Urban people love the countryside
Today , returning to simplicity has become the pursuit of more and more urbanites in the UK, and the desire to enjoy rural life is becoming stronger and stronger. Milking sheep and feeding pigs in the morning with fresh air, saying goodbye to the sunset with home-made blackberry pulp, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and listening to the idyll, what a seductive view it is. Although buying land, building houses, planting vegetables, and raising livestock in the countryside is not as simple as imagined, the people in the city are not tired of it, their enthusiasm is not diminished, and they are determined to carry out their way of life to the end.
In recent years, the number of people who migrated from cities to rural areas in Britain has increased sharply, and has exceeded the number of people who have moved into cities. 28.5% of England’s population lives in rural areas, according to Country Council figures. In the past 20 years, the rural population has grown by 13.7%. The agency estimates that around 115,000 Britons relocate from cities to the countryside each year. Since 2000, there have been more than 352,000 more migrants than migrants in rural England, and half of the migrants are between 25 and 44 years old.
A large number of urbanites poured into the countryside, which greatly pushed up the price of rural land. In 1994, 13 acres of land could be bought for only £100,000, but 10 years later, only 6 acres of land could be bought for £200,000. Although there were different regional price differences, the overall rural land prices continued to increase. Land prices per acre in the area have soared 50 percent since 2000. Many farmers took advantage of the high land prices to sell their land to urbanites to fulfill their rural dreams. Now, 4/5 of the small farms in the country have changed owners.
In the village of Kingham, just a two-hour drive from London, many houses have been transferred to the new “redneck” name. There are two reasons for the promotion of the village property sales: one is the good living conditions here, and the other is the desire of people to flee London. At current prices, a five-bedroom house with garden, tennis court and small paddock in Kingham village is selling for as much as £1m. “There’s never been a shortage of buyers, and there are about 800 clients now registered and waiting,” said real estate agent Simon Merton.
The influx of urban population has promoted the development of the local rural economy, and traditional rural industries such as blacksmithing, thatch roofing, masonry and carpentry have flourished. According to statistics, there are 500,000 practitioners of such traditional buildings, and the annual turnover has reached 3 billion pounds. Some farmers seized the business opportunity and set up “new landlord” training companies to teach urban white-collar workers how to operate small farms and how to farm and raise livestock. Because of the rich training content and strong operability, it is very popular with “new landlords”.
”In the ideal of many British people, the only way of life is to have their own little piece of ‘Xanadu’.” The famous British journalist Paxman once wrote, “The poor and the rich have different expectations, but they share the same The pursuit of goals.” For the wealthy, achieving this goal couldn’t be easier. However, in the face of rising rural land prices, it is difficult for those with less money. Fortunately, the European integration process allows people from different countries to move freely among themselves, and it is much more convenient to buy a house and buy land.
Compared with the high house prices in the British countryside, the prices of French farm houses are more affordable, so many British people are eyeing French villages. If a Briton with only £100,000 in savings wants to live in the countryside, he simply cannot afford to buy land in the countryside near London. But in northern France, he could buy a house with a garden, or a modern villa in the Languedoc, or a one- or two-bedroom apartment near the northern coast of France. According to the relevant regulations in France, if the owner buys an off-plan house and agrees to sell it and lease it back, then he can be exempted from paying 19.6% property tax, and the same amount (£100,000) can give him more choices.
Pursuit of return to simplicity
After serving in the army for 16 years and retiring from the RAF in 2004, Tony Knight decided to try a different life from city life with his wife, Joe Knight. They resolutely sold the old house in the city and bought a small farm in Carmarthenshire, Wales for £350,000, which included an orchard, several fields, and a barn for chickens, ducks, sheep and ponies. A few years have passed, and the Knights have fully adapted to the country life and become country people. Tony is willing to use his brains, coupled with diligent study, and now he has become a veritable dairy farmer. He developed a secret recipe to produce “goat’s milk ice cream” which is absolutely natural without any artificial flavorings.
”Today, regardless of people’s wishes, modernization is developing rapidly and irreversibly. Under the profound influence of this trend, although people’s life has become more convenient, it has also caused many troubles and problems. Confused. The economic downturn has caused prices to rise, and it is difficult for urbanites to control their own lives.” Tony Knight said with satisfaction, “It’s good now, relying on both hands to create wealth, and finding the feeling of being a master is very comfortable in my heart.”
Chris · Bleven and Hannah Bleven sold their house in the city, bought a 13-acre piece of land for £400,000, and started their own farm. In addition to growing vegetables, raising chickens and ducks, and operating an orchard with 13 kinds of fruits, they also started processing agricultural products and made jams and chili sauces, which were very popular. When shopping at local farmers’ markets and stores, customers are named to buy authentic products from their home. Village life is simple, sometimes without electricity, but they don’t care at all. Hannah Blevin sighed with emotion: “On the one hand, there are new things that are overwhelmed, and on the other hand, the lingering emotions of missing something, which lead to an indescribable contradiction in the psychology of modern people. Feeling in the dazzling It is monotonous, and what we taste in the hustle and bustle is loneliness. The importance and preciousness of some things are often discovered when we are about to die. Do it yourself, self-sufficiency, I do not want to spend money to buy those things that can be Something you get by doing it yourself.”
Dennis Johns and Linda Johns purchased a 6-acre piece of land in Aberdeenshire, eastern Scotland for £200,000 six years ago, and renovated the original horse farm and planted all vegetables and fruits, which not only guaranteed the whole family year-round Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables, but also freeze, marinate, and process the excess into delicious pancakes, and turn potatoes and apples into tangy liqueurs. Now, Dennis’ dream has come true and he has become a “full-time farmer”. Linda has not lost her old job, working as a part-time teacher in a nearby middle school. The couple grow potatoes and other crops with hoes and shovels. All weeding is done by sickle, no lawn mower and no herbicide. Usually try not to turn on the lights, saving electricity has become a good habit of the family. Parents always ride bicycles when taking their sons on long trips.
”In the modern city, facing the tide of wealth and the ever-changing life, more and more people seem to feel that their lives are not so leisurely. Some things seem to be quietly going away, and some elements that feel warm and at ease in the blood seem to be slowly losing.” The tanned Linda changed the subject and told relatives and friends from the city happily: ” Now, apart from flour, oats, salt, vinegar, toilet paper, we can produce everything ourselves. Go to the market to buy items every month, and the cost does not exceed 35 pounds.”
