What Happens When You Move to the Countryside Into an Abandoned Village? [#22]

It has been a year now since I arrived at my new home in Galicia. The process of changing from city life to country life has been intense and interesting.

I feel I properly arrived now, so it’s a good time to reflect and share the experience.

I hope this can give you a clearer picture of whether country life is for you.

I had some prejudices and expectations, and I invited change with open arms.

So here is what happens if you follow your heart that takes you places.

Your brain goes into overdrive

So what happens when the stimulation around you ceases, and there is less distraction possible?

The voice in your head becomes incredibly loud.

At first, I tried to keep myself busy. Something inside of me said: "You need to do stuff and be productive." That’s what they call “internalized capitalism”.

I read a lot, I help with the garden, I spend time on my phone a lot - mostly to tune out the voice.

Re-learning about mindfulness and practicing meditation regularly again, I remembered that this voice is not me. If I hadn’t, I might have gone crazy.

When everything around you becomes quiet, and you go on as if you are in the city, the brain makes up the craziest stories. It is bored with less stimulation and looks for ways to stay engaged.

It thinks about: Why it was a bad idea to move here. What kind of horrible things could happen, as seen in horror movies? And much more.

Is this how gossip starts?

With some practice and adaptation, the brain calms down. You connect more to your feelings, to what you really need, and start ideating what you want to bring to the place.

I feel more at peace now, enjoy greater clarity, feel more connected, and have a clearer vision for the future. Spending time with fewer distractions has been the catalyst.

You learn how to work with your energy

I am lucky to be part of the community here, and the options to create and support the development of the future regenerative village are endless: like planning, community-building activities, hosting events, building a compost toilet, renovating the ruins, planting vegetables & trees, and enjoying the beauty of nature around.

This results in self-responsibility to feel and communicate what your boundaries are, so you don't get overwhelmed or overwork.

On that journey, I am learning how to work with my energy.

When I feel physically tired, I do lower-energy activities like working on the computer, either on bioregional weaving or for the village project.

When I have a lot of energy, I churn out a few hours on an ongoing project on the land, like removing barbed wire that was left there.

Life changes when you are able to work with your energy rather than always overwriting your needs.

And this puts responsibility on you to increase your energy to support the community better.

We often tend towards physical rest, but there are ways to increase energy: To work out, to go for a run, to eat healthy, to nurture community and to get good sleep.

In the countryside, this is easy:
- hang a pair of gym rings from the tree and you have a workout station
- get nutrient-rich food from the local market or garden
- hunt your own meat (I am not there yet)
- sleep like a baby because it’s quiet and dark at night
- enjoy community if you want, or stay solo if that’s what you need to rest

You move from convenience to agency

The next supermarket is 20 minutes away. Orders online only arrive if the delivery service knows your house or you personally. There is no kiosk around that has every kind of snack you might need.

It was a big thing to adapt to. On one occasion, on a Sunday, the food that I wanted to have for dinner went bad, and I didn’t have an alternative. So I ended up driving 30 minutes to the next restaurant. Not so convenient.

This experience led to more planning. Now my partner and I go shopping at the local market & supermarket once a week. It simplifies things.

And often when I thought I needed something that wasn't available, I realized I didn’t really need it. Through realizing how little I need to be happy, I gained a lot more freedom.

Life is a bit rougher here, too. In the summer, I was living with my partner in a caravan on the land, which was amazing. Now with winter rains, hail, and wind, the caravan has become a bit small for both of us, and the gas heater is not fully doing the trick.

So we needed to adapt. Rent a house close by, move our stuff, organize firewood, and get a dehumidifier.

In the beginning, you invest a lot of time into satisfying your own needs. You grow your agency to take care of them, too.

I feel more independent and self-sufficient now.

Our Western world's convenience is based on fossil fuels, which are running out. Taking the step to start adapting to a new, less-convenient reality now will create more adaptability & agency in the future.

You will build community & grow deeper connections

I thought life in the countryside would be lonely at times.

But I was wrong. Next to my lovely village community & (some) neighbours, there exists a broader community in the bioregion that is eager to connect and integrate newcomers.

I have written about the ​work parties​ already, which is one community activity that I love.

Through other community activities, like a clothes swap, we connect and make other events happen that resonate with the people.

Through this "process," we organized a party for fun in December. I got to DJ and got to know Juan, who asked if he could improvise a bit with the flute.

I love these serendipitous encounters.

Even though it is winter and usually that’s a quieter time at home in Galicia, I feel a gentle community vibe. A sauna night, a birthday party, a rewilding event on our lands, and much more.

I feel that I have more connection and community here than I had in an anonymous city life. And it has just been a year.

Yes, I miss some friends, that’s a trade-off. But I found deeper connections here.

Neighbours greet each other here and stop for a chat about what has been going on and how you are.

The closer circle in the village takes time to invest in relationships. You pass by for a coffee and end up talking for hours, and then spend some more time together on a project or having dinner together.

Is this how it was back in the day?

When we don’t need to rush, this special time arises where serendipity happens, and relationships deepen.

Something is happening every day on the land, too.

You discover a new plant, find footsteps of a new animal, someone comes by to visit, you have a great idea on how to improve the space, and you go for it. This fills you up with excitement and accomplishment.

Life in the countryside helps you be more connected with yourself, others, and the nature around. It is the opposite of boring, too.

Cultivating Meaning

And then there is this nurturing feeling that I am doing something meaningful.

With 70% of species going extinct in the last 50 years and all the other ecological problems, we have the opportunity here to do something against this and protect, rewild, and regenerate land, rivers, and animals.

We are rewilding some hectares here and planting more diverse forests there.

We build shelter for animals and a thriving village for ourselves.

We build a place where you can just be and not feel the need to be productive all the time.

It is a sanctuary for future generations.

Our system is in collapse because we exhaust resources faster than they can regenerate.

Islands of coherence, like ecovillages, can be the seed for something new to sprout after the old system has collapsed.

Being here and building this place fills me with a profound sense of meaning, joy, and peace, knowing I am doing what I can to transition to a life-affirming society.

I hope more people quit the current extractive system and join the regenerative movement.

Reply to this email if you feel a longing for this. I want to help more people do meaningful work and live more balanced lives in the countryside. Writing a newsletter only goes so far, but hearing from your context, I might be able to direct you to more useful resources.

Happy regeneration,
Jonas