Is moving to the country worth a pay cut and a bigger mortgage?
Trading city life for rural peace often requires accepting a lower salary and a much larger new mortgage. This financial hit makes people weigh the long-term mental health benefits and family quality of life against the harsh reality of giving up a stable financial position.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1browsing houses and jobs while waiting for the right opportunity
- 2considering staying in the current living situation until retirement
- 3commuting into work from a rural area
- 4finding a remote job before moving
- 5selling rental properties or land to build up savings
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m willing to take a substantial pay cut to get out of the city. For my soul, my partner’s soul and my future kids experiences.”source ↗
“If I move further away from the city and get a new job like I want to, I would be taking on at least a new $75k mortgage and also a pay cut because it's more rural but I think I'll be happier and could maybe make it work.”source ↗
“I'm over stimulated and need peace and quiet.”source ↗
“The house is more important to me than the job so I've been prioritizing looking for housing I want and can afford near available jobs”source ↗