Hiding your lifestyle?

[marshlander]

To be honest, places where no one cares about anyone gets me down.

Small villages I think are nice, everyone says hi to you and all that its my ideal place.

Apart from my time with Albert I've lived in small villages most of my life. Villages, particularly small ones can be extremely tribal. The school in our village was actually under siege by one tribe for about a year. It was awful and even made the national press. If you happen to be associated with the wrong tribe, life can be hell. Not everybody says, "Hi". I don't think I would even recognise my next-door-neighbours if I met them elsewhere and I've been here for a few years now. I did have more to do with my neighbours when I shared a partition wall or a driveway or if their kids were friends with mine.

My ex-wife was terrified of the neighbours finding out why we were splitting up when it happened. Everybody was very keen to dwell on the misery of others and, of course, everyone in a small community knows everything about you. If they lack information they'll create a fiction to fill in the gaps :eek:

Urban life may offer protection through numbers and a certain anonymity. Rural living isn't all scenery and jolly vicars on bicycles. While the contrast is sometimes interesting I prefer rural living and try to stay out of the local politicking.