That is because living away from busy roads reduces the risk of damage to the lungs and heart from fine particles and gases emitted by traffic. While buses, high-rise buildings and stop-go traffic are known to increase the risk of exposure to pollution, Prof Newby says you do not have to move far to reduce the health risk. Roy Harrison, professor of environmental health at the University of Birmingham, says it is "significantly healthier" to live in the countryside.
He says research shows that air pollution is responsible for an average loss of life expectancy of six months across the UK and most of that is driven by urban populations. And a government report, which found that health outcomes are more favourable in rural areas than urban areas, seems to back up these findings.
Life expectancy is higher, the infant mortality rate is lower and potential years of life lost from common causes of premature death are also lower in rural areas, it says. But this does not tell the whole story - there are wide variations within rural and urban areas because of deprivation. Someone who lives in a rural village is expected to live longer than someone living in a town in a rural area and someone living in a deprived urban area is less likely to live as long as someone brought up in a leafy city suburb.
According to an Office for National Statistics report from , which tried to take deprivation into account, overall life expectancy was higher in rural areas, but the very highest life expectancies were found in the wealthiest urban areas. It is easy to romanticise the countryside and see it as a green, rural idyll which is quiet and stress-free.
But even if that was true ever listened to The Archers? With an older population on average living in rural areas, loneliness and isolation can become a problem as people age. For the elderly and unwell without a car or public transport, and distanced from GP surgeries, hospitals and local amenities, country living can become a serious challenge. Without all of the traffic, sirens, and general noise that comes with city living, you will find that your life is much quieter when you live in a rural area.
The only noises you will probably hear in the country are sounds normally found in nature, like birds chirping, wind whistling through trees or even wildlife.
A quieter life can actually reduce your stress levels, making you more at peace and relaxed. Since there are acres and acres between homes in the country, you can enjoy your privacy and not worry about neighbors eavesdropping on your conversations or about playing your music too loud!
All of these benefits to living in a rural community lead to one thing: less stress! Studies show that those who live a rural area are less stressed due to the close proximity to nature, reduced noise, cheaper cost of living, cleaner air and more room to breathe. Founded in , we currently cover over 14, square miles between Stockton and the base of the Grapevine.
Our tower sites are strategically located to cover the rural and underserved areas that have been ignored by DSL, cable and fiber carriers. To see if you can get unWired where you live or work, contact us today! No problem. Chat with our sales experts or call us at Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer aliquet feugiat metus, ac volutpat tortor volutpat sed.
Suspendisse bibendum non nisi et viverra. You are far from others unlike living in a city where you are 5 feet away from your neighbors and can see everything they are doing. I know some of our bored Sunday afternoon activities involved building a raft with my brothers and going downstream of a small creek. Another huge advantage to living in the county is its cheap. Land and property are also less expensive in the country because its not at such high demand. When in the county you are forced to stay at home and cook so that saves you a lot of money.
Thanks for your input, Leandra! After many years since writing this post of living rurally around the world, I must say I vastly prefer living outside of cities. This is an amazing list of differences between the two.
It really is unbiased. City life is like a jungle or a wilderness, killed or be killed. While living in rural places are the opposite.
Hi Ellie, Good points! Cities are okay for me, but in small doses. But, different strokes for different folks! Nice post! I personally have lived in the suburbs, city, and country. If I had to pick, I would choose a small beach town instead though!
I agree that there are so many pros and cons to each area though. Can be much harder for anyone who sticks out…blacks, vegetarians, foster children, mixed race families, handicapped, etc.. Like sunflower butter. High speed driving means more accidents and high speed driving mixed with drunk driving is more common.
If youre alone, it can be lonely. In the city, individuals are everywhere, doing things on their own. In the country, individuals, especially younger ones, can feel far more alone. Hard to find real friends. The costs for home repairs can be far higher for those jobs the average Joe cannot do alone…major plumbing, roofing, fence building. Even Masters degrees and Phds can leave you blending in with the crowd when it comes to job searching. Can feel like a mix between country and city; friendly neighbors, yards, safe, not busy but not overly quiet.
Children can readily play with other children, walk to a playground, experience many cultures. Neighbors watch eachothers kids free of charge, lend a stick of butter, share books and cookies, and so on. A neighborhood feel. Independence Day parties included. If you are someone who prefers to keep to youself, you may have issues. Suburbans want to get to know you.
If homes near you are rented out, it suddenly kills your home value…and you never know who will move in, who owns it, or how long theyll be there.
Or itll be taken care of. Can have some of that country gossip here too but rather it being based on prejudicial type issues, its about home upkeep or other childrens behavior. Hi Sofia, Wow — brilliant additions. And small beach town life sounds pretty good to me as well! Depends whether the country has more ice-cream or if the city has more ice-cream…???? Good point! It also depends on what nation you live in. Country life in Canada is unbearable there is very little amenities and in some cases you are left to your own devices.
Most of these rural towns are dependent on mineral extraction and natural resources which creates a boom and bust economy. Hey BJ, Do you live rurally in Canada? There are plenty of small rural towns in more accessible and beautiful areas that could be comparable to rural living in the UK, as an example. I wrote this article many years ago when I experienced my first slice of rural life in Australia. For me, I prefer the rural lifestyle. Moving to small town north west.
I truly believe this city life can drive me to insanity. I work in med field and Studies show that people that live in green spaces suffer less from depression and generally live happier. I believe it. I also think living in the city disables people and they become so dependent on modern conveniences. Oh and so materialistic!
People rude not very nice out for themselves selfish. Hi Joharyr, I can believe that city-life is less healthy than country-life…. The city can be very disconnecting.
And materialistic? Every time I visit or live in a city, my expenses are always higher…. Hi Willis, I would assume by the sheer amount of people living in cities vs the countryside, that crime is much higher in the city.
But it also depends on where you go. I love nature, trees, flowers, and wildlife. However, I moved out to the country and the first thing I see is dead and dying deer. The hunting and poaching is awful and out of control and from every direction. And, law enforcement does nothing to stop it becaue most of them are hunters, too.
Hearing gunshots is not my idea of peace, and is very distressing. Hi Lester, Yes, being in the country near an active hunting area must be difficult. Great post! Even after 9 years and interesting to hear different views. This is my story: I was born and raised in a mountain town in Patagonia, with wildlife and nature on my doorstep.
And will always thank my parents for giving me that. I loved it. My thing is that due to a vision problem, I cannot drive. So I moved away, for study and work, and have been living in cities across Europe for the last 12 years. The main advantage of this city life for me is not needing a car. So Im done with this. I wanna build the rest of my and my future kids life around grass, trees, water and wild life. Its going to be tough due to my inability to drive, but I cant stand cities anymore.
I had this perfect balance in the Sacred Valley of Peru, where I lived about a 10 minute walk outside of Pisac.
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