A major part of the success in deciding to downshift/relocate is tied up with the kind of person you are. You’ll meet problems and challenges in your new life. There’s no getting away from the fact that personality has a great deal to do with the way you’ll react to them. What are your priorities for your new life? Do you know what you want in terms of location and future employment (or ways of making enough to live on)? How close do you want to be to friends, facilities, entertainment or towns? What exactly are your options? This is what we are now ready to consider in detail.

Why Do You Want To Downshift?

The reasons for your decision are important. But just as importantly, you should be considering whether they are valid reasons.

Some of your reasons might be negative:

• Tired of your present job. Not really a sufficient reason in itself. What is it about the present job that bores you? The people? The office or work environment? The actual work? You could consider moving to a new job without moving house.
• Working long hours. Again not a sufficient reason in itself. Can you cut down on the hours or should you just be looking for a different job?
• Fed up with the commuting. This is a difficult one. So many people have to live at a distance from their place of work. Your move to the country may mean that initially anyway you are still commuting – perhaps from a greater distance but less often. You might consider working from home part of the week or commuting to a smaller town/city involving an easier journey.
• Jaded with city life. Are you sure of this? Have you perhaps just had a run of difficult weeks? Or is this a more long-term feeling? City life can be both tiring and stimulating – be sure that in your move out of the city you won’t miss the buzz.
• Getting more for your money property wise. This is very tempting but is not the best of reasons on its own. Studying the estate agents’ leaflets or reading Country Life provides a few hours of speculation and fun but is definitely not in itself a solid basis for a future life.

And some of your reasons might be positive:

• Want to bring up children in a healthier environment. Consider though whether the children want to move. This may not concern you, but it should. It is not a problem if they are still fairly young, but once they reach an age where they have established friendships and schools it becomes more difficult. True, many children can make new friends easily, but you will have to sell them the benefits of the move – perhaps a larger bedroom, a school with better outdoor activities, access to new hobbies such as white water rafting, sailing, canoeing, climbing, riding, etc.
• Want to establish ‘real’ values for living. This can be a tricky one. Those ‘real’ values are very personal ones. Do you mean getting away from staring at a computer screen, visiting clubs, pubs and cinemas and being led by the craze of the moment? This is possible, but in this age of easy communication, much of this will follow you wherever you go. The opportunities are there, but you’ll have to reach out and take them. People in the country certainly have more time to spend chatting to you and to each other. Shopping can take longer for all the right reasons. You’ll learn more about your neighbours and they will learn about you. Everything is on a more personal level, but you may find this difficult to adjust to if you’re used to a more anonymous way of life. However, when you’re in difficulties or need help with a practical problem, you’ll hopefully find that in general people are more willing to help. If by ‘real’ you mean close to nature in all its moods, then this is certainly true. We have a private water supply and in the warm, dry weather popular with the guests in our cottages, the rivers run very low. The rain is a welcome relief. Glorious sunsets, amazing views of the mountains with the first snows of winter, and the red and gold leaves of the beech trees down at the lochside in the autumn are all sights we never tire of.
• Want a more flexible lifestyle. Your lifestyle will certainly change and this is perhaps one of the best things about the downshifting ideal. Flexibility in work patterns, in ideas and in day-today living can make a real difference. You’ll be taking more responsibility for your life and will not be so dependent on the decisions of others.
• Have a love of the countryside. Do you spend weekends in the country? Are your holidays invariably in the countryside? Do you dream of looking out of your window at fields and trees? Or at the sea? Have you visited the country in the winter months? In the rain? Do you know about public transport in the area of your choice? Will the school run be a considerably longer one than it is at the moment?
• Want to spend more time with each other and the family. Yes, you can certainly achieve this by downshifting. But then we consider this a vital and enjoyable part of the change. As my friend used to say about life, ‘this is not a dress rehearsal’. Children are only young once and this will give you the opportunity to spend time with them at all the important stages of their growing up. It will also give you the chance to spend more time with each other, making decisions that are important to you both and perhaps taking up new interests or working together to establish yourselves in your new environment.