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Post by Reactionary Rage on Aug 15, 2023 8:13:58 GMT
Some of you may have noticed from Farcebook that I’ve started walking up Munro’s now at the weekend. It’s for a number of reasons really. Partly to get fit and lose weight, partly because my mate has been into them for a while and it’s good to do something with him - especially given the fact his marriage has recently ended - but I also just have a desire to get the hell out the city at the moment. When we drive to the Munro’s it’s early Sunday morning, the roads are quiet and we go through some lovely Scottish towns with proudly built stone houses and everything is clean and pleasant and it all looks rather lovely and inviting. I think to myself, “how much do these places cost?” and I imagine, briefly, retiring to a village like that. This is a relatively new thing for me, this vague pull to the countryside and whilst I don’t see myself leaving the city anytime soon I do feel a little bit tired of it. Edinburgh is dirtier these days, the tourists are a drag and I’m starting to feel a little bit like a stranger with the constant influx of students and foreigners into Leith to be brutally honest.
Of course living in the country has its disadvantages. As well as wondering about house prices I think to myself, “what the hell do they do?”. There are no cinema’s, no fancy restaurants (although I go out far less now that I’m single again), no gig venues and so on. But at some point do you really miss all that? The way the cinema is going in 20 years time it might not even be a thing. I don’t keep up with new music so at some point gigs won’t be much of a thing either but I’m sure I’ll still want to see some live music, probably an orchestra but then maybe I can get a cheap hotel and spend the night in Edinburgh or Glasgow for that. It would make travelling abroad a little bit more awkward but that’s all.
I dunno if I will pursue this and there’s definitely advantages and disadvantages but it also seems like quite a normal journey as you get older. A bit of peace and quiet, a nice garden where you can sit outside and hear the birds and feel the sunshine on your face. No? Do others here feel a bit of a pull? Do you not just get fucking bored of being around people and crave some kind of solitude? Is city life really a thing for young people?
For those of you who live in the country when did you move there? Have you always lived there? What’s the pros and cons?
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Post by cousinlou on Aug 15, 2023 8:31:44 GMT
I did, about 30 odd years ago. We were just married and had plans for children. We figured it would be a good idea. It turned out well enough but then again, my work was in the city so I didn't miss much, I thought.
About 15 years ago we moved back to 'the city' and I haven't regretted it one moment.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2023 8:43:56 GMT
Did you splash out on a pair of comfy slippers recently and it got you thinking Doug?
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Post by Stacy Heydon on Aug 15, 2023 9:12:19 GMT
I couldn't live in a big city these days. The ideal is a smallish town with period buildings surrounded by nice countryside, but one that still has some lively bars, independent shops and a few cultural things going on. Everyone wants that of course, so those places tend to be expensive.
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Post by Stacy Heydon on Aug 15, 2023 9:16:44 GMT
Leith looks nice btw, is it getting too gentrified? I'm sending off a parcel there today (I have a repeat buyer so have sent off a couple of things there in the last week).
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Post by tory on Aug 15, 2023 9:17:36 GMT
I don't consider myself as living in the country as Tunbridge Wells is a town in semi-developed greenbelt land, but I do think I've gained more of an insight into what rural living might be like over the last decade.
It does certainly appeal. I guess having London an hour by train means I'm not totally disconnected, so that would probably go. As cultural markers go, I go to London for theatre, film and opera perhaps three to five times a year, but would see that drop with a move further away. The issue, as I see it, is that in smaller, more remote communities everyone knows your business and what you're up to. That takes some getting used to and it can make or break some people.
I really pined for a move to Somerset or Wiltshire a couple of years ago, but once our lad has gone through school I suspect we will move a bit further out and tend to a garden somewhere.
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Post by Stacy Heydon on Aug 15, 2023 9:33:28 GMT
The issue, as I see it, is that in smaller, more remote communities everyone knows your business and what you're up to. That takes some getting used to and it can make or break some people. This is a good point.
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Post by adamcoan on Aug 15, 2023 9:35:00 GMT
I used to live in Stonehaven Dougie ( in a little bothy opposite dunnottar castle). Worked on the dairy farm. It wasn't in the middle of nowhere mind ,it was teuchter country though. Aberdeen was reachable and convenient by train. I liked my weekends visiting Banchory and Ballater, royal deeside etc. Beautiful and quiet, remote in the winter and fairly busy in the "summer". Adjustment,is something else. I had been living in Milton Keynes, modern city, all available desires and consumerist satisfaction guaranteed. Suddenly the pace and expectations of instant gratification are gone, no biggie ? It takes getting used to. The waiting in line to pay for a loaf of bread say, takes four times as long because the transaction involves a compulsory round of blethering between customers and staff. You eventually find yourself doing the same. That urban awareness,wariness and constant on guard state, dissipates,slowly. You need to be comfortable with yourself, you don't just instantly appreciate the relative calm. It takes time to adjust. Silence takes time to get used too. There is a greater sense of belonging, nature is wonderful, you need to stop and experience it. Standing still and looking around you ,drinking it all up is not something most people do, life for many ,is walking through an art gallery and ticking off the paintings, quick pic and move to the next room. In the country, you have the gallery to yourself, you sit and the pictures come to you.
It isn't for everyone. The differences may seem obvious at first. Truth is, they become more stark only when you return from a long time in the country and back to "civilization" . It isn't so much about the environmental differences or lifestyle adjustments, it is more about you and what you want.
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Post by adamcoan on Aug 15, 2023 9:39:21 GMT
The issue, as I see it, is that in smaller, more remote communities everyone knows your business and what you're up to. That takes some getting used to and it can make or break some people. This is a good point. It's not necessarily the case, your immediate circle,workmates, drinking chums and nosey parkers ,all know your business and speculate or gossip about you. It isn't a country specific thing. Your average housing estate resident experiences that scenario daily.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Aug 15, 2023 11:04:54 GMT
Leith looks nice btw, is it getting too gentrified? I'm sending off a parcel there today (I have a repeat buyer so have sent off a couple of things there in the last week). It's changed quite a bit since I've been here, which is around 12 years. Yes it has become more gentrified for sure. It's fashionable now and appears in those lists of the world's hippest neighbourhoods. I've noticed more and more middle class English types and yummy Mother's where I live. There's been new student flats built up Leith walk so there's an influx of them too (Edinburgh is fucking plagued by bloody students) and that combined with airbnb means the population feels more transitory. The other day a local woman who has worked at Tesco the whole time I've been here was at the check out and she called me "darling" and we had a brief chat and it felt nice but I was reminded how little such chats happen these days. One day I was leaving the local butchers, held a door open for a local woman and she thanked me and called me a "gentleman". Again, it felt nice but it's not the norm. A couple of old man pubs that used to be close to me have closed down and been reopened as hipster style pubs for young people. Of course when I sell up I will benefit financially and I buy an almond croissant and a double espresso from the fancy bakers 5 minutes walk from my flat once a week so I can't be too hypocritical but....I don't like most of it and, like I said, I feel less connection to the place. What can you do?
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Aug 15, 2023 11:10:03 GMT
I couldn't live in a big city these days. The ideal is a smallish town with period buildings surrounded by nice countryside, but one that still has some lively bars, independent shops and a few cultural things going on. Everyone wants that of course, so those places tend to be expensive. Where do you live again G? Yeah, a handful of bars, a chippy and a restaurant perhaps. Some kind of community. A church hall. Scones and cakes. Old women walking dogs. A park bench to sit on and eat a sausage roll. A little bit Local Hero.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2023 12:30:49 GMT
My town is around 20 to 25,000 people but still considered "in the country" by Irish terms. Every thing that has been mentioned happens in my town every day. However i wouldn't change it for a second. It's nice to get away the odd time but in general, the idea of living in a city with shit like an hour's drive to get to work, fuck that. Stuff is basically cheaper as well. Organizing something in the city seems like a struggle. Like going to the cinema, you need to leave early to get a parking spot, or heading a bit earlier to beat traffic etc. Fuck that. If i take a notion, i'm at the local cinema in 5 minutes. It's class. Getting home after a feed of beer sounds like a nightmare in the city if you live outside it.
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Post by Half Machine Lipschitz on Aug 15, 2023 14:42:33 GMT
I often fantasize about moving to the country, but B's not into it - she's convinced that the minute we're no longer near a hospital she's going to have a stroke and then I'll have to look after her and be miserable (or vice-versa, I suppose). We have in the past looked at properties up north, but we never bit the bullet for the reason mentioned above, and now it's too late as property values have skyrocketed in the past few years.
My sister and her husband have 175 acres a couple hours east of Toronto, but he's well-off financially and they can basically do whatever they want. They're also only about a five minute drive to the nearest town, which has all the amenities they need, so I've never heard her complain of being isolated or anything like that.
A friend, who we just visited, has about 150 acres three and a half hours north of the city. She lives by herself and has complained of loneliness. She has friends nearby, but would like to have a man in her life, and once you get out into the boonies, the pickings are pretty slim. She showed us some of the 'choices' on a dating app and to a man, they were all goateed with wraparound shades and holding a fish they had just caught.
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Post by Stacy Heydon on Aug 15, 2023 14:45:56 GMT
I couldn't live in a big city these days. The ideal is a smallish town with period buildings surrounded by nice countryside, but one that still has some lively bars, independent shops and a few cultural things going on. Everyone wants that of course, so those places tend to be expensive. Where do you live again G? Yeah, a handful of bars, a chippy and a restaurant perhaps. Some kind of community. A church hall. Scones and cakes. Old women walking dogs. A park bench to sit on and eat a sausage roll. A little bit Local Hero. Sounds more like 'The Last of the Summer Wine' !
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Aug 15, 2023 14:51:04 GMT
Where do you live again G? Yeah, a handful of bars, a chippy and a restaurant perhaps. Some kind of community. A church hall. Scones and cakes. Old women walking dogs. A park bench to sit on and eat a sausage roll. A little bit Local Hero. Sounds more like 'The Last of the Summer Wine' ! Knowing my luck it'll end up like Straw Dogs
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