The Downsides of Life in a Rural Cottage - and why I need a change

Hello everyone, and welcome to a cold, rainy day in the Cascade Mountains. I had a very well-loved book of folktales when I was a child, and one of my favorite stories was about a very wise and old tree man who lived at the top of a hill, and could accurately predict the weather just by sniffing the air. I always thought it was a funny idea, and yet now that I've been here for over two years, I can say that I understand. There's a very definite shift in the When the air isn't mixed in with the smell of petrol and crowded places, you discover it carries with it a thousand aromatic notes of the earth. Right now, I can smell sage and cedar, as well as the minty bite of frost. The autumn gnomes are no doubt collecting the very last of the apples, and the squirrels are topping their stores. In last week's video, some expressed to me that they are hoping to move and start a new life soon, and are in a time of transition. Also, a few said that they believed I was living off-grid and very isolated from people, dozens if not hundreds of miles away from civilization. I wanted to clear this up in regards to my location, not to discourage your lifestyle preference, only to explain my own. I also felt that perhaps it could be helpful to share some less desirable things I face while living in a rural area. Knowing that nowhere is perfect, and each place has challenges depending on who you are. So, due to respecting the privacy of my neighbors, I do not show their homes, but I can assure you they are there. I'm neither off-grid nor am I isolated, and I enjoy about a 15 minute drive from town. Hundreds of people live similarly in this area. I prefer things that way, and I will explain why. In relation, one of the biggest challenges I face living here is social connection. When I lived in the city, it was easier for me to meet people within my age group and that share my interests. This isn't always as facilitated in the countryside for the simple fact that there simply are less people. For example, in the city, I loved spending time with my peers who spoke Spanish, had lived in the Caribbean, or had also grown up in a military family. I automatically felt like I had so much in common with them. While there are young people with similar backgrounds here, it isn't as likely, and so I rely a little more on communicating with others via email and social media. Now, this isn't to say you cannot connect with an incredible community wherever you are, but for me, it took a little more work and creativity to do that out here. And I think your own personality and social needs should be considered when making a move to a rural area, because despite my introversion, this has been tricky for me. That is one of the reasons I enjoy living close to town. I admire people who are in very isolated and off-grid locations. They are impressive and must have a lot of mental strength, because I am not like that. I find that loneliness is a very real thing that can creep up on me if I'm too far removed from other people. It isn't easy to live like that. If anything, being isolated and alone could be very hard to deal with if you are like me. And that's something I know because I live so near town, and I even struggled with feeling disconnected from others when I first moved here. Thankfully, through working as a teacher and getting involved, that has changed over time. In addition, I also feel much safer being near people. It's unrealistic for me to live isolated, as I have a job that requires me to work in town, and I cannot work remotely. I don't have a lot of free time, nor the knowledge or ability to invest the cost and energy needed in a homestead to keep it functional. Another big reason I live near town is that I can easily get help if I need it, for emergencies and otherwise. If you saw my last video, you know that I have experienced medical scares in my family before. My father had a heart attack over a year ago, and he is still a very healthy and fit and young person in my opinion, so examples like that make me want to always be within a short drive to the hospital. That's not always possible if you're very isolated, and I think that's something everyone should take into consideration, especially if you have a handicap, medical issues, pets, children, or like me, need peace of mind. That is one of the main reasons I live like I do. I just thought it was important to explain how, because I wouldn't want anyone to get a different impression. And I also believe we can live in alignment with the earth and take the planet in consideration, no matter how or where we live, in the city or otherwise. We can just take simple steps to learn about our environment and support organizations who want to make lasting change. I've always thought a great thing to do when considering a move is, if feasible, to find a small rental in your location of interest, do seasonal work, and experience what it's like to live there throughout the year before committing to a completely new environment. I know of several people who bought houses in the summer here, only to realize they hate the grueling winters, and sadly there are homes that are left empty the majority of the year, making it hard for people working in town to find a place to live. That isn't a problem all small towns face, but it is a challenge to be aware of. In short, I encourage anyone to follow their heart and where and how they want to live. But there is rarely a need to rush into things. I planned my move for a long time before I actually left the city, and I think I could have planned some more. It was well worth it to skip the stress of not being prepared. I think that no matter how beautiful the location or the home, getting into a situation that is stressful or financially unstable will ruin the experience. And while I'm here talking about more challenging aspects of rural life, I hope that my channel is a testament of the reasons I do love to live here, and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Anyway, I hope this video gave you some things to consider if you've ever thought about living rural. This is only speaking from my limited perspective. I think there are pros and cons to wherever and however you live, and it's important to recognize every side of it and choose to love the life you have anyway. I have chosen to love mine, and I wish you the very best on your journey this year. Take care and I will see you next week. In regards to the things that I mentioned that I've been struggling with at times in regards to living here, I decided to let this era of working more from home and from an office come to an end because I would really like to start working in town again. Even though I haven't quite decided what type of part-time job I will do long term, I decided to help out my local bookstore in the next couple months because they will be having more business due to the holidays and they really needed an extra person that already had experience being a bookseller and with the system and could talk about books in an appropriate amount of time, which I can do. That is the plan. I will be working there for a while and then go from there and see where the journey takes me. I really enjoyed working from home. I know a lot of people have been working from home for the first time in their lives since the world changed and I think there are many positives to it that I really enjoy and that's why I want to still keep working from home at least a little bit, but I do miss people and connecting with new people and seeing my friends more often. It just seemed like the right course of action to take. It has been a wonderful and fruitful journey of learning a lot about myself and finding creative ways to resolve things that I miss about the city. It's been wonderful and I've met so many incredible people and I hope to meet many more. Anyway, I wish you all well. I will keep you in the know of what I'm up to. I have some very exciting, exciting possibilities on the horizon and I am very excited to share it with you, but until things are set in stone I don't feel like I can, so I'm very excited for the future. Because I will be taking some part-time work, I decided to close down my Etsy shop at the end of November because I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with it in December while working and doing everything else, so it felt right to pull back a little bit and be able to keep making videos of course, but ease the workload a little bit, which has grown a lot this year and it has been too much at times to be honest. I'm looking forward to being a bookseller for a while and seeing where that takes me and revisiting that job because that is something I really loved to do when I got out of university. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I will see you next week.