Looking at a rural property. What to look out for?

[Cuppa]

A few random thoughts

Don’t get blinded by the idyllic rural living lifstyle, keep your feet on the ground. Living in the sticks is not for everyone (but having said that I miss it like crazy).
Owning land can be quite a responsibility & a lot of work depending upon the type of land it is. Assess for weeds/blacberries etc, look for a ‘clean’ property, it can take a decade to get weeds under control, & still have plenty of annual effort to maintain that status. Some weeds are reportable & you are legally required to deal with them. This can be expensive & time consuming. You’ll likely have less free time because it will be taken up by the needs of the property, but if you enjoy doing this it won’t feel like a chore. If it feels like a chore you will have made a poor decision to go bush. If you have other things you need to do (eg. work) a property which doesn’t take up *all* of your time off is important to avoid that sense of working your butt off all the time & never getting ahead. Be clear about how you want to use the land & assess it on that basis. Don’t just buy a block with the idea of working out what you will do with it later. Will you want to keep animals, or possibly *need* to keep animals (eg. to keep the grass down)? Keeping animals has many positives, but it is a significant tie. All the family need to be sure. Living out can be quite lonely for some, especially children. Be prepared to have to taxi kids around more. Two cars will be needed. Good fences are worthwhile, but of less value if you don’t plan to have animals to keep in (or out).
Living in fire prone areas can involve quite a lot of expense & regular hard work to stay safe. It can also be stressful at times.
Not sure what sort/size of block you are thinking about, but don’t fool yourself that a 5 acre block is going to get you out of the rat race. There are f*ckw*ts everywhere, in a smaller community they can be a greater problem than in the city! Substitute mowers, mini bikes etc for sirens.

All that said if country living suits you, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it years earlier, but if it turns out not to suit there is a reasonable chance you will have burned your bridges in terms of being able to afford to return to the city. The best reason for going bush is because it’s what you really want to do ...... not to escape from something else.

Be prepared to be more connected with others, you’ll need them & it’s the country way.

Living ‘out’ can be a very ‘freeing’ experience. No pressure to keep up with the Joneses. ‘Making do’ rather than needing the latest ‘do-hickey’ ...... unless you plan to live a city lifestyle in the bush (many do) in which case the local perception of you will be as a yuppie blockie, unless of course you move to a ’suburbanised’ area of bush blocks, where all live as yuppie blockies.

Just trying to get you thinking about what YOU really want. Feel free to reject anything I’ve said, just don’t fool yourself ‘cos it’s not a small decision easily reversed.