1 of the 7 Benefits of Living in The Country – More Family Time
I don’t think anyone on their deathbed ever said, “I wish I’d spent more time at work?” It certainly makes you think doesn’t it?!? I know I work incredibly long hours – in a business I love – I might add, but one of the reasons I can do that is that I live & work in the country. I spend less time travelling to and from work. For me grid lock traffic is generally the hold-up caused by one of our local cattle farmers moving their herd from their current paddock to the paddock across the road. And boy do those cows look chilled as they go about moving between offices!
Living & working in the country means less travelling time, permitting me to leave home a little later if I want, stay a little longer in the office, but still arrive home earlier than if I lived in the city. Many who have moved to the country are choosing to work from home, sometimes commuting to their city office 1 or 2 days a week only. And for those who choose to commute each day, the drive is mostly through glorious country, the very openness of which is relaxing in itself. Regional rail & bus networks also offer the commuter an opportunity to sit back and relax; read the news or even catch up/get ahead on paperwork. You arrive at work relaxed and the return trip offering the same opportunities means you can arrive home ahead of the game and enjoy free time with your family.
Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world. Two-thirds of us live in major cities and metropolitan areas. With the fast pace of living today, finding guilt-free ‘family time’ isn’t easy and utilising it to its fullest advantage is perhaps even harder. But there’s something about country living; maybe it’s the absence of some of the more ‘urban’ social distractions that foster a sense of greater sense of togetherness, enabling a strengthening of the family unit via shared experiences.
There is the sense of a ‘simpler lifestyle’ associated with country living and while that might sound a little sugary, it is true. Tending chickens; collecting eggs; planting and picking vegetables; feeding the horses, enjoying more nature-focused outings under that wonderful ‘big sky’ we’re lucky to live in here in rural Australia are all more accessible and enjoyable as family groups – and today we’re also lucky to experience ‘family’ in so many different forms.
