Myself and the Stymistress had a lovely time while away, and we reckon that we’d found somewhere that, given an income, we could move away from it all to: This set off a converstion about the who, why, how etc of doing so. We had a lot of time to talk while walking and drinking :-).
Let me elaborate:
a) I have colleauges who want to get out of the Uk and retire to France. One has firm plans to do so.
b) The Bumpkin, among many others will decry the state of the nation, as will I if you get me going [1] [2].
c) My old neighbours sold up and retired to a place in the middle of nowhere in Scotland to get away from the rat race and retire early.
Now, (a) and (b) will say there’s something inherently wrong with “Blair’s Britain”, and if you set the Daily Express or Mail (yes Andy, I will slag them off, because they’re reactionary, middle-England, brain-disconnected shite…) going, they’ll tell you what it is. It will probably include the word ‘Immigrants’.
(c) Will just tell you that it’s a symptom of living where we do and how we do, which I’d more agree with.
I think in a smaller community, with less of the modern pressures, and a bit more space and scenery, but crucially, just enough of the modern world around, life could become a lot more bearable. Comments, anyone?
Given the chance it would be France for me. But I am honest enough to realise that the grass would likely be no greener (or cleaner judging by some of their lay-bys). Although a slower pace and warmer weather goes a long way to making it better.
A remote Scottish island with no religion, no crime and no clocks would be nice.
Things have been changing at such a rate over the last 20 years. Technology, laws, immigration, health, education. Some would argue its too much and want for the simpler life you are refering to. Everytime I come back home to the Midlands it seems life is worse.
I am glad i moved to Austria back in ’99, despite the language difficulties and missing family and friends. My theory is that there is a immigrant tolerance thresehold. As one of a few Brits living in the village I was made very welcome by the locals. I felt like a novelty. If there were 500 Brits living in the village I am sure the attutide would have been very different.
Now living in Australia and there’s plenty of intolerance here too. The biggest difference i find here is that there is plenty of space for everyone and Aussies value their traditions. They don’t seem to change for the sake of change which seems to me what the Blair government has done.
If I ever do come back I only hope there’s a small country village somewhere which still has the remnants of what life in England used to be.
Well, Technology could enable more people to work at home, removing the commute, but employers are reluctant to adopt it largely.
Laws: yes. More nanny state, more having to accomodate the lowest common denominator.
Immigration: Like the 50s over again, but with eastern Europeans, not black or Asian people. Once again, they’re doing all the jobs the people who complain about immigration consider beneath them. Interesting theory about the ‘immigrant threshold’.
i don’t know what the answer is, and suspect that as Hoipoloi suggests, the grass may not always be as green as you might thing. I go to Scotland on holiday and love it, my colleagues are the same in France, and I loved Australia when I visited, but it’s different living somewhere full time. Having said that, my ex-neighbours love it, and when we visited, I’d never seen them looking so well or happy…
Stay in Oz & buy the Monaro 🙂
Well, my old man got sick of Midlands life 15 years ago and moved to the West coast of Wales (i.e. BFN – Butt F*ck Nowhere) and loves it down there. I really think that the growing feeling of ‘it’s not as good as it used to be’ is largely due to inner city changes certainly in my lifetime. I now work in a rural environment and the difference in people is staggering. Rather than find Nirvana abroad, maybe a move out of the urban wasteland is the key? But maybe with a bit more sun and better food…Okay, I’m thinking Southern Italy…..