“I grew up in a medium-sized city. Wonderful, because there was always something going on. But when I went to college and left home, I fell in love with a boy from Friesland. I found him very attractive, but when he started talking, I fell in love with him. I just have a soft spot for men with an accent.
Anouk (31) is a mover: ‘I recently emptied a well-stocked SM room in a perfectly normal terraced house’
Great love
We embarked on the relationship adventure together: in love, engaged, married… the whole thing. Where we lived didn’t matter much. We are both teachers and had our pick of jobs. So we went where our work took us, and to a city that had something to offer in the culinary and cultural fields. Eating out, going to the theater, movies, concerts, we did it as often as we could.
Of course, that was a different story when we had children. Suddenly the city was not only a place of entertainment, but also of crowds and pollution. We lived in an upstairs apartment on a busy street. We quickly had to walk half an hour to find a little park.
Fortunately, during the holidays we could always stay with grandpa and grandma in Friesland, my parents-in-law. They had enough space in and around their farm. It was such a different life there. We bought a nice caravan and left it there permanently. In the winter he went into the shed, but when the first spring sun came we immediately took him out of the stable again.
We always enjoyed it immensely. And the children too. We now had two boys. We spent all holidays in the beautiful countryside. From there we went on wonderful sailing and cycling trips and the boys now also had their friends and cousins who lived nearby, with whom they had a great time.
Retirement in the countryside
But then my great love died. Cardiac arrest. And my sons went to college and left home to get a taste of student life. I sat there alone in my oversized city house, where everything reminded me of my deceased love. With our wonderful holidays etched in my memory, I decided to sell it.
One day we would move to the countryside together towards retirement. Now I was going to do that alone, in his memory. That thought gave me strength. I was able to get a good price for it and buy a nice, completely renovated apartment in the neighboring village of my parents-in-law. And then I still had enough left to stop work early and take a nice trip to my girlfriend who emigrated to Canada.
Randstad
I have now lived here for three years and the walls of my village apartment are closing in on me. My only entertainment is the weekly market. And gardening is fun, but not every day. And my parents-in-law are very sweet, but not every day. And I see my children far too little.
Annette moves to a tiny house: ‘Where am I going to put all my stuff?!’
Every now and then I go to an Airbnb where they study for a weekend. We then go out for dinner and to a movie or theater. I live and then fully recharge. Once home, I really regret my impulsive move to the countryside.
I would like to crawl back to the Randstad, but buying something back here on my own is not affordable given the increased house prices. If only I had never left the city…”
This section is based on true stories.
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