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Health

Living in the country tends to put years on you – but also creates its own problems.

Rural watchdog, the Countryside Agency, fears the growing elderly population is testing medical services and infrastructure to their limits.

Life expectancy is rising faster in rural areas; health is generally better.

But surgeries, chemists and hospitals tend to be farther away – discouraging some from bothering to seek medical advice, perhaps to the detriment of their health.

Graph showing life expectancy at birth among males and females in rural and urban England. Source: ONS
 

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