I understand the dilemma. My spouse and I are basically doing both. We built what we intended to be our retirement home in a rural area; we visit on weekends, and I love it and find a lot of peace there, and we can both easily get out and do all the outdoor activities that we love. But I'm also a city mouse. After years of living in the suburbs and not liking it very much, I decided that after the kids moved out / left for college, that I needed to live back in the city. So we're now in the process of building a city house, that will be walking distance to stores, restaurants, a big park, and short public transport distance of a lot more. My spouse is NOT a city mouse, but reluctantly agreed to the move to the city. This will be our primary house until we retire, then we'll split our time. One option that we considered was to rent a place in the city, to decide if that was the right choice. Could you rent a place somewhere in a rural area for a while, to help you decide?

Mice and other rodents are all over the place. I don't think they nest in plants though. I am right outside of NYC (like 15 minutes) but have woods all around me. We have field mice, whatever, still freakin' MICE, AS SOON as my cat died, I had an infestation in the autumn in my pantry (that is when they move in for central heating). I have a HUGE phobia of vermin. Got rid of the mice with a nasty device, glue trays, NOTHING else worked. Then, I adopted adopted a gorgeous jet black cat, NO MICE. There is a reason that were once worshipped in Egypt!

i would start by closing your bedroom door at night to prevent Sid’s visits. And while its tough to seal every crack in an old house, i’d get an annual contract with an exterminator and have them come monthly. It will decrease the population if not abolish. Mice can carry harmful diseases and better to try and relocate them as much as possible.

Yes, it looks like it heaved during winter...they do that even here where there is NO winter. They (the Mice) like to grow on the surface. It looks like parts of the crown and roots have have shriveled up. For most hostas I'd say just yank on that and get rid of it. BUT sometimes there are tiny skinny roots beginning to grow from the shriveled crown down underneath, and if you dig up the plant they won't make it. Why don't you just toss some more soil on top of that part of the crown and see what happens in a few weeks. If nothing appears, dig up the dead stuff. -Babka