I lived in Sydney from October 1986 until March 2003. In 2003, my wife, two kids and myself moved down here to the far south coast. I grew up here and have family and friends here so it was easy for me. Not so easy for my wife. She was also born a country girl but had become very much a city girl and she missed her friends and the way of life badly for about 18 months. I would probably not get her back to Sydney now, other than for a visit. The best view of Sydney for me now is in the rear view mirror
Regarding 'compatibility' of country people, I must say I find that an odd and, dare I say it, slightly pretentious point of view. Having spent as much time in Sydney as I have, there are as many bogans there as anywhere else. I suppose it depends on where you go, but definitely where I live, we are every bit as cosmopolitan as city people, without the neuroses
This may be because the area in which I live has a good mix of born and bred locals, sea/tree changers, and people like myself who have had the best of both worlds. We may not have the resources of the city when it comes to culture, but we do have groups of people who do their best to bring art, music, theatre, food and any other form of culture you can think of to the area.
Personally I find it a bit too much and I preferred the place the way it was three decades ago but that's progress and people seem to want to come here and bring their way of life with them from the city. I suppose you have to take the good with the bad.
We have good schools here. My kids both go to a private school, which is less than 5 minutes drive from home (they walk/catch the bus). The fees are a fraction of what you pay in the city. One of the top ATARs in NSW last year was a local student.
So I would say to anyone concerned that their social life is going to suffer, if that's the only thing stopping you from moving to the country, get over it
Living away from the big cities has very few disadvantages and plenty going for it. But you have to give it a go. And it will very much depend on where you go and what you do.
Cycling-wise, when I go for my morning rides, I hardly see another soul. One guy I do bump into regularly is the bloke with the huskies. He hooks them up to a harness and gives them a run on his skateboard. If I time it right, I get to give them a race (OK their top speed is 30 but I pretend) and it's a great start to the day and not something I'd expect to encounter in Sydney. There are literally miles and miles of road with very little traffic. And there's a group of a dozen or so cyclists who ride nearly every day of the week, so plenty of opportunity to get in on a group ride.
But it's not for everyone, so make sure it's what you want to do, be prepared for it to take a year or more to find your feet properly, and don't burn your bridges