Country

10 myths about moving to the country

Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.— Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson made this remark in 1777 to one of his friends who lived in the wilds of Scotland. Covid, the internet and cars hadn’t happened at the time. But he did have a point. Many office workers have been told they are unlikely to return to their places of work this side of Christmas. And when you do return, it is likely that home working could be on

The great escape: where to buy property after lockdown

The latest research from Deutsche Bank suggests that a dramatic shift in working patterns is on the way. 57 per cent of the 450 financial workers surveyed expect to be working from home between 1 and 3 days a week once the pandemic has passed. Covid-19 has not only disrupted our lives in the short term but is changing our longterm mindset. So, what does that mean for the property market? If you think it’s back to business as usual, you’ll need to redefine usual before you proceed. Our new reality now affords office workers the opportunity to live further away from their place of work, which in turn brings

Our impatience will end the lockdown

At the farm shop this morning there was a chap panic-buying a large metal and plaster flamingo. It was the last one in stock and he looked very pleased with himself. I wondered if he had a few score more at home, hoarded in the attic. And then his long-suffering wife saying, when he arrived home: “Did you get the milk and chopped tomatoes?” And him replying with excitement: “No, but I managed to get another one of THESE, love…” As I mentioned in my column this week, the government will be a fait accompli to the ending of lockdown. The glorious silence of two weeks ago is already a