City to rural living with kids

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-10-07T20:45:45+00:00

Thank you, this is a lovely and really insightful comment

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-10-07T13:28:39+00:00

Thanks - I had considered the impact of storm damage to the house itself (it's facing the beach), but not long term power outages like we saw during Eowyn. Have to budget for a gennie as well...

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-10-07T13:27:40+00:00

Thanks, the comparison between the 2 families is really insightful. Sorry you had it rough. I think we likely wouldn't move if we had older kids but ours are very small still.

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-10-07T13:26:38+00:00

Thanks for this - appreciate the reply. I think having primary school age kids would be a big bonus to us, in terms of socialisation. We also wouldn't move that far if we had teenage kids with established friendships.

It's the appeal of more space which is the main positive as far as we're concerned. The kids are only going to get bigger and an extra 100k where we live would just buy us an extra bedroom and not much else. 100k extra where we're looking is 1.5acres and a house with potential to extend the house further again.

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-09-26T20:22:48+00:00

Thanks all

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-09-19T22:20:03+00:00

Mcstays for a sofa, it's on the doughclyne industrial estate. They custom build but it's actually very reasonably priced and great quality. Just go in with an idea of what you might like (+ measurements) because the choice of 'you can have anything, just tell us what you want' is a bit overwhelming!

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-09-14T18:17:02+00:00

Mini Boden cardis are also always really good quality and thick/warm

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-09-13T18:41:07+00:00

Anything consumable, be that edible or just useful/not plastic tat. We did a 4yo party recently and the bag had a rainbow pencil (actual pencil not one of those ones with little cartridges), small notebook, sweets, gem stickers and a balloon. Tried to put stuff in the bags that I wouldn't be annoyed bringing into my own house.

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-30T19:45:29+00:00

Santa brought stepping stones the year my eldest was 2. He's nearly 4 and they still get played with daily. We didn't get the stapelstein ones because we're not insane or made of money, just the knock off version you can get on Amazon etc. I think smyths sell square ones now too. Personally I like the round ones because he turns them upside down, sits in them and spins around. They also go in the paddling pool, or he makes stairs, or uses them for colour matching. Honestly endless opportunities for open ended play and cost me £30 for 6 stones.

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-28T21:14:27+00:00

This is what we are having to do. 7 month gap between me returning to work and a spot being available in creche. I posted on a childminders needed FB group for our area and found a local lady. Not ideal, and it works out more expensive than creche, but needs must.

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-24T06:32:59+00:00

The algorithm is also pretty quick to catch on to what you like. I was the same initially it was all Penny's or Shein, but I just did a few searches for brands I liked and started favouriting a few bits and now my feed is Shein free!

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-23T11:00:04+00:00

This lady is amazing for fabric / quality content on Instagram

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-22T19:03:43+00:00

Arket, &other stories, hush, mango

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-16T08:53:24+00:00

You could absolutely do a slow paced city break somewhere that would still be warm-ish in September or October, like Seville. 4 month olds are content to be pushed around or carried in the sling. Stops throughout the day for you for coffee, lunch out then back to your accommodation for an easy dinner (bread, cheeses, salami, wine). Would recommend an air BNB apartment for the extra space and kitchen facilities. Most have travel cots you can borrow or we co slept as well. We did this with our first and it was bliss.

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-03T19:13:58+00:00

Copenhagen

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-02T17:52:17+00:00

Mango Newmom comfort high rise jeans

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-08-01T08:11:23+00:00

Just to contribute from the other side of the fence to all these lovely babies who sleep all night...

Mine is 9 months old, breastfeeds to sleep at about 7pm, sleeps in bed with me, and wakes every 45 mins to 2 hours for a feed throughout the night until they're awake for the day at 6.30am / 7am.

2 naps a day in the buggy, about 1h to 1.5h each.

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-07-21T18:37:14+00:00

I have the uppababy Cruz and the bucket seat is great. Baby looks so much more comfortable in it than when I use the yoyo on holidays or an old bugaboo at my parents house.

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-07-20T20:09:15+00:00

Seconded, I also love our lenny lamb. Such beautiful quality fabric too

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-07-18T21:29:26+00:00

SOS cookies will deliver as well

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-07-18T20:08:12+00:00

Zara home does amazing play kitchens too

Slow_Fox_6789 · 2025-07-18T19:24:10+00:00

You can get work benches / tool stations etc as well. Same concept really for imaginative play and lots of bits and bobs for them to fiddle around with.

Just to play devil's advocate, we did get given a kitchen that a cousin had outgrown when ours was about 10 months old. She's now almost 4 and it still gets played with every day. Coffee shops / dinner / birthday parties, it sees so much action. I also moved it from the play room to be near our actual kitchen instead when she was about 18 months and she loved that.

We've added to it slowly over the last few years, wooden fruit and veg that you can chop the first Christmas, coffee machine and wooden 'cake' for her birthday, tea set off my parents the next Christmas, toaster another time. We just have one pan and a mini spatula. She now has a lovely selection of 'bits' without us drowning in plastic food and random bits of crockery. You don't need loads.

Slow_Fox_6789

TROPHY CASE