5 Tips For New Rural Homeowners

By Staff Reporter

Nov 30, 2020 12:01 PM EST

5 Tips For New Rural Homeowners(pixabay) (Credit: Getty Image)

Rural living is the dream for many but it certainly does have its challenges. Removed from city life, you can enjoy the luxuries of your own space and peaceful tranquility.

Living in the golden countryside comes with not only its benefits but also its inherent challenges. Instead of dealing with noisy neighbors, you'll be dealing with the stubborn pests who invade your home. Whether you're on the phone to pest control Sacramento or pest control London, the persevering pests in your home do not discriminate on location.

If you're used to city life and do not know where to start with the culture shock of rural living, here are 5 tips custom-built to make that difficult transition as easy as possible.

1. Fortify Your Home

Your home is vulnerable wherever you are.

Despite what people think, a rural home is still vulnerable to burglaries and home invasions. This partly due to complacency on the homeowners' behalf and also there aren't as many potential witnesses around to spot crime. It's easy to get too comfortable in nature and leaves doors, windows, and gates unlocked along with leaving expensive equipment in-sight.

When moving to a rural location it is paramount to get your home as secure as possible right from the get-go. Don't let complacency and procrastination take over and jeopardize the safety of your home. Great organized from the beginning and the already-tough moving process will be made so much easier.

Invest in surveillance equipment, locks, fences, and gates as quickly as possible to help keep potential intruders at bay. Nobody, regardless of their location, should go to sleep at night worried about the security of their home.

Make your country home your fortress and you'll adapt to rural life much quicker.

2. Eliminate Pests

Pests are the scourge of rural homes.

No matter what the time of year pests will always be abundant in some capacity. Whether they be insects, arachnoids, or small rodents, your rural home will be considered prime real-estate for these small intruders.

You can either pay for pest control teams to come in and work their magic or you can invest in some DIY pest-removal products. This depends on both your budget and the severity of your pest problem.

An unregulated pest problem can make your life a living nightmare. They can invade kitchen pantries, fridges, cupboards, and furniture - making it impossible for you to feel settled in your rural home.

The best way to stop a pest problem is to prevent one from happening in the first place. Be sure to be prepared well in advance and the pests will seek refuge elsewhere.

3. Maintain Your Home As Well As You Can

The secret to a stunning rural property is in the maintenance.

It's very easy to let Mother Nature dictate the appearance of your rural home. Especially if Mother Nature is your main tenant. From overgrown lawns to ugly-looking ponds, a few weeks' worths of complacency can turn your rural paradise into an untamed jungle very quickly.

It's important to be on top of your maintenance right from the start. One of the biggest culture shocks that rural homeowners have when they move is that they don't appreciate just how much work goes into a rural property. From barn-building to pest control, to pond maintenance, the behind the scenes work in rural property is extensive. It's certainly a labor of love and one that will pay off significantly if you put in the effort.

Think of a rural home as an investment. The more work and effort you put into it, the more capital you will have at the end. Your home will appear photogenic, attractive, and more valuable to potential future buyers.

Failing to maintain your home can lead to a host of issues from depreciating value to the aforementioned pest-infestation problem. It will also create a huge workload in the future should you decide to reverse the damage.

Make your life easy by completing a small amount of maintenance work a day.

4. Purchase the Right Equipment

When it comes to rural property maintenance you want to make your residency as problem-free as possible.

A great way to do that is to invest in the right tools for the trade. This can be anything from simple household gadgets to wired perimeter fencing. Having the right equipment on hand will help make your home feel more like a rural sanctuary.

A good-quality riding mower will revolutionize the way you maintain your lawn. Not only will it cut the time spent doing it in half, but you also won't have to worry about the physically exhausting task of manual labor.

Another cornerstone of a rural home is a barn. You'll need somewhere to store all of your fancy new homesteading equipment and the larger pieces such as tractors and mowers will take up considerable space inside. A barn is a cheap, reliable way to avoid clutter and protect your belongings from the outside elements.

You don't need to be Michaelangelo to construct a sturdy barn and you don't need to spend a fortune doing so. A good barn should do exactly what it says on the tin - protect your belongings. Make your barn intruder-proof and your organization will be so much easier.

Purchasing the necessary equipment is essential when owning a rural home. Get yourself organized and your home will start to feel like a rustic paradise.

5. Get Cultivating

A huge draw for many budding-country homeowners is being able to live off the land.

With an abundance of land comes an abundance of choice. Figure out what kind of vegetation and wildlife you want to grow and then find out how you can make that happen.

Always be sure to check the quality of your soil before planting anything. If the soil is brittle and hard, then add some compost or manure to it to improve its consistency. The pH level of your soil is also essential - as most vegetation requires a pH level of around 6.

This may sound like a lot of work but the quality and quantity of your plants will depend hugely on the quality of your soil, along with how nurturing you are with your plants.

No rural home is complete without a stunning, vibrant, and nutrient-rich garden. Invest the time in getting your soil just right and the results will be extraordinary.

Although rural living isn't for everyone, it's a fantastic way to live. It's healthy, engaging, and full of challenges. Follow these 5 steps and your transition into the countryside will be as smooth as your freshly-mowed meadow.

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