Meaning people who live on the islands or in the mountains or in the far north or something like that, while also being in a small community: like villages of less than 10 people or even tiny towns of 1000 or something like that.
If you grew up there, what was your childhood like?
Inspired by [this old post on AskReddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3nsked/serious_redditors_who_live_in_very_remote_areas/).
14 comments
Grew up in a town of 800 people in a small fishing village. It was bliss. Hoping to move back and build myself a house there.
Not really that remote (hard to be in a real remote area in Denmark), but still grew up in a country village of ~100 people. Hated it, felt isolated and boring as hell, never moving back. I moved to the capital as soon as I turned 18. Some people liked it though, but all the young people move to the cities to study. Don’t know how many will return.
I live on an farm and have like 10 neighbours and about 30 an kilometer away. My nearest city 10 km away has like 7000 inhabitant’s. Life’s good low stress and no big city depression. The winter without light’s can be hard but I have lived this way in the same house same place since I was 10 so It’s fine. My childhood was kinda rouge I have ADD but it was fine.
Used to live in the middle of the city in the UK.
Moved out to the mountains of Austria.
Pros: incredibly views, amazing seasons, skiing/snowboarding possible, improvement on exercise (nothing like a bike ride on the mountains), 14 pay packets a year instead of 12!
Cons: convenience is absolutely not a thing here, post is slow and expensive, cost of living is way higher than the UK, the people are a little behind the times both digitally and also mentally ( and the Catholic church still has control over people), and it’s sometimes hard to mingle unless you’re fluent in the local dialogue
Grew up in a small rural village of Ireland, maybe a total population of 300. Outside of the big cities, public transport is pretty sub standard so being able to drive and having a car is essential. Other things like mobile coverage and Internet speed are pretty poor also. A lot of services especially for healthcare are urban based and Dublin based which can pose challenges.
That being said though there is undoubtedly a higher level of community spirit for want of a better word in these areas. People tend to know everyone which can be a positive and a negative. People also tend to rally behind a local cause if there is a fundraiser for example aswell.
I live in the north of Sweden in my home village of ca 30 people. Nearest town is 30 minutes away by car. It’s absolute bliss. We live right by the river and at night we see all the stars and the northern lights. My childhood was pure joy. I can’t ever imagine a more lovely place to live. Swimming,ice fishing,horses ( we have two Icelandic horses) now in winter we light fires and go for rides in the woods. We do have all the modern conveniences though, even fiber.
Barely any public transportation in most islands which sucks for the elderly and probably those who live a bit further from a 10 minute walk from school.
Not a lot of medical centers or hospitals and only a few are fully capable of doing more invasive procedures, exams and tests often require the person to fly to another island.
Access to more than the basic is often much more expensive if and when it shows up.
Basically only two main islands, one of which I grew up in and had access to all the above but on vacation I go to my mom’s home island and finding more exquisite seasonings, foods, electronics, is almost impossible, going for a drive is a roller coaster in many zones simply because of the extreme geography of the island, it’s basically a steep and narrow hill poking out the middle of the ocean.
With that said, I love the peace and quiet, the close bond between neighbors I don’t have where I live, I like that it’s a small population (6-8k, 50k where I live and congregated in a few main zones) stretched across the island and I could pretty much do what I want and it won’t affect anyone else and there’s barely any police, at home I saw police officers and cars around all the time, here I see one police car a day, often in front of the headquarters or at a bar for cup of coffee or a glass of wine.
I can walk for two minutes and get the freshest bread I could only dream of back home.
My mom and uncle said they’d move back if given the chance. And I see why.
We moved to a tiny rural village in Spain – about 1500 people. We love it. There is community – everyone knows everyone, and yes they know your business but also there is no crime. We can leave doors unlocked, nobody steals things because you’d not be able to pass the goods on. People look out for each other. Employment is tough but aside from that it’s wonderful to live here.
I grew up in a small village near the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland. It would probably have been nice if everyone hadn’t been in this 19th century religious [sect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Laestadianism), but then I wouldn’t have been born so…
I don’t like communities like that. I can appreciate the tranquility of the countryside, but I don’t like how small-minded and parochial people tend to be. There’s a diversity of opinions and lived experiences in a large city, you are not expected to be like everyone else.
I guess a diverse and open-minded community on the countryside would be ideal, but there aren’t many of those.
I live in a small village of 6 houses in the Bavarian countryside. I was born in Long Beach and raised in different US cities before moving to Munich in 2011. I moved to the countryside in June.
It’s another world here. I’m still trying to get used to it and I’m not sure if I like it so much yet. The silence and the nature is quite nice, but that’s about it. Part of my uncertainty is because I dont have a German driver’s license (never needed one until now) but I plan to get on in Feb/March. Perhaps then I will end up liking it once I have the freedom to explore more.
Living in a small 1500 people village in the Dolomites. I traveled around the world 30+ countries (north, south, central america, asia, oceania, africa, europe etc). Studied abroad in Asia and Usa but always knew my small village will be the place I will get old. Now I am 29 and started to build up my own family there.
It is beautiful. Silent, awesome. So much to explore, so much to do.
It is a lot of work to maintain your property but so worth it
I miss my village. It was 2h by car to the closest shop where you could buy clothing. There was much less pressure to spend money than in the city, and people were more helpful towards each other. I miss the clean air and the wild animals.
Unfortunately, Norway is in the middle of a centralisation process. Which is very, very stupid in a country as vast as Norway. They are removing important infrastructure from villages and even towns, like police stations, schools, trains and buses, hospitals and health services. So if you live in the countryside and have an emergency, you must wait a looooong time for the ambulance. If you need to see a doctor, you often have to take the whole day off work just to travel there. Some people in the north even have to take 2-3 days off just to attend a 20min routine consultation. Only ten years ago, it was much better to live in the countryside.
Also the tourists are a pest.
I live in a village in north western bulgaria near Serbia and Romania. There are about 500 people in the village, but it was built for about 1500 people. Lots of people moved away when communism ended and they could. It’s strange, I have fast fibre internet (thanks EU), but there isn’t any where to go for a meal here. The nearest supermarket is 1 hours drive away, there are farmers markets. But I still work full time so its hard to get to them. It’s less isolated than I was in covid, but every one is friendly, I dont speak the local language well, but enough to talk with locals, and sometimes we share a common other language. With no restaurants or cafes, I cook my own meals and its usually better than what I might get in a restaurant in europe. I have lived in Asia and I certainly miss having 10 resturants cooking amazing Chinese and Indian food in my building.
North West Russia. Not really born tere, but spent quite a lot of time with my grand aunt as a kid in a dying ~30 people village:
– Stunning in summer, stunning in winter, mud and everlasting wet coldness in midseason
– I was lucky enough to feel perfectly safe with local people, however there were plenty of places around where I was prohibited to enter because a) swamps b) mosqitos c) bears and lesser predators
– A LOT of abandoned or half-abandoned pre-revolutionary churches in area, sometimes make u think you investigate the remains of ancient civilisation or something
– Most of people you met on streets are either grandmas and granddads who live there for 100 years and still do gardening 24/7 or their grandchildren who spent holidays with elder part of family. Some time later you realize that there are some middle aged folks, yet they work in nearby town or in logging/farming/mining somewhere far away. Only real job inside the village is in the local shop. Most of other public places like schools, hospitals, posts etc are work with a principle “one thing for several dying villages”. Thank gods you don’t always need to go by yourself, public transportation is beaten af but reliable. High risk of dying of boredom when you turn into teenage, absolute NOTHING to do exсept guesting in neighbor houses
– Most of locals live in traditional Russian Izba houses (or lookalikes), however coziness and convenience heavily depends on how the owner treats its dwelling. Mostly poor, but not povert. It’s possible to install modern goods in them, yet absolute majority are either too old and get used to live like their 19 century ancestors do, or not really going to stay there for long.
– We didn’t have a proper mobile connection at least until 2013 (hadn’t visited it since then)
– Inb4 you may ask – dread alcoholism and alco crimes weren’t much a thing in where I grown, as far as I observed it’s a problem of suburbs and town-like industrial villages (пгт), not in calm agricultural regions