Country Living Or Urban Life: It's An Important Homebuyer Question!
Ask anyone what their ideal home looks like, and many will point out that they want a home in a bustling city or somewhere quiet in the country. You can usually find a collection of both country and urban properties for sale when you start shopping for a new home. But, the differences between country and city life can be quite profound and should be considered before you start to seriously shop for your new place to live.
Country: Bigger distances between homes often means fewer neighbors.
Urban: Denser populations tend to mean you have a lot of close neighbors.
Houses in rural areas tend to be scattered further apart, but not always. Some country homes are planted in a small cluster with other properties due to access to utilities. Just the same, you are a lot more likely to have fewer neighbors in a country home than in a city one. In an urban home, you could have multiple neighbors on every side of your property and lined up for miles in any direction.
Country: Longer commute distance can be expected.
Urban: Longer commute time can be expected.
Most places are considered country (more technically "rural") if they are outside of the primary city center and the general cluster of homes and businesses that make up the city. Therefore, a few added miles to travel to get where you are going is likely. You may be closer to work, school, shopping, etcetera if you pick an urban home, but your commute time may be longer due to dealing with heavier traffic every time you leave the house. For example, if you live five miles from the city center in a rural area, you may have to drive four or five miles to get to the nearest store. However, if you live in the city center with the store just a mile away, you may spend almost as much time in traffic as you would traveling a few more miles.
Country: You may pay more for utility services and the internet.
Urban: You may pay more for the property itself.
As a general rule, new homes for sale in an urban area can be harder to find because these homes may not come available as often and tend to go fast once they hit the market. Because of this, it is not uncommon for urban properties to have a higher price point. In the country, you may pay less for the house initially, but you may also have added costs due to the location. For example, you may have higher utility bills pay more for internet connection because service providers are further away.
If you're looking for new homes for sale in the countryside or in urban areas, reach out to a local real estate agent.