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s/o Country Life...


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I read the thread about moving away from the city with interest...

Living on the country-side has been my dream since I was a kid...

 

Now, with the kids been 11 / almost 9 / 7...plus baby...I am wondering if it isn't "too late".

They are all involved in competitive swimming, doing Judo twice a week and they all play an instrument... I am afraid I would spent my life in the car!:tongue_smilie:

 

How do you organize activities for your kids?

Are any of your kids doing a lot of activities, or is it just something you give up on when moving to the countryside?

 

Thanks!

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We live in the countryside, but are only fifteen minutes to a town that has lots of activities. This is a great compromise for us.

 

Laura

 

This is us too. I like being so close to so many things, but far enough away to live in the country with all its benefits. Within 15 - 20 minutes we can be doing many different things in a medium sized town (40,000). That's the same time it took me to do anything when we lived in a city too. The only difference is this is a country drive of 10 miles or so. The other was traffic, traffic lights and stop signs.

 

I'm not the type to want to live an hour + away from anything like some rural parts of the planet.

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We live in the countryside, but are only fifteen minutes to a town that has lots of activities. This is a great compromise for us.

 

Laura

 

This is how it is for us. My kids are very involved - gymnastics, dance, baseball, church activities - you name it. We carpool with other parents that live out our way and drive a LOT. It is worth it for us because we love it so much out here. It is quiet, we can hear our streams running in the spring and summer, and our chickens crowing ALL the time! My kids have the run of the pastures and woods. We have trails up the mountain beside our house and the view is incredible.

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I have entertained dreams many times of moving out to the country but I have had to admit to myself that I am indeed a city girl. I would be miserable. So, now the quest is for something that feels like it is in the middle of nowhere but is, in reality, right around the corner. I know my kids wouldn't like it after the novelty wore off.

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We live 1 hour from a big city and 20 minutes from a smaller town.

 

On Mondays, I take my 14 year old to piano lessons an hour away. I usually take some younger kids, and let them have an outing or shopping of some sort. That evening. Ds has Boy scouts 20 minutes away.

 

On Tuesday, they take homeschool classes 15 minutes away.

 

On Wednesday, I take Ds 45 minutes away to saxophone and trumpet lessons. I usually also take him out to eat.

 

On Thursday, they have their volunteer work, but they can walk to that.

 

On Friday, a friend brings her daughter to play with my 12 year old. They do Science together, and play with the animals.

 

We have space to roam, a beautiful environment, and activities for the kids, but there is a price to be paid.

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You adjust to what you feel is important. My kids gave up a soccer league, but we did not feel that participating in soccer was a higher priority than being able to get into this property and hobby farm. They exchanged one set of activities for another. Though, had they wanted to continue with some things, we could have managed because since this outlying area is so far from a city, there is a lot offered at night and on weekends to the general public through the local school districts...swimming and diving lessons, karate, etc. But, mine opted for riding lessons and three of the four have been taking English Riding/Dressage Lessons. We also do 4-H and in this county, 4-H is huge. So, our kids have a mind-boggling amount of activities they could be involved in if we allowed it.

 

Our kids hike, garden, cut wood, play with animals...our show ducks are a riot! I teach piano, trumpet, and flute to my kids and beginning violin. Thankfully there is a good violin teacher about 20 minutes from here so that when ds is beyond me, I've got somewhere to take him. Even if I hadn't been a professional musician, there are several good piano teachers in the area. Just because it's rural, doesn't mean that resources aren't available. Our favorite professional photographer (the one that took dd's senior pictures) is my old band director! He still gives lessons on brass even though his photography business is doing very well.

 

We drive to the BIG city (Detroit) twice per year for museums or music. We go to Midland to the Center for the Performing Arts twice per year for plays or concerts. So yeah, we have a ridiculous drive to get to these events. But, it's not that big of a deal. We just plan for a special outing.

 

Faith

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