Social life changes but it does not disappear. Those coffee groups make way for meetings with friends and neighbours (which might become equivalent, when there are fewer neighbours you tend to get to know them better). We live 3 km outside of a small village where our youngest goes to school so we can cycle (or ski in winter) there, she can also take the school bus. Our children can walk and cycle to their friends, they won't have to cycle more than ~4km which is perfectly doable. They often meet halfway in the woods to go either to our or some friends place. I think moving to the country is actually one of the best things you can do for your children since they can get so much more real freedom than in some congested car-studded crime-ridden city or a suburb which can only be escaped by car.
The bit about only being able to walk safely on the farm is strange to me, we can walk far more safely on the more or less traffic-free roads around here than we would in any city. Maybe things are different in rectangular-plot-straight-road USA farm country but here in Sweden rural roads meander through the landscape. We walked with stroller (not anymore since our youngest is 9), dog, cat and horses, toboggan (which is called 'pulka' here) or cross-country skis in winter, etc.
We live in NZ. Suburbs here are not like in US. There's usually a corner shop about 20 minutes walk max away, some connecting bus not too far away. Cars move OK - not too fast to be annoying.
However I found the houses tiny (compared to a farm we've lived in recently), backyards minimal and just so claustrophobic.
Country roads here mean people driving past you at 70-90 kmh - you can bike and walk relatively safely, but it's going to be too far to get anywhere unless it's just for a hike. Also not super pleasant to have cars rushing past you where as traffic in suburbs is much slower and you've got a sidewalk.
The cost in country is also much higher, especially in areas that are not too far from city. Of course you get 10x more land that's going to appreciate like crazy in future, but you also shelve out at least 2x initial cost + more on maintenance.
The bit about only being able to walk safely on the farm is strange to me, we can walk far more safely on the more or less traffic-free roads around here than we would in any city. Maybe things are different in rectangular-plot-straight-road USA farm country but here in Sweden rural roads meander through the landscape. We walked with stroller (not anymore since our youngest is 9), dog, cat and horses, toboggan (which is called 'pulka' here) or cross-country skis in winter, etc.