Living in the country

We live in a country village but we do have a reasonable daily bus service. I drive but since I got my bus pass have used it a fair bit. I am just a few miles from a very popular touristy town and you struggle to find a parking place in summer so the bus is great for that, and of course, is free.

I could not bear to live in a village with no buses for back up. Nor a village with no shops come to that. We can buy all we need in our village, except clothes and footwear.

Our dog is an important member of the family. She wouldn’t take kindly to living in a town - and I can’t imagine ever doing so either, no matter how convenient.

is, not I'd

Witzend

As I pointed out to my mother, when she voluntarily gave her car up at 80 (having become nervous in traffic), what she was going to save in petrol, car tax, servicing and insurance, would pay for quite a lot of taxis.

Did she ever take one? No, because in her head they were still a great extravagance. 🙁

My elderly mum is exactly the same.
In theory she can see that the savings would easily pay for regular taxis, but she still balks at the cost.

Secretly, though, I think that she I'd afraid of using taxis, because on the few occasions she has had to do so she has struggled to understand the drivers, and on one occasion was almost certainly ripped off.

All I can do is sympathise. Our bus service has gone from regular and reliable to almost non-existent in 10 years.
What are your neighbours like?
A few friends locally do get lifts to 'non-essential' groups when others are going their way. They reciprocate by paying for parking, buying a coffee, making a donation to the group you're attending etc.
Some folk who struggle to pay for their car welcome this (you have to be careful as actually paying someone may be an insurance issue, but the above isn't)

Smug here we chose to live in a small town with everything to hand including buses every 15 minutes if we need to go into the city..
We always yearned to live in the countryside but realised it wasn't practical.
However I will say, if it's any comfort, when you are too old to drive you'll probably be too old to use a bus!

There comes a time when we have to give in and rely on others.

SueDonim As others say, you need to balance the cost of taxis against the costs of running a car. Even thinking about my car insurance, I’ve just realised that’s costing me approx £2 a day, so £14pw. Then there’s VED (£3+pw) and fuel (between £10-15pw) which comes to a total of £28pw minimum.

Multiply the £28pw x2 for 2 cars, x52 for weeks and annual total is close to £3000 -- without repairs or loss to value.

We live in the country, no public transport. We'll save driving as long as we can, and then hire or ask our children to be our taxi.

As you get older you really should look forward to the day when you can’t manage without a car and move before that time. Unless you have a family support network to help you out it can get very awkward to do even the basics.

We were tempted, having lived in rural France, to move to the countryside in the UK but we opted for a small market town where we can walk to shops and GP. Public transport is poor here but we still are able to drive a car which means we can go further afield for the time being. Asking the Chair of your parish council and surgery about volunteer services is a good idea. Labour must act on public transport when they get in: the Tories don't care at all.

As others say, you need to balance the cost of taxis against the costs of running a car. Even thinking about my car insurance, I’ve just realised that’s costing me approx £2 a day, so £14pw. Then there’s VED (£3+pw) and fuel (between £10-15pw) which comes to a total of £28pw minimum. That’s quite a scary amount when I think of it!

I think you need to take a long term view as well. We lived in a rural area until last year. The storms of winter 21/22 persuaded us it was time to move so we’re now close to shops and services with bus stops near by if we want them. I feel we’ve future-proofed ourselves as much as we can.

Very good advice here Ex dancer, also talk to friends and neighbours as they may be able to help or even happily share a taxi . Could there be a community bus in a near-ish location that might be willing to 'divert' to your village once a week or so. Hope things go well for you.

If you work out per month the real cost of running a car, purchase price or lease, MOT ,repairs , insurance and fuel, it is a lot of taxis.

Leasing a car often works out cheaper than buying one if you are planning on buying secondhand.

As I pointed out to my mother, when she voluntarily gave her car up at 80 (having become nervous in traffic), what she was going to save in petrol, car tax, servicing and insurance, would pay for quite a lot of taxis.

Did she ever take one? No, because in her head they were still a great extravagance. 🙁

The story of our lives here in Australia. Taxis cost so much you wouldn’t even think of using them and public transport is a way away, nearest is 2.5 kms. Buses - none existent round here. Not all sunshine and light in the ‘lucky country’.

Commiserations ExDancer that's a dilemma, wishing you a solution.

I've been a bit housebound with broken arm at the moment and have been watching re runs of ETTC, always aware of it but don't usually watch it. The other thing that occurs, is the families with young children extolling the desire to have their young children experience the joys of running free in a sizeable garden once out of suburbia. Projecting forward another decade, the kids won't give a stuff about the garden, hanging out with their mates in the nearest town will be top of their agenda. Mum and dad welcome to the world of the unpaid, but busytakenforgrantedtaxiservice.com

Yes good point Lucky, money saved by not having a car would pay for a lot of taxis!

I’d start with your local Volunteer Bureau, they will know of any schemes for community transport, which includes voluntary drivers in their own cars who are willing to take people who don’t have cars to appointments and on shopping trips. I’ve helped people access things they need too when they make a request on our local community Facebook page, for visiting somebody in hospital for example when the volunteer services don’t operate after 4pm.
I do agree though that a time comes when we are unable to drive - I’m not looking forward to that, but I hope I’ll move from my current house in the country to town before it happens.

We live in the country with no public transport. Fortunately we both have a car so if something happens to one car there’s always another but I am very aware that we won’t be able to drive for ever. There is a local system of car lifts to the doctor or dentist (6 miles) and hospital (26) at less cost than a commercial taxi but if you can’t drive you can’t get out and shop (though we do get most things delivered) or socialise unless someone gives you a lift, which would leave you feeling like a nuisance. No family nearby. Much as I love it here, moving to somewhere on a bus route will have to happen eventually.

I live in a small village and have had to think this through. What would I do if I could no longer drive?
I have lots of nearby friends who would help with lifts for events close by.
I would use the money from the sale of the car, lack of petrol, servicing and taxing costs to get taxis. Very expensive here at min. £20 into town .... then £20 back, but I would not need to do this very often and savings on having a car would cover this.
I would use the local rural transport minibus when needed.
I shop for groceries online.
Living in the country is very important to me .... it is the place where I feel most alive and content. I would prefer to take the financial hit of taxis etc than move somewhere where I would feel unhappy which I would in tow. I am in my happy place and that us beyond price.

I wouldn’t hesitate in getting scrap money for your old car and getting another. In rural locations it’s a necessity and taxi fares have rocketed here - £25 for a 5mile one last month!
DH was a country lover (me too, in small doses!). He often said we should move to rural Northumberland, near his beloved Linhope and a shorter drive to fish The Teeed, or else to North Yorkshire to be close to Swinton Estate. Both places where he could indulge his hobbies. A long story that I won’t bore you with, but we never moved and it was only a mile drive to get on the A1M so he could head in either direction.
Later, he appreciated how difficult life would have been in either remote area and later still was grateful to be within 20 miles of The Freeman, for his frequent hospital appointments and admissions.

Perhaps a move might be a consideration, if you do a sort of cost/benefit analysis.

Yet they all talk about a big family kitchen where we can all gather and cook and chat whilst drinking wine. What planet do they live on? Clearly not the same one I inhabit!
😂

Well, our kitchen is just big enough so that I could sit and have a 🍷 while DS takes over the cooking 😁

newer

Not newer, sorry: nearer

I agree with others ExDancer, you should definitely get another car, but it may be time to consider a relocation to a small town, not too far from where you are, so you don’t lose your friends.

We occasionally watch Escape to the Country and think- what about a few years time?

I think that too.
I also think, do they seriously think their families and friends are going to travel many miles and a couple of hours or more, to spend the weekend visiting them? Yet they all talk about a big family kitchen where we can all gather and cook and chat whilst drinking wine. What planet do they live on? Clearly not the same one I inhabit!

You need something immediately.
Our County does have a fleet of voluntary drivers so you could phone the local surgery to see if one exists in your area. or ask the chairman of your parish Council if they know of anyone who does the service. You might even get a friendly local offering.
If I'm left on my own or DH cannot drive then I am moving into a town with all the services at hand.