Monday 17 June 2013

Town versus country.

As my mother was fond of saying, ' it wouldn't do if we all thought alike'.   Some folk like living in the town/city and some in the country.  I have tried both - Lincolnshire countryside - Lincoln itself- then another cathedral city, Lichfield - then a large connurbation, Wolverhampton and finally up here in the sticks of North Yorkshire.  Which did I enjoy the most?

Well during my working years it was convenient to live near to work and I taught in an inner city school - although we lived right on the outskirts and only a stone's throw from the countryside.

So I really think I would have to come down firmly on the side of the countryside.  There is nothing to beat walking out with the dog for her last utility walk at 10.30pm in utter silence - broken only maybe by the sound of an owl in the Scots pines above my head.
And I have just walked down the Lane to the accompaniment of curlew calling their young to keep away from me, chaffinches singing their heads off in the hedge and the distant rumble of a tractor and cutter working in a silage field.

Yes, I know, that silence would drive some 'townies' crazy.   A good job we are not all the same.   However, I do wonder whether some town's folk move up here into the countryside expecting a rural idyll.   The reason I say this is that there is a sudden surge of property on the market in our village.   I have no way of knowing where the sellers come from but I do know that some townsfolk just do not settle.

When my first husband and I came up here to live  twenty six years ago, a local farmer's wife said to me one day that she knew we would settle because we didn't wear posh clothes and we didn't have posh furniture!   At the time I thought it was a bit of a back-handed compliment but now I do see what she means.

If townies come up here and complain about the smell of farm yard manure, the number of cow pats on the road when the milking herd has come in for milking, the incidence of cattle on or near the footpath, then I would suggest that maybe they are living in the wrong place.



13 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

I love Edinburgh - it's a small city with several cinemas and theatres and lots of good restaurants but with very good access to the countryside. This morning I was walking along a wooded riverside, song thrushes singing, grey wagtails flying low over the river, rabbits feeding in fields of buttercups. Then in the afternoon i collected my press pass for the Edinburgh International Film Festival!

Terra said...

That is so annoying when people move somewhere and then complain about it, like people who move near an airport and then complain about airplanes, or as you said, move to farm country and complain about manure.
I live in a city of 60,000, I guess that is medium size. The ocean is two blocks from our house so that gives us a wild open feel when we walk along it.

Terry and Linda said...

I'm a country girl through and through. The city makes me nervous...it is good that we all are not alike, but can share our world together.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
¸.•°❤❤⊱彡

Bovey Belle said...

Although born on the outskirts of a city, I was always a country girl at heart. Mind you, in the 25 years we've lived in this old Welsh farmhouse, the milking herd has nearly trebled in size and 250 cows make one HELL of a mess outside our front gate!!!

Heather said...

I grew up with fields and woods on the doorstep and would still like to live down a little country lane but have reached the age when it makes sense to be nearer to shops, doctor, dentist, etc. It would be foolish to move to a city and then complain about the traffic or crowds, and I can never understand those who buy a cottage near the church in a village then complain about the bells on Sundays and practice nights.

Cloudia said...

Here here!

To ALL of it! :-)


Aloha

MorningAJ said...

Lincoln and Lichfield aren't exactly big cities. I enjoyed living in Lincoln and I love shopping in Lichfield. But I couldn't imagine living in Wolverhampton. (K went to uni there and loved it - but he's from Hull, so he grew up in a city)

I'm a country girl at heart. Village life though - not as isolated as a farm.

Em Parkinson said...

I always knew, growing up and living and working in the city for 37 years, that I was not meant to be there. I am so much happier now after twelve years here. Poorer financially but wealthy in every other way. Your mother was right.

Dave King said...

I think I agree with you. I always wanted to live in the countryside, but then I never did, so I don't really know for sure.

Frances said...

I enjoyed this post so much. I grew up in and around small cities in Virginia, and have lived most of my adult live in New York City.

As you may know, my own site sort of looks at the same city/country question from a slightly different perspective. I actually do think I could be a country dweller. I know that you live in a gorgeous part of the world.

The prior comments here were also very interesting to me.

Cheers!

Linda Metcalf said...

We live just at the edge of the town's city limits...so far enough away from all the hustle and bustle and close enough to country with 5 acres to enjoy. Love it here and good thing as we have been here 42 years. We would never survive in the town area.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for the comments everyone.
AJ - have you been back to lincoln lately? When we went back two years ago, after a long gap, we found the city much more lively. It seemed bigger, more like a big town and altogether better I thought. My friends who have always lived there hate the changes. As everyone seems to agree - it takes all sorts.

Reader Wil said...

I also prefer the countryside to the town. The town of Rotterdam is noisy and the air is polluted by the traffic. The same goes for Gouda and all the surrounding towns.
I am a country person!