Top disadvantages of living in a village or countryside

Many people dream and decide to leave the polluted and congested cities and move to the countryside that is full of green meadows and forests. In the village, one may find a place that is equivalent to the Lost Paradise of John Milton. However, living in the countryside is much more different than that of the city. Most of the people from the cities are moving out to the small towns due to loud noise, pollution and scarcity of space after their retirement. The countryside is not only beautiful to live, but living can be much less expensive than the cities.

But living in the country comes with both pros and cons. You may crave for the large plots of land with a huge house and fresh open air, but you have to think about all the elements before making your decision to adjust to a new lifestyle.

Related: Disadvantages and Issues of living in a City or City Life

Major Disadvantages of the Countryside Living

Let us take a look at some of the major disadvantages that you may have to face while living or growing up in a rural area. They are as follows.

Activities: Big Towns and cities have movie theaters, literary reading, music concerts and amusement parks for entertainment purposes. When you opt to stay in the country, you will find less of these activities there. Thus you should be creative in keeping your little ones and yourself busy. However, more creative and artistic people find it more attractive in the countryside. There are only outdoor-related entertainment activities in the country.

Education: Most of the rural areas do not have good educational facilities. They either lack the schools, colleges and universities or the quality of education imparted is not at par with the market demands. Institutions for higher education such as colleges and universities are usually missing. Thus after the school education, a student is required to move to a city for further education. Similarly for schools too, there will be lack of choices since there are only a few schools in villages and countryside.

Job Opportunities: Countryside or village is not the place if you are looking for a high end job. There is usually lack of employment in villages. Most of the people are engaged in their own work which is related to farming or small manufacturing or processing units. Overall there is unemployment or hidden unemployment since there are no large companies, factories or service sector MNCs which offer job in such areas.

Health Facilities: Lack of health facilities is one of the major issue faced by residents of a village or rural area. In case of severe disease, treatment requires to move to a city or place with better health facilities. Good and multispeciality hospitals are lacking in rural areas.

Isolation: The people often feel isolated in the countryside due to the inconvenience of traveling. Sometimes it may even take a whole day for going into the city and returning after accomplishing important work. You need to have a study vehicle in case you got stuck in bad weather due to snow.

Time for Travel: Most of the vital buildings like schools, hospitals, and other administrative buildings are miles apart from each other in the country. Thus it takes a lot of time from one place to another and has to leave hours earlier to attend any social occasion or function to anyone’s house.

Pests and Insects: The problem of pests and insects is more frequent in the countryside than in the cities due to a huge number of trees and forests. There can also be large poisonous bugs and snakes that can prey on your pets depending on the location of where you live in the rural areas. Thus be prepared to find these critters if you are planning to move to the village.

Effects of Weather: Weather is one of the major factors for the drawback of living in the countryside. Blizzards, flooding, and torrential rain are some of the common phenomena in the rural areas. Recently though most of the roads are paved with cement, most of them are still uneven and full of dirt. During blizzards in the winter, you have to regularly plow the snow; otherwise, you will be stuck down under the snow for days until help can reach you. During the rainy season or flood, you can be completely isolated in your house as most of the roads in the town will be underwater.

Related: Difference between village life and city life

Other Cons of Living in the Rural Areas

Apart from the above-mentioned disadvantages, there are other cons that are associated with the countryside. They are:

• You have to learn a lot of new things. If agriculture is the source of the income you are thinking about, then you have to learn farming and agriculture from the scratch
• It can sometimes be tolling to do all your work by yourself. This is not the case in cities, as you can get a lot of professional assistance in different sectors.
• People either have to move or commute daily for hours from their home in search of better job opportunities from the countryside.
• Transportation is another big problem in the countryside. There are fewer services for public transport from one place to another. You should have a private mode of transportation like a bike or a car for traveling.
• Higher Education is another drawback of the countryside living. Most of the schools in the villages have schools up to the primary section. For secondary or college education, one has to definitely move to the city.
• Medical facilities are not equipped with modern instruments and infrastructure. It can be extremely fatal for anyone who is living in the country and does not have any hospitals near their home.
• People have to come to the city if they want to buy anything fancy. Even for regular grocery supplies, you have to go miles as there is no or a small number of shops in the vicinity.
• There are no shopping malls, night clubs or pubs in the countryside.
• Also, there is a lack of privacy in the life of the countryside people due to few numbers of people.
• Modern Facilities like the Internet, Wi-Fi and television can be limited or of no use.
• Services like mechanics, car wash or cab are harder to find in the countryside.
• Facilities like sewerage system, central heating, gas, telephone, and electricity is often supplied with interference which is not the case for the cities.

Positive Aspects of Living In the countryside

Well, we have stated quite a few disadvantages of the rural areas. But there are some outstanding advantages also with the simple living of the countryside. You can scroll through the below points to look at some of the pros of small-town living.

• People in the countryside live for a longer period due to a healthier environment. This has been confirmed by the scientific study. In the country, you can get a feeling of comfort and coziness.
• The living expenses in the country are 6 to 10% lower than the cities. Houses are available at a much lower almost 13% less than metropolitan areas.
• Huge space is available for the children to play or for the pets to roam about.
• Farming is a source of income that can be turned into a very good foundation of revenue. You can grow organic food and sell them directly in the nearby market or to big factories that have that food item as their ingredient.
• There is a lesser possibility of robbery, theft or any crime due to less population in the countryside.
• Since the population is small, everyone knows everything about each other in the countryside.
• The pace of life is much slower than the city due to which there is less stress. There is also an absence of slow traffic due to lesser numbers of cars. This also led to less air and noise pollution.
• People in the rural areas are friendlier, relaxed and family-oriented than those living in the metropolitan cities.
• The peaceful and quiet environment of nature helps to offer opportunities for thought and mental development.
• You can enjoy and sit in the lap of nature in the country. There are plenty of beautiful sceneries like rivers, mountains, valleys, forests and rivers that are like a dream for the city people.

Related: Benefits and advantages of Living in Cities

Thus we can conclude that the countryside is although beautiful but it also comes with a handful of disadvantages. And therefore if you are planning to relocate from the city to a rural area, prepare yourself to adjust to new surroundings and way of life in the midst of pure nature’s bliss.

Tags: Village Life Disadvantages, Countryside Disadvantages, Cons of Village Life, Cons of Countryside, Pros and Cons of Countryside, Disadvantages of living in a village, Countryside Living, Countryside Living Disadvantages