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Rural Living in Canada
Many people dream of living in a vast city such as Toronto or Vancouver when they think of Canada, however a growing number of people want to shed city life and become part of Canada’s growing rural community.
Canada has a lot to offer when it comes to rural living: mountains, lakes, forests and even glaciers. According to the last census (2006) six million Canadian live in small towns or rural areas, which is just under 20% of the population.
There can be huge financial advantages to living outside major urban locations. Almost without exception rural houses are cheaper than their city counterparts. You might spend $250,000 on a small 800 sq ft apartment in a city with one bedroom and barely enough room to swing a cat. But, the same money might buy you a four or five bedroom property in an acre or two of land with 2-3,000 sq ft in the countryside.
To some people living a few kilometres from a major town or city in the countryside is rural enough. They are living the rural life i.e. surrounded by the countryside, perhaps not too many other properties about and able to stay out of the hustle and bustle of city life. However, they are also close enough to the city to shop, visit restaurants and use all the amenities located there.
Other people want total seclusion and seek out a home far away from anyone else. They may become self-sufficient for food etc and rarely venture into the town or city for provisions.
For others a happy medium is what they want. Perhaps in a small village with a few hundred people where they can join and become part of the community.
Before deciding to live the rural life there are many things you need to take into consideration to make sure you are making the right decision for your family.
Living close to farms
Although the idea of looking out of your window to see horses and cows grazing in the adjacent field may sound appealing, there are things to consider when living next to a farm or farms.
Animals: Animals can be dangerous, especially around children and pets. Animals smell, it is a fact that if you have a barn or field of wild stock nearby you will notice odours. There is the animal smell itself and also the smell from manure etc, so you need to take this into consideration if your planned property is close to farmland.
Noise: Farming can be noisy and depending on the type of farm, noise can be heard ay time of day or night. During planning and harvesting time many farmers work 24/7 using noisy machinery. Even dairy farmers often milk their herds during the night. Some farmers spray their fields with pesticides and may use low-flying aircraft to accomplish this. Animals too can cause a lot of noise.
Dirt: Farms can be dirty places, not just because of animal waste, but because of dust. During the summer when most of Canada has dry weather the roads can get very dusty. This is even more of a problem when you have machinery in fields creating even more dust. Also when tractors and other farm machinery exit farm land and travel on the local roads, they cause dust as well as leaving large amounts of mud and other debris in the road.
Chemicals: You must not forget that living near a farm, may mean that chemicals and pesticides are being used. You need to decide if you want to be close to such substances. Some people are very sensitive to these, which can cause health problems.
Rural Roads
Roads are something you need to consider when living rurally. Check to see if the roads are maintained during the winter i.e. snow ploughing. Some rural roads will not be maintained between certain months i.e. November to April. If this is the case, make sure you have an alternative such as your own plough or the use of a neighbours. The rural roads that do have snow-ploughing services may have to wait a little longer than town roads to be cleared.
Many rural roads are nothing more than dirt tracks, which can be extremely dusty in the dry months and slippery in the wet. Make sure you have a vehicle suitable for the local roads.
Some rural roads will get used (legally or not) for the use of all-terrain-vehicles (ATV’s) or snowmobiles in the winter, which can be very noisy and annoying.
Water Supply
Almost without exception rural properties in Canada will have a well as a source of water. Although wells might not be common in your home country, they are very common in Canada and so you should never be too concerned about purchasing a home with a well. There is no discernable difference from the point of view of water use from having a well or having a municipal supply. Remember having a well means you do not pay any water fees.
Well Record: When buying a house with a well make sure you get the Well Record from the owner. This is a record from the Ministry of the Environment that includes details such as when the well was constructed, location, depth, type etc.
Water Recovery Test: You should obtain a Water Recovery Test from a licensed contractor. This will determine how much water you can draw from the well. The minimum should be 14 litres per minute for duration of 120 minutes. This equates to 450 litres per person, per day.
Water Quality: Obviously the quality of the water you get from a well is very important; after all you will be drinking it. As part of the buying process you should have a water quality test completed. This test detects the presence of things such as E. coli, sodium, sulphate, chloride, lead etc. If your property is located near farmland you may want to have additional tests done to include pesticides. A contractor can do these tests or you can take samples yourself and submit them to the local company for testing. The local public health office can tell you where these are.
Well Type: Wells need to penetrate an aquifer, which is an area of saturated permeable soil or rock. Gravel and bedrock make good aquifers whereas clay and silt make a poor aquifer, as they cannot support high pumping rates.
There are three main types of well: dug, bored or drilled.
Dug and Bored Wells: These are used when the aquifer is less than 15 meters deep. They can be prone to contamination from surface water and sometimes, a shortage of water.
Drilled Wells: This type of well is used when the aquifer is deep, between 15-60 meters. They usually provide a more secure and safe source of water, although they are costlier to construct in the first instance.
Any problems found as part of any inspection should either be corrected by the owner or the selling price reduced to accommodate you carrying out the repairs. A new well pump can cost in the region of $500 – $1,000 whereas the cost of having a new well drilled can cost anything from $150 per meter.
Sewage Waste
Again, the majority of rural properties will not be connected to the municipal sewer system and must therefore rely on a septic system. Having a septic system means you do not pay any sewage fees and you will not notice any difference from the point of view of use from having a septic system to having a municipal system. A septic system comprises of two main components, a septic tank and a leaching bed.
Septic Tank: This is a large, watertight container made from concrete, polyethylene or fibreglass. The size of the tank depends on the house size and the minimum tank size can vary between 1,800 to 3,600 litres depending upon the province. Older tanks may only have one chamber, whereas modern tanks have two.
Septic tanks work by allowing solids to settle to the bottom to form a sludge layer and oils and grease float to the top to form scum. Bacteria, naturally present in the tank break down the sewage over a period of time.
Leaching Bed: This is a system of perforated pipes in gravel trenches on a bed of unsaturated soil. Wastewater comes out of the septic tank and seeps through the pipes into the soil where microbes remove any additional harmful viruses, bacteria and nutrients. The treated water then runs into the groundwater. Leaching beds typically have a lifespan of at least 20 years.
Each province has its own rules regulations regarding septic systems such as size, how often they need to be emptied, distances from buildings and wells etc. You can have the septic system checked before you purchase a property to make sure it complies with local permits, had been installed correctly and is working how it should. If any problems are found, the previous owners should be held responsible. This may equate to asking them to correct the problem to your satisfaction or ask for a reduction in the selling price so you can correct the problem. To replace an entire system can cost anything up to $25,000. You can also ask that the previous owners have the tank emptied at their cost before you take ownership ($150-$250).
Electricity
Unless your property is very remote indeed, you should be connected to the local electricity supply. However, you need to be aware that power outages are more frequent in rural locations than in towns or cities.
If an outage occurs, it can be back online within a few minutes or hours, but may take several days to repair depending on the cause. Initially you may not see this as a major problem, but you should be aware that if you have a well, as soon as the electricity supply is lost, you will also loose your water supply as this relies on an electric pump to work. This means no tap water, showers or toilet flushing.
In the winter this also means no heating, or in the summer no air conditioning or fridges to keep food fresh.
It is therefore advisable to invest in a generator for these periods of electricity loss. There are many different types and sizes of generators ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. You may only want to keep the essentials going such as heating/cooling, fridge, water pump etc. Or you may want to have the whole house run as normal, which of course will mean investing in a much larger and more expensive generator.
Some generators will need connecting to your electricity supply and therefore you will need to employ a qualified electrician to do this for you. He or she will require a permit from the local municipality that you will keep to prove the work was carried out correctly.
Heating
May rural properties will not have connections to municipal gas and so you will either have to do without or use propane or oil instead. Many people use one of the three to heat their homes, as it is usually much cheaper than using electricity. Other options include wood and solar heating.
Oil: Oil is stored in large tanks usually installed in basements or utility rooms or even outside the property either above or underground. As part of your home inspection the inspector will check the tank for leaks, age, size etc. Most tanks are built to last 20-30 years, so if the tank is close to this age you may be looking at replacement costs in the near future. Obviously replacement costs vary depending on type and location, but anything from $800 upwards is not unusual. If the tank is underground these costs can be over $5,000.
Make sure your home insurer knows you have an oil system in your home, as you will need your insurance to cover this. The cost to repair a tank if leaking or if an oil spill is caused can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars if land is contaminated, so make sure you are adequately covered.
You will need to contact a local oil company to arrange for your tank to be refilled. Most companies offer automatic deliveries; so you need not worry about running out of fuel, they simply deliver on a regular basis and you just pay for the fuel used.
Propane: Used in the same way as oil and stored in either small, portable tanks to use with generators or other small appliances such as BBQ’s or stored in large outdoor tanks for uses such as heating homes.
As with oil you will need adequate house insurance to cover any possible leaks, problems etc and a local company will deliver propane to your home.
Internet/Phone
Although getting a phone line in a rural location is generally not a problem; the supplier you can choose from may be limited.
The Internet on the other hand can be a major problem. If having Internet access is important to you, particularly if you want high speed then you may need to do some research before committing to a property.
Dial-up: If you have a phone line then you can get dial-up Internet access. You will need an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and you need to make sure the number you use to dial is a local number of toll-free; otherwise it could prove very expensive to use. Maximum speed is 56 kbps.
Cable: It is unlikely, thought not impossible that you may get cable Internet in a rural location. If you have cable TV, then it is likely that your service provider will be able to offer an Internet service too. The cable is shared with your neighbours, so the speed of the system can be reduced if a large number of people are accessing the system at the same time. Speeds range from 128 kbps to 10 Mbps.
Satellite: Most locations, even rural will be able to access high speed Internet via satellite. This system as the name suggests uses satellites in space to send and receive the data. You will need a dish attached to your house and as long as you have clear sight to the satellite you will be able to access the Internet. Speeds range from 128 kbps to 10 Mbps. This can be a very expensive option.
Wireless: Internet is now available via wireless technology. In order to access this system you will need to have clear sight of the tower transmitting the signal. Some people have towers attached to their homes to elevate the dish picking up the signal and obtain a clear line of sight to the tower. Speeds range from 128 kbps to 10 Mbps.
Amenities
If you are choosing to live rurally then you must make sure you can get access to the amenities that you will need on a regular basis. This can include things like groceries, health club, restaurants, theatre etc. Basically anything that you feel is important to your everyday life, you will need to have within a reasonable driving distance.
Shops: You may be willing to drive quite a distance to buy a new sofa or car, but you won’t want to travel for any great distance for a pint of milk or a loaf of bread on the odd occasion that you run out.
Schools: If you have children you will want to know where the local schools are and what type of transport is provided. Many Canadian schools operate a school bus system, which literally collects and deposits children outside their homes. If you are a good distance from a school you will need to make sure that your property is on the school run, or can be incorporated into it. You will also want to know what time the bus will collect and return your children.
Health Care: Another important consideration when living rurally is health care. We have mentioned in the past how difficult it can be to get a family doctor in Canada. You will want to make sure that there is a walk-in clinic located within an acceptable distance, likewise a dentist. You should also make sure you know the location of the nearest hospital and any other medical services you feel you might need.
It is worth asking the local emergency services how long it would take for your property to be reached. You want to know that if you need to call an ambulance, it will reach you in ‘x’ minutes and get you to hospital in ‘y’. Likewise if your house caught fire, you would not want to wait half an hour for a fire truck.
Work: Thirty percent of people living in rural areas commute to local towns and cities for work. If you have to work for a living and this requires you to leave the house, then the location of your home needs to take this into consideration. Can you easily get to and from work, even in the winter months?
Wildlife
Although wildlife can be found in the cities and towns, you will see many more varieties in the county. This can be an advantage and sometimes, a disadvantage.
What you will see will very much depend on where in Canada you live. The most likely culprits will be raccoons, deer, squirrels and rabbits. There will also be an abundance of birds such as jays, blackbirds, grackles, thrashers and chickadees. We have mentioned many of the most common mammals (issue 14) and birds (issue 13) previously.
Raccoons, although quite cute can be a nuisance. They will raid bird feeders, often destroying them in the process. Pregnant females will also seek out places to raise their young and find attic spaces and old sheds etc very appealing. They can do untold damage to property and can obviously be a major health hazard as they can carry diseases such as rabies as well as be quite aggressive, particularly females with young.
Seeing deer roaming in your garden can be quite magical, but again they can do untold damage. They may eat your plants and shrubs and their hooves can do lots of damage to your lawn.
Even the smallest of creatures such as a chickadee can be a problem. They may decide to nest in your eaves or even dig their way into your wooden siding. These birds can be very tame and will not be put off by nearby humans.
Mice can be another problem in rural areas, particularly if you live near a farm with outbuildings etc. Mice are pretty active all year round and will find nice warm places to live and raise their young – this place could be your house.
To make sure your property is “critter-free” you should make sure all holes and joints in the building are sealed. Animals and birds will sneak into the smallest of places. You should secure your property as best you can
Never leave refuse around for animals to find. If you do it once, they will keep coming back for more. Make sure garbage cans are secure with a tight fitting lid so raccoons and other larger animals such as bears cannot overturn and open them.
If you feed the birds and animals in your garden, try to keep the food away from the actual house. If they are used to receiving food in a certain place they will not be tempted to venture into your property to find more.
Conclusion
Rural living can offer many people an ideal way of life. Some however, may prefer the hustle and bustle of city life. Everyone is different and you may not know which will suite you best until you have lived in either location or a while.
You may have decided to live in a major town or city but after a year or so move to the countryside, or visa versa. The beauty of Canada is that there is no shortage of places to live, whatever your needs. You can be sure to find what you crave, it just might take you a while to find it.
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