starlight7 Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 Anyone emigrated to a bush area? How did you cope? What have you learned? Do you worry about the fires in Summer? I'm not talking about outer suburbs but real bush. I have always felt drawn to these areas but I think the reality might be a very hard life but a lot of compensations too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 My son loved it - apart from the flies and, of course, the bushfire that burned the home that he had built all by himself. The girls loved it too but it bored the pants off me - just going to spend a few days with them was several weeks too long. The bush depressed me beyond measure. They liked the freedom (no paid work, just self sufficient stuff), the small community, the animals they had and the feeling of being self sufficient. My DH aspired to it for our retirement (but never actually told me until I started talking about the long holidays we would have in UK in retirement!!!!) but after considerable discussion and viewing over a dozen possible properties he did accept that in old age one moved towards services rather than away from them. My two absolutely non-negotiable items were a flush loo and decent broadband! Thank heavens he saw the light otherwise we wouldn't have been able to help my parents. I could cope with small town but 2 km down a dirt track (with stream) off a dirt road 45 minutes from a hamlet with a little convenience store - thanks but no thanks. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evandale Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 (edited) We lived bush for 6/7 years,surrounded by gum trees and river. A lovely house with stunning scenery! We were very careful with our fire breaks and bush fire clearance/back burning but we were never at ease as we did have a massive fire that passed our home luckily on the other side of the road, we were very fortunate!.. thereafter we were exceptionally nervous during the Summer months. We both hated the constant clearing up of acreage... gum trees (widow makers) limbs everywhere during high winds. I came to detest those trees and longed for weeping willows and the more gentle flora and fauna!~ Living off tank water and so reliant on wet weather to furnish our water requirements despite having what we considered to be adequate tanks, then trying to get the water cartledge out in adequate time! The constant loss of power during bad weather sometimes for days on end. Lack of infrastructure i.e. public transport/NBN, poor radio/telephone signals/hospitals etc... getting tradies out etc. We both travel interstate/internationally for work therefore the airport distance became a problem. Travelling at night was hazardous with the amount of wildlife on the roads, both for the wildlife and the car occupants ! You had to be more organised regarding shopping trips as it was a day out of your life. I think the isolation got to us, and we love having neighbours once more coupled with the gorgeous pubs and shops . You are so reliant on your cars.. here we can bike/walk and even take an affordable taxi to the city if you are out on the town. We tried it but no, never ever again... we both are very happy living in our little european village on the edge of the city. Edited September 3, 2017 by Evandale 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 There is no way in the world I could live in the bush and my wife would be even less inclined, the lack of facilities and infrastructure, the loneliness, the dirt, the fires. I used to love getting out in the bush but to live there, no. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evandale Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 2 hours ago, bristolman said: There is no way in the world I could live in the bush and my wife would be even less inclined, the lack of facilities and infrastructure, the loneliness, the dirt, the fires. I used to love getting out in the bush but to live there, no. I totally agree! If you have younger children then you are reliant on school buses, distances to schools, the constant kiddie runs to various groups they belong to. Emergencies to hospitals can add imperative extra hours to ones journey to reach a hospital. Of course thousands do it but it wasnt our "living the dream" lol 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 1 hour ago, Evandale said: I totally agree! If you have younger children then you are reliant on school buses, distances to schools, the constant kiddie runs to various groups they belong to. Emergencies to hospitals can add imperative extra hours to ones journey to reach a hospital. Of course thousands do it but it wasnt our "living the dream" lol My son had to be driven an hour and a half to a base hospital when he chopped his leg with an axe instead of a log - not a clever thing to have done but not an ideal response either. And then he had to be ambulanced over an hour to a hospital with an orthopaedic surgeon who could do the tendon reconstruction and fix the bone chip. My husband used to say that he rather liked the idea of chopping his own wood for his own fire - I told him that if he became infirm in his 70s I was bloody well not going to be chopping the wood! He's had a period recently where he would not (in that other life) have been able to chop wood so I keep reminding him of his limitations!!! The granddaughters bus to school (not a very good school and not every day because it didn't operate every day) took an hour each way - just silly!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 I used to often stay with friends who lived about an hour from Bathurst, NSW. Their biggest problem was being snowed in during some winters. The electricity would go off and that would also mean the pump was useless for pumping the water from the rainwater tanks to the house. They cleared a lot of the trees and put in a decent driveway and it really was a lovely place but of course I was just visiting not living there. After a lot of consideration they eventually sold the property and moved to Nelson Bay. I was brought up on a fairly isolated farm (in Scotland) and we were just about self sufficient but there's no way I'd do it now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 10 hours ago, Evandale said: We lived bush for 6/7 years,surrounded by gum trees and river. A lovely house with stunning scenery! We were very careful with our fire breaks and bush fire clearance/back burning but we were never at ease as we did have a massive fire that passed our home luckily on the other side of the road, we were very fortunate!.. thereafter we were exceptionally nervous during the Summer months. We both hated the constant clearing up of acreage... gum trees (widow makers) limbs everywhere during high winds. I came to detest those trees and longed for weeping willows and the more gentle flora and fauna!~ Living off tank water and so reliant on wet weather to furnish our water requirements despite having what we considered to be adequate tanks, then trying to get the water cartledge out in adequate time! The constant loss of power during bad weather sometimes for days on end. Lack of infrastructure i.e. public transport/NBN, poor radio/telephone signals/hospitals etc... getting tradies out etc. We both travel interstate/internationally for work therefore the airport distance became a problem. Travelling at night was hazardous with the amount of wildlife on the roads, both for the wildlife and the car occupants ! You had to be more organised regarding shopping trips as it was a day out of your life. I think the isolation got to us, and we love having neighbours once more coupled with the gorgeous pubs and shops . You are so reliant on your cars.. here we can bike/walk and even take an affordable taxi to the city if you are out on the town. We tried it but no, never ever again... we both are very happy living in our little european village on the edge of the city. They are bloody dangerous things. We used to live next to a reserve full of them and on a still summer day large branches would drop off and one day a whole gum tree split down the middle with a great crack - also on a windless day. As you say, branches and bark fly everywhere when it's windy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evandale Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 Thats so right Toots, they would get the wind up our sails for sure. Met a few paraplegic bushies whilst we were up there (gum tree victims) ! Now apple trees I dont have a problem with lol 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evandale Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 58 minutes ago, Toots said: The electricity would go off and that would also mean the pump was useless for pumping the water from the rainwater tanks to the house. Exactly right, we experienced all of this, initially we werent too phased then it became downright inconvenient! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest241083 Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 ..........many years ago when the children were young ........5 and 8 it was good ..... .......a peaceful life .......they caught a bus to school .......spent days out on ponys or their motorbikes and gocarts .......swam in the dam amongst the eels ......an idilyic life for kids ......but we had bushfires.....being surrounded by sugar cane we were lucky to keep the house ........floods.....the stink when the water went took months to get rid of .......frequent power cuts....lightening once striking the property pole near the house ......I was deaf for weeks .......there were no bin services .... .......you were careful what you bought and used ........rubbish was either burnt ,composted or taken to the dump miles away ........tree and branch clearing a constant ........I enjoyed it mostly .........couldn't do it now......it's a hard life ime ........I'm liking my creature comforts as I get older tbh 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 What is actually classed as "Bush" we are an hour round trip to our nearest shop and a 3 hour round trip to the nearest department stores. Our local hospital is 30 minutes away and is really old fashioned and only has 10 beds. 'We aren't on town water, no mobile signal but we do have wireless NBN. We live on 40 acres and my son often says "mum I have to keep pinching myself to see if I'm dreaming because I love where we live so much." It is hard work but I don't think we would change it. We love having the privacy, the wildlife, the weekly fires. 'My only regret is we didn't move earlier when all the kids were at home and I was healthier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest241083 Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 .........it's s good place to bring up kids ime ........but you have to be self reliant! .........I live on 5 acres now but am on the edge of a very residential area ........I do like my peace and quiet ... ........as long as aminities can be reached by car it can be a good life 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 One of my kids lived in the bush for about 10 years but they lost their house in a bushfire and moved to a small country town ( with no trees on their block) It is so stunningly beautiful out there in the bush, though and all the wildlife and birds are magnificent. We had a bush property for some years but it was just a holiday place, not sure I could live there permanently (I think I would suffer from shopping centre withdrawal!) I would worry about lack of medical facilities and how slow it is to get any tradies etc. Guess you have to be pretty self-sufficient which is hard when you get older. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 1 hour ago, starlight7 said: One of my kids lived in the bush for about 10 years but they lost their house in a bushfire and moved to a small country town ( with no trees on their block) It is so stunningly beautiful out there in the bush, though and all the wildlife and birds are magnificent. We had a bush property for some years but it was just a holiday place, not sure I could live there permanently (I think I would suffer from shopping centre withdrawal!) I would worry about lack of medical facilities and how slow it is to get any tradies etc. Guess you have to be pretty self-sufficient which is hard when you get older. Rotten things bushfires eh? Must admit they scare the pants off me. Being part of the Canberra fires was dead scary then helping with recovery with the Gippy fires had me quite paranoid. I badgered the DS into building a fire shelter and that, along with a poly tunnel type thing (very weird!!!) were the only things to survive on his block (just as well really, he had ammo and explosives in the fire shelter, he was expecting a crater!!!). Did your chap recover well? Mine was a bit of a hoarder before (the self sufficient thing) but even more so now - and so is our eldest granddaughter, quite worrying really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 'Ave a go, ya mugs and learn to be independent, self reliant, or whatever you want to call it... Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 (edited) On 03/09/2017 at 13:33, starlight7 said: Anyone emigrated to a bush area? How did you cope? What have you learned? Do you worry about the fires in Summer? I'm not talking about outer suburbs but real bush. I have always felt drawn to these areas but I think the reality might be a very hard life but a lot of compensations too. I don't know about living up there, but I would like to visit more often, but my wife doesn't like it. Fear of snakes. Edited September 27, 2017 by newjez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.0ad3ad7bc9a213b8cd17da1aa4ed9c73.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.