I live in the countryside, so specialise in writing about it.
Rural life is different to life in town – but not always as people might think.
It’s true that in the countryside, we enjoy the scenery and green environment, but this is small consolation if you’re struggling to pay the bills.
House prices in the countryside tend to outstrip wages by more than houses in town, while rural wages tend to be depressed. This means that you may end up working in the countryside, but living in town. Or living in the countryside, but working in town.
Either way, you need transport. Few country areas are served with public transport, so you have to buy a car. With ‘green’ taxes causing fuel prices to escalate even faster than the world markets, you’re struggling before you’ve even got to work.
People who can’t drive are trapped. Young people following vocational training post-16 have to rely on lifts, or risk long journeys by moped on dark, frosty evenings on unlit roads – or face unemployment. Elderly people simply give up on keeping hospital appointments because, unless a kind neighbour gives them a lift, they can’t get there.
Those with imagination, resources – and a bit of luck – make their own work, setting up ‘kitchen table’ businesses at home. Some of these grow to become household names. Others are content to provide a much-needed local service, and generate a loyal clientele.
The good side, though, is that, away from crowded city streets, people get to know each other. They help each other out. They develop their own solutions: how many village shops are now run by the villagers themselves? How many villages raise money to build their own village halls and children’s play areas? How many rural areas have a rota of volunteers to drive the infirm to hospital?
It goes on and on. First Responders train with ambulance crews to provide vital life-saving first aid locally, until professional ambulance crews can make it into the high hills. Retained firefighters train regularly, and drop their work to rush when that 999 call comes in. Volunteer Fell rescue teams not only train, but raise funds, to rescue people lost on the moors.
If you’re in trouble in the countryside, it’s your friends and neighbours who will help you.