Potter wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 3:23 am
Our house (in the UK) is in a village(?) of just under 2,000 people, it has a bakers, a butchers, a barber/hairdresser, an offie/newsagent, a pub and a working marina where I can moor my boat less than 10 minutes walk from the house.
After that it's fields, but 25 minutes drive to a provincial town with major railway station and big shops.
The supermarkets deliver so no need to subject yourself to actually going there.
The problem with towns or large groups of people living together in the UK is that you will be close to the underbelly of society who will inevitably end up in your space as well, dossing and pinching and worrying the vulnerable. I think many people are so used to it that they don't even think about it, but some do, especially as they get older.
That strikes me as you're going to probably struggle to get regular supplies from that limited amount of outlets and it'll certainly be at a premium price if you can. You'll need to book up a meal/sunday roast in the pub weeks ahead, or face a minimum of a 25 minute drive to another. You won't be getting a haircut without a booking. You will have to drive to survive there as public transport is going to be very limited, if available at all, but you'll need to go to the nearest town fairly often anyway due to the aforementioned supply problems.
IME villages with c6/700 properties often are just like that and when people retire there from a more bustling metropolis, they end up feeling shortchanged by it. After everything you've been used to having on your doorstep, you sure you're going to cope with that, well, culture shock?
It does seem common for many to rise up from their beginnings, get some sort of decent career then retire to a village as the accepted path of success and they are living the dream, but the reality is often quite the opposite with them finding village life too claustrophobic. That said, you (Potter) seem like a man of very deliberate considerations, so I hope it works out for you?
