One of the luxuries often lost on us as Americans is the idea of the country home. Today’s rock stars and public personalities want to live in the center of things. They want a huge mansion in a neighborhood populated by other mansions, like Beverly Hills. The idea that they would have a home out in the country where they can get a respite from the rest of the world is almost laughable.

Still, there’s something to be said for the country home. Take, for example, the country home in Jane Austen’s books. The country home is the ultimate place to self-identify. It differs from the castle, which is the symbol of oppressive landed aristocracy.

In Austen’s books, big houses often came with several thousand acres to administer. The country estate had cottages for those workers who would farm the land. The owner of the home had a steward, much like today’s movie stars might have an agent. The steward takes care of the land, deals with the tenants, and makes sure that the home owner can truly relax and spend his or her time socializing and doing other things as they wish.

The English country home was likely to see new gardens every couple of years, to keep up with the latest fashions. Where today a rich and famous person might put dozens of huge plasma TVs in their houses, owners of an English country home would put up trees and all sorts of hedges and walls.

The cottages of Jane Austen are more reminiscent of today’s wealthy apartment holders. They seem cramped – which is true when you’ve got a few dozen hangers-on hanging out at your place all day long. And, while today’s luxury apartment might have plenty of modern conveniences, there’s something to be said for the sheer design options that come from a real house as opposed to an apartment with a finite space. In addition, apartment dwellers have little or no say in the surroundings of their apartment, no matter how rich they may be.

While things have obviously changed a lot in a century and a half, the idea of the country home still appeals to some. That explains, in part, why so many upper-middle class folks choose to take out a home loan and build out in the country, further extending the borders of any given city.

Photo via The Couple Next Door