Swapping city life for country living

Novelist Mark Mason chucked an urbane London existence for village life in Suffolk. So how does country life measure up?

What a difference a few months make. In December my home was a small flat in central London. From one spot you could see it all: bedroom, bathroom (no bath, only a shower), combined kitchen/sitting room. Now I live in Suffolk, in an eighteenth-century cottage known to the whole village as 'the one with the beagle in the window'.

They say life always comes full circle. After a rural childhood, I spent my twenties in London, working in the media, living a life as far removed from my parents' as a laptop is from a tractor. My girlfriend (though I didn't know her then) did exactly the same. The first few years of our relationship were illuminated by the big city's bright lights, including a brief spell in Manhattan. But more and more we found ourselves contemplating a move, especially as we returned from parental visits. Plenty of 'what if's' on the M40.

There were practical reasons for our move to the country, of course, chiefly the amount of property we could get for our money. In London our outlay would have secured a glorified broom-cupboard in a grotty area. Instead we now have a two-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage, all inglenook fireplaces and exposed beams. Our garden faces south, the view dominated by the church. When I play my guitar, there are two floors between me and Jo. Jo likes this.

Another factor was our dog: we didn't have one. Bijou Clerkenwell pads are all very well, but they fill up quickly with a couple of two-legged creatures, never mind the four-legged kind. Moving to the country allowed the recruitment of Harvey (or, to give him his full name, Harvey Leave). The width of our front windowsill allows him to indulge his showboating tendencies. And if our little unit evolves further, the primary school is just round the corner (no need to drive), where well-behaved children make noisy use of the playground. Jo and I have good memories of village schooldays - maybe life really will come full circle.