[Zanu Bob]

Read more: http://www.thisismon...l#ixzz1roR9PteL

'Families living in the countryside must bring in £13,740 a year — or £264 a week — more than those living in the city just to get by, Money Mail research has found.

Higher fuel costs, cash machine charges, energy bills and insurance are among the hidden extra costs that mean a rural family with two working parents needs to earn almost 40 per cent more than those living in a town.

Today, a rural family with two young children must receive £50,540 to live comfortably.

This includes the cost of childcare, running a car, heating and a host of hidden extras.

In reality, most country households earn far less than this — on average, just £40,000.

And that is if both parents are working, but many families make do with just one income.

By contrast a family living in a town needs £36,500 to live well — according to the Centre For Social Policy Research. ‘People in the countryside are being clobbered with rising insurance, lower wages and the gradual disappearance of rural shops, forcing them to travel further for even simple items,’ says Barney White-Spunner, executive chairman of campaign group the Countryside Alliance.

‘The countryside isn’t all Downton Abbey — many people are really struggling to get by, yet get little or no relief from the Government.’

NO MAINS ELECTRICITY

An estimated 1.6 million rural households are not connected to the mains gas network. Instead, many must rely on costly heating oil, which has jumped in price by 10 per cent in just one year.

This fuel has to be delivered by a tanker, and homeowners must also pay for storage costs on their land.

The average family in the country forks out £57 more a month on energy bills than one living in a town.

HIGHER PETROL BILLS

Travel costs can pile on an extra £288 a month to rural families’ bills.

Lower government subsidies mean public transport is less frequent in the countryside and often costs far more than in towns.

A car is essential for most, but the cost of fuel is also much higher — figures show rural families must pay an extra 4p a litre for diesel — which could add an extra £13 a month to fuel bills.

There are also fears that plans to introduce ‘black box’ devices — installed by insurers to monitor your driving — could ramp up country motorists’ premiums because it penalises drivers on winding roads.

50 PER CENT INSURANCE RISE

Home insurance premiums for all have climbed by an average of 14  per cent over the past year, according to the AA.

But those in many rural areas affected by flooding have soared by more than 50 per cent.

Some of these homeowners face excesses of £10,000. This is because insurers are increasingly wary about offering flood insurance because a government agreement to boost flood defences is about to run out. Excesses this high can make it difficult for people to get a mortgage.

Unusual properties, such as Britain’s 60,000 thatched cottages, have also seen premiums rise by 30 per cent more than ordinary homes.

BANK BRANCHES AXED

Many families face long journeys to visit a bank.

Over the past year, banks have shut 180 branches — the majority in the countryside.

This leaves rural customers unable to get face-to-face advice if they have money troubles.

They might also be forced to pay up to £2 a time to take their money from cashpoints because there is no longer a free one available.

SLUGGISH INTERNET

Rural families are being hammered by a host of other rip-off charges.

Some 15 per cent of rural homes struggle to watch TV online because broadband speeds are too slow and so are forced to pay more to get the fastest speed possible.

And if their phone or internet company does not cover their region, homeowners face a further charge.

For example, Orange make customers living outside its cover area stump up an extra £10 a month on top of its usual bills for some packages.'






the last two decades has seen more and more people flee to the sticks.Personally always seen this as a play on cheap oil.Can see life getting a lot tougher for people who live the rural dream and work in a city an hour away.

This post has been edited by Zanu Bob: 12 April 2012 - 08:36 AM

[SarahBell]

Higher fuel costs, cash machine charges, energy bills and insurance?


Living in the city means you still have no local bank.
It's a journey into Oldham to go to my branch which involves either expensive bus fare, or a car journey with associated parking costs.
I have free cash machines at the local supermarkets though.


I'm pretty certain insurance is cheaper in the country. I know my mum's insurance costs are 1/5 of ours.


Does petrol cost a bit more? It varies round here though - if you use the garage half way up to Oldham you'll pay several pence per litre more.

Higher fuel charges?
I got myself a log burner to cut down on the amount of expensive energy we use. (Ok I really wanted to play bonfires indoors)

[Lepista]

It's all OK, cos all farmers are minted, innit.

[rxe]

Hmmm.

We moved out to the country a few years ago.

Insurance - way down. 50% less, both car and house We don't have a flood risk.
Home energy - way down. We spend more time outside, and have a log burner (and somewhere to store logs)
Driving - yes - more of this. Petrol bills are up. On the flip side, friends come to see us, so we do less driving at the weekend.
Banks and cashpoints - never been to my local branch, never been charged for cash

[Austin Allegro]

If you have a stove or fireplaces, I would guess that heating is essentially free. A friend of mine in the country gets scrap timber and firewood for virtually nothing, people know he uses it and are happy to offload it rather than dump it.

[Lepista]

I just have to add... the headline grammar is atrocious, if you read it properly it doesn't make sense.

[BalancedBear]

I live in the country. Heating oil is more than gas, but we burn logs too which are cheap. I work from home in a great home office, so no need to commute. Insurance is cheaper as there is less crime. I tend to fuel the car en-route when passing cheaper fuel stations. I get cash from the local post office, as there is no fee to withdraw cash there. Sounds to me like the DM are just trying to give a worst-case scenario - probably based on what a city dweller would do without adapting to the new environment.

[concerned_money]

that article is horse poo !

I get green wood & season it in my garden cheaper than mains gas !
I have energy security,3 years of warmth all stacked up.
I have oil, lpg, electric, wood, solidfuel, solar - let the Russians turn off the gas

I fill up in town,I shop in town, have 3mb broadand & don't need contents insurance as we lie in the safest ward in the UK according to the stats ie my insurance is down.

For the record, life in the country is awsome, we have great neighbours, NO crime, NO chav's, No parking fees, NO crowds, NO noise other than the buzzards and duck/cows/sheep occasional tractor.

Farmer helps out in snowy weather, great community, awsome heritage pubs, red phone boxes and best of all it's hideously white & english with zero muliKulti "enrichment"

Schools areasgoodas privateie 70%+ A-C, great peer groups/teachers/extra curricular.

this properganda article is funny as..........we want the animal in the small city farm easier to watch them says the master

[Grrrr I'm a tiger]

Quote

'The countryside isn't all Downton Abbey — many people are really struggling to get by, yet get little or no relief from the Government.'

...get in line everyone.

This post has been edited by hotairmail: 12 April 2012 - 09:51 AM

[worried1]

concerned_money, on 12 April 2012 - 09:42 AM, said:

I fill up in town,I shop in town, have 3mb broadand & don't need contents insurance as we lie in the safest ward in the UK according to the stats ie my insurance is down.

The article seems to suggest that people that live in the country stay in the country all the time. I'd have thought most people go into a local town at least once a week and then benefit from the same prices as everyone else.

Of course, if they were to shop only in the village store and fill up in the village petrol station they would pay a lot more, but it would be a tiny proportion of people who actually do that.

[Chuffy Chuffnell]

Living in the countryside only costs more if you try to live the same lifestyle as a city dweller.

But any sensible person living in the countryside lives a completely different life. It's only some of the "moved out London" brigade that struggle to adapt, with their poncy green wellies and such in the supermarket..!

You buy less cr@p, you don't need a holiday every 5 minutes because of stress, indeed entertaining yourself is much cheaper albeit perhaps less exciting - but as I said, it's a lifestyle choice.

Insurance costs less, as has been pointed out. And renting is also cheaper. And you get a bigger house for your money too.

I live in a small town in the countryside and I'm very content and yet don't have a large income at all. There is less need to be rich out here.. anyone on £40k a year here would be loaded lol. As for broadband: mine's very quick as I live not far from the exchange.

A final thing to add: you don't need to send your kids to some expensive school to avoid the local comp, as most (state) schools are decent enough.

This post has been edited by Chuffy Chuffnell: 12 April 2012 - 11:58 AM

[winkie]

Chuffy Chuffnell, on 12 April 2012 - 11:52 AM, said:

Living in the countryside only costs more if you try to live the same lifestyle as a city dweller.

But any sensible person living in the countryside lives a completely different life. It's only some of the "moved out London" brigade that struggle to adapt, with their poncy green wellies and such in the supermarket..!

You buy less cr@p, you don't need a holiday every 5 minutes because of stress, indeed entertaining yourself is much cheaper albeit perhaps less exciting - but as I said, it's a lifestyle choice.

Insurance costs less, as has been pointed out. And renting is also cheaper. And you get a bigger house for your money too.

I live in a small town in the countryside and I'm very content and yet don't have a large income at all. There is less need to be rich out here.. anyone on £40k a year here would be loaded lol. As for broadband: mine's very quick as I live not far from the exchange.

A final thing to add: you don't need to send your kids to some expensive school to avoid the local comp, as most (state) schools are decent enough.

I can relate to all of that....I lived in North London for all my life within a five mile radius, much of the family still do...the place has changed immensely over that time, many places are now unrecognisable to how they once were, some good some not too good, the worst part is the high numbers of people and the growing concrete and traffic, the restrictions, the cameras, the air quality and the people that are forever rushing around with a mobile phone attached to their ears with short fuses......

Friends ask me if I miss the shopping....I tell them that is the last thing I miss.....apart from family and friends, there is nothing I miss, I have almost surprised myself how easily I have settled into country living...I would now never go back, not to say I wouldn't move again, but not back to London.....Nice for a visit, then back to some peace.

[R K]

Quote

Many families face long journeys to visit a bank.

Every cloud..........

[trippytinker]

We live in the country, it's a 26 mile round trip to the nearest town, shop and 35 miles to the secondary schools, we use oil but as far as I can see it's not much more than gas, plus we have woodburners. Internet is slow but slightly better than dial-up but we have no mobile coverage at all & it's 5 miles in any direction to get any network other than Vodafone which I can get at the top of our field.
Transport is and always will be the biggest cost and the main reason we want to move into town.

[winkie]

trippytinker, on 12 April 2012 - 01:18 PM, said:

We live in the country, it's a 26 mile round trip to the nearest town, shop and 35 miles to the secondary schools, we use oil but as far as I can see it's not much more than gas, plus we have woodburners. Internet is slow but slightly better than dial-up but we have no mobile coverage at all & it's 5 miles in any direction to get any network other than Vodafone which I can get at the top of our field.
Transport is and always will be the biggest cost and the main reason we want to move into town.

You sound like you are right out in the sticks, sounds rather isolated to me......only a certain kind of person would savor that kind of living, a step too far for some I am sure....I think young people are better off living near the larger towns and cities....the country is more of a middle age thing, when you have been there, done it and got the picture to prove it.