children’s education is likely to be another concern for you. But rest assured, rural or regional schools can provide just as many learning resources and advancement opportunities for your kids as they might’ve received at their old city schools. In fact, as regional schools are more likely to have smaller class sizes, your kids may be getting more attention from their teachers in their new regional school than they would’ve been getting from their time in a metropolitan school.

If you are feeling a little bit uncertain and apprehensive, then consider looking up schools near your new country home, and reading up on experiences from past students and parents wherever they may be available. You may even opt to organise a tour of the schools for you and your family, just to make sure that the institution is a good fit for your kids.

On a similar note, you may also decide to look up any local hospitals, medical clinics, post offices, and other amenities that you can expect to frequent or utilise following your move. Doing so can help you gather your bearings a little faster following your move.

4. Engage with your new community

One of the biggest bits of advice touted by many who’ve made this move themselves is to lean on your new neighbours and friends. Even if you’re moving to a town with a relatively small population and perhaps even just a handful of stores and streets to explore, there are still plenty of discoveries to be made within your new surroundings. Engaging with your new community can help you make these discoveries in good company, allowing you to feel settled a lot faster and perhaps even more organically.

You can meet new people in your new surroundings by visiting local cafes, pubs, and other eateries and interacting with patrons and staff alike. Be sure to also keep an eye on your town’s notice board to stay in the loop with local news and current events. If there are any local Facebook groups you could join, then be sure to do so. Staying connected both in person and via social media can help you feel more connected to the community that has blossomed up around your new town.

5. Consider employment opportunities

It goes without saying that you’ll need to be prepared to drive a lot more when planning to move to the country. And we’re not just talking about the actual moving process here either. Living rurally will likely add a lot more distance between you and your local shops and petrol stations, for instance, making the task of grocery shopping, refuelling the car, or running other weekend errands a little more difficult when compared to living in the city. And if you have to travel for work, then this extra distance will absolutely need to be factored into your commuting plans.

But as we mentioned, the digital age has also garnered many opportunities for professionals to make a living working fully remotely. So if you don’t want to travel for work, you could easily set up a home office and maintain a remote job. But finding remote work opportunities could require a bit of preliminary planning as well. After all, remote work is by no means a guarantee, so it’s definitely worth lining up some job interviews well before you plan out your move, just to make sure you do have a method of supporting yourself.

You may even decide to start your own business alongside mapping out your move. If this sounds like an appealing plan to you, then we still encourage you to look into local employment opportunities that may be available, just on the off chance that you may require supplementary income as you build up your new venture.

6. Give yourself time to adjust

Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a huge move to be making at any stage of your life, family, or even your career. And whilst you may be feeling some pressure to set up your new life straight away, you deserve time to stop and smell the roses – literally.

So take in your new settings! Go on hikes, go exploring, go driving, and just enjoy where you’re at right now, and appreciate the journey it took to get there. Doing so can help you better acclimate to country life as you’re living on a country schedule, rather than a jam-packed city one.

You have the luxury of time as well as space now, so feel free to move forward at your own pace and put yourself and your family ahead of all the little logistical considerations that inevitably come up when it’s time to go back to work or put the kids in school. The only expectation you should allow yourself to have in the first few days or even weeks of your move, is to just be present. So long as you can do just that, you’ll be sure to feel settled in no time.

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All in all, most people who make this move end up never looking back. The down-to-earth lifestyle that accompanies country living tends to convert many people into proud homesteaders. So long as you’re able to put all the practical and pleasurable elements of your new life together, you’ll find your move from the city to the country to be nothing short of a satisfying breath of fresh air.