Is country and rural living a good choice for families?
- Countryside living is great for most families, and most families learn to love the simplicity that it offers over time. With less leisure distractions than in the city, and comparative isolation from neighbours, many families actually spend more time together. Families eat together, play together, and often work together.
Regional areas of New Zealand typically have lower crime rates than cities, good quality roads and infrastructure, and good health care. Countryside living also provides plenty of wide open spaces for children to play safely in. Rural communities typically work with community groups like Rotary and Lions, with Government agencies, and with schools, to provide children with many of the same sporting, social, arts and other opportunities that they could access in city areas.
As rural land is a lot cheaper than land found in cities, it's more likely you can afford a property with plenty of outdoor space. You can work together as a family (parents, and children) to achieve simple country living goals, like growing veggies in the garden or building a hen house and raising some chicks.