The heights and depths of our move to the country

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Would a move to the country turn out to be terribly wrong after three decades in London? We share the ups and downs of our time in the Dales

We finally set up. After four years, interrupted by routes in a tiny French village, we are finally back in Great Britain - well, somehow. We have planned for Nov-Dez and next year trips to Namibia, South Africa and possibly Costa Rica, but we also have a fixed home.

Long -time readers of Atlas & Boots will know that Peter and I have left London in 2014 to travel around the world. We returned briefly in 2016, and although I was happy to be back in London, I hesitated to return to city life.

Soon afterwards we rented our respective London apartments in the long term and left the country towards France. Since then we have always been between the beds and use of the guest rooms and airbnb in the UK to visit family and friends.

We knew that we didn't want to be in France forever, but we decided that we didn't want to be in London either. We are looking for a goal. Peters instinct was Scotland, the most beautiful place in the world for him, but it was just too far for me. We agreed on something in between: a small town named Richmond on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Alt = "Looking at our hike in the Yorkhire Dales National Park move on to the country"> Atlas & Boots Views on our hike in the Yorkshire Dales National Park

It was a bit like a roller coaster ride. We jumped from Airbnb to Airbnb to release a room while our transport companies brought their work together. We couldn't travel if we had to sign papers at the last minute, and I had to renew my passport early (problems of the first world, I know). While all of this happened, I also ended my novel (appearing next year - subscribe to news!).

unnecessary to mention that it was hectic, but here we are in a place and snap for air. We have been in Richmond for six weeks now and thought it would be a good time to pause, take stock and to share the ups and downs of our move to the country.

ups

a study!

We have a free room. We have a room free! We have a room free! We turned it into a study and it is big enough for two large desks and a sofa.

In London we leaned two tiny desks on a wall in the bedroom, and if I moved my mouse too violently, I beat Peter on the elbow. Under no circumstances could we afford a house with a free room in London, and that feels like a real luxury. The house is not perfect because we had a limited budget (unfortunately no garden), but it's a pretty good starting point.

Access to the open

We are in five minutes by car and 15 minutes on foot in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is one of 10 national parks in England, so it is probably fair to say that it is one of the most beautiful places in the country. I totally fell in love with her.

  • Alt = "A short walk after moving to the country">
  • Alt = "Peter copes with a Dales 30 parade to the country">
  • alt = "The summit is shifting to the country">
  • alt = "No regret after moving to the country">
  • alt = "sheep discovered on a hill after we moved to the country">
  • Alt = "switch to land path">
  • Alt = "move to the country Cairns">
  • alt = "views after we have moved to the country">
Atlas & Boots

an enchanting city

honestly we were lucky when we came across Richmond. We looked at houses in the tiny village of Reeth in the Yorkshire Dales National Park when our real estate agent mentioned that she lived nearby in Richmond.

I googled the city and was thrilled. It seemed to be a nice balance between city life and the rural village, and I am glad that we decided on something halfway. Instead of Murder Mile, we now have Richmond Castle and the River Swale nearby.

alt = “Richmond Castle rises above the city”> Dream Age Richmond Castle rises above the city

Access to amenities

This may seem ridiculous when you consider that I come from London, where they can access all amenities under God's sun, but life in Richmond was a revelation. Everything here can be reached on foot, whether boots, the gym, the cinema, the local bookstore, the swimming pool or Costa Coffee*.

in London I had to get on a bus or train to be able to access one of these things. This is not just a theoretical advantage. I've swam eight or nine times since we've been here. The last time I was swimming in London was in the 1990s.

(* yes, there is a Costa Coffee, although we prefer Duncan’s and Mocha 🙂

a feeling of well -being

I was born in London and lived there for 32 years of my life. I lived in the districts of Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Newham, Waltham Forest, Redbridge and Hackney. I had a wonderful job in the central London offices of the world's largest book publisher. I've been happy for many years and London is inseparable.

At the end of my time there, however, a deep lack of well -being began to feel. The daily commuting, the relentless noise, the smell, the stress and the complete lack of space began to emphasize. In Richmond my basic mood is calm and I only need to spend a little time back in London to remember why I went.

I see mission impossible Fallout in the cinema: London looks so great. I love this city and am very happy to be here again.

I go home after the cinema: Is that the back sweat of someone else who seeps into my dress?

- Kia Abdullah (@kiaabdullah) August 2, 2018

I am in London this week and there is construction work on every side of the building. I have now built my desk in the middle of the apartment opposite the toilet. pic.twitter.com/ipu5cqa0ef

- Kia Abdullah (@kiaabdullah) August 6, 2018

depth

fomo

I will not lie: I get Fomo (fear of missing something). I missed a lot of great events because I no longer live in London. For example, within this week I miss the separate book presentations of my friends Gautam Malkani and Ariane Sherine.

To miss

events and occasions is not new because I am on the road for Atlas & Boots so often, but when you swim with whale sharks or climb on volcanoes, it doesn't feel so bad to miss a book presentation. If you chill with a book in your socks, you get a little fomo.

lack of family and friends

I miss my family and friends very much. Again, this is not new because I have been gone for a long time, but there is a stronger feeling of durability in this move.

alt = “All of my sisters and the majority of my family are in London”> Atlas & Boots All of my sisters are in London

I knew that I would not be in France forever, and when I was traveling, I knew that I would return to London. Now my home is Richmond and that feels very strange when you consider that my seven siblings and my 21 nieces and nephews all live in London.

Missing anonymity

Here there is a lack of anonymity. The city is not so small that you recognize everyone, but I am one of the very few colored ones here. I'm not quite stinging like a miracle thumb, but I stick out. This is largely okay, apart from the fact that I have the feeling that I always have to show myself from my best side so that people don't think: "Oh, this Indian girl is so rude." (I'm not an Indian, but you know what I mean.)

It's not London

What can I say? It's not London ... but then it's nothing. I was in some of the legendary best cities in the world - New York, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, ​​Berlin, Sydney, Istanbul and so on - and there is no place like London.

alt = "There is simply no place like London"> dream time there is simply no place like London

I am biased because it is my home, but here (or should I say there) there is an energy that is different from anywhere else.

from Camden Market and Carnaby Street to Brick Lane and Notting Hill London has a certain something: anarchic and unconventional, but wealthy and ambitious. It is bursting with music, fashion, theater and literature and although I am 240 miles away, it will always feel at home.

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots 
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