10 Things You Should Know Before Moving to the Country

Here lately, I’ve noticed a lot of city folk moving to the country.

I have lived the country life, for most of my life.

There is so many great things about rural living. Such as, peace and quiet, solitude, and the beauty of nature.

Yet, I wonder how many of you considering country life, really know what country life intells.

So, here are my top 10 things you should know before moving to the country.

1. There are Many Unpleasant Smells

When you live in the country, you have to factor in the awful smells of rural living.

There are life stock everywhere, and they don’t smell pretty. We live across the street from a cow feed lot, and let me tell you, the smells are not for the meek. Some mornings my nostrils are filled with the sweet smell of cow manure.

You also have to be ready for skunks and dead animal smells.

If you move next to corn fields, or any type of crops, you may want to get your nose ready for crop dusters. Ever wonder why they call toots a crop duster, it’s because it stinks. Although, they are very fun to watch, the smell is horrendous.

2. Be Prepared to leave early

We live about 10 to 15 minutes outside of our little town, but to get into the city of Waco, it takes us about 30 to 45 minutes to get there.

It’s just a common practice for us to leave 30 to 40 minutes early, to make it to appointments on time.

So, if you’re into leaving your house 5 minutes before an appointment or meeting, country life may not be for you.

3. No Pizza Delivery

Where I live, there is not any pizza delivery or grocery delivery services available in our area. So, if you’re use to having everything delivered, you may want to find locations where places deliver.

We have lived in our home for over 10+ years, and have never had a pizza delivered. Which, is a little sad, because I love pizza and would love for it to be nice and hot when I eat it. Instead, we have to drive about 10 minutes to get the pizza and 10 minutes home, so it’s not freshly hot when we dig into it.

4. Wifi Sucks

If you move to an area that is not covered by big name internet companies, then you have to settle with satellite internet. Where I live, satellite internet is our only option.

It’s not terrible, but if you’re a big time gamer or need really fast internet, satellite wifi may not be for you.

5. Bugs

There is no way around it, if you live in the country, there will be bugs.

Flies, spiders, June bugs, and Ants are just a few of the insects I deal with on a daily basis.

If you don’t mind a June bug flying at your head, while you watch the beautiful sunset, then country life might be for you.

6. Creepy crawlers

Now, I have lived in the country for a very long time, and I still cannot handle spiders! 😫

Every Spring, here they come, stressing me out. They love to hide in my laundry baskets, so while I’m loading the washer, they can jump at me and give me a heart attack. 😱

You also have to be prepared for snakes. While, most of them are chicken or grass snakes, you still should be careful of Rattle Snakes and Copperheads. 🐍

Lastly, there are lots of field mice. If you plan on having land, it’s a good idea to have some cats. Of course, I have lazy cats but they do help with the field mice coming into the house.

7. Wildlife

If you have small dogs, like I do, you have to be careful of hawks and owls. They will swoop down and carry off little dogs. I know that sounds terrifying but it does happen.

While, I do love watching Owls hoot from the trees and watching all the beautiful wildlife you can only get from living in the country, there are animals you have to watch out for.

If you plan on having Chickens, watch out for Chicken Hawks. I cannot count how many Chickens we lost to Chicken Hawks.

Another wild animal you have to watch out for are Coyotes. I don’t see them too often, but I can hear them all night howling, so I know they are out there.

Wild hogs like to root around in fields as well, and they can be pretty dangerous, so stay clear of them.

Of course, this is for my area in Texas, I’m sure other States have a lot more wildlife to worry about. We have heard rumors of a Mountain Lion roaming around our area, so you never know what’s out there.

8. Sounds

If you’re use to hearing Sirens and Traffic to lull you to sleep, country life isn’t for you.

There is not any traffic noise or sirens but you will get plenty of Crickets serenading you to sleep.

As I mentioned before, you will here coyotes howling all night long.

I love all the sounds of the country, but if you don’t like waking up to the sounds of Roosters crowing, you may want to stick to sirens.

9. Bad Weather

So, the weather isn’t worse in the country, but when there is bad Weather, you have to be prepared.

Where I live, we do not hear the Emergency Sirens, so we have to rely on the Weather Announcements and watching the Radar. If we see bad Weather approaching our area, we start preparing for it.

You also have to prepared to lose internet in any bad weather, so I like to have a radio with batteries, just in case.

I also like to keep plenty of candles and flashlights on hand for storms. If the electricity goes out in the country, it is dark. There aren’t any street lights or any type of generated lights.

9. It really is wonderful

If you can get past all I have mentioned above, country living really is great!

Sitting on the patio after a long day, watching a cotton candy sky as the sun sets.

Watching fireflies and an abundance of bright stars, light up the night sky.

Falling asleep to peace and quiet.

Picking wild Plums and enjoying nature with my family.

There are so many things I could share about living in the country, but I think y’all get it.

If you live in the country, I would love to hear your favorite part of country life or any advice you would give.