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"When you can find British communities that still thrive away from the major cities it is magical" Where's that, do you think?

gorgoiler 6y ago
You can probably find them anywhere if you can get access to the local old (ahem, established) people. It can be a tough crowd to break into though. Coming at it from the right angle helps. Deference and respect to the local history is just as important as a trip to any foreign place, or rather, a place where you are a foreigner. Local businesses unlock a lot of connections. Hardwood sawmills and butchers have worked well for me. A good local butcher supplies the best local pubs so getting to know one can unlock access to t’other. Pubs are extremely variable in the localness of their management. A village pub that’s owned by Greene King and no longer has a snug is a world away from a village freehouse with a family friendly public bar and a saloon bar full of sozzled young farmers. Knowledge of the countryside and Anglicanism helps too. The old guard’s interests overlap a lot with bird watching and Christ. I’m not religious but I am spiritual enough to enjoy chapel, and choral music is a free gig if you’re into that sound. People are glad to meet you in church: it’s the easiest way of signalling you take the community seriously. With all respect to the actual religious practice, in terms of the old ways far too many villages became Alpha / evangelical over the past few decades and in my limited experience it’s those communities that are letting go of the past. (This is a sweeping generalisation so I hope I’m not offending anyone.) I used to think that venerable old cultures were a mystical thing one only found in the Far East but they can also be right on your doorstep.
zz865 6y ago
Spain, Australia, Florida.
tonyedgecombe 6y ago
Nowhere. The brightest and best leave to go to university and find decent jobs. The dregs stay behind creating a vicuous circle. In some areas retirees move in because the prices are so attractive but they bring very little economic activity with them. Often the only employer is the state which has perverse effects on local businesses (they can't compete with the higher public sector wages).

gorgoiler 6y ago

You can probably find them anywhere if you can get access to the local old (ahem, established) people. It can be a tough crowd to break into though. Coming at it from the right angle helps. Deference and respect to the local history is just as important as a trip to any foreign place, or rather, a place where you are a foreigner. Local businesses unlock a lot of connections. Hardwood sawmills and butchers have worked well for me. A good local butcher supplies the best local pubs so getting to know one can unlock access to t’other. Pubs are extremely variable in the localness of their management. A village pub that’s owned by Greene King and no longer has a snug is a world away from a village freehouse with a family friendly public bar and a saloon bar full of sozzled young farmers. Knowledge of the countryside and Anglicanism helps too. The old guard’s interests overlap a lot with bird watching and Christ. I’m not religious but I am spiritual enough to enjoy chapel, and choral music is a free gig if you’re into that sound. People are glad to meet you in church: it’s the easiest way of signalling you take the community seriously. With all respect to the actual religious practice, in terms of the old ways far too many villages became Alpha / evangelical over the past few decades and in my limited experience it’s those communities that are letting go of the past. (This is a sweeping generalisation so I hope I’m not offending anyone.) I used to think that venerable old cultures were a mystical thing one only found in the Far East but they can also be right on your doorstep.

zz865 6y ago

Spain, Australia, Florida.

tonyedgecombe 6y ago

Nowhere. The brightest and best leave to go to university and find decent jobs. The dregs stay behind creating a vicuous circle. In some areas retirees move in because the prices are so attractive but they bring very little economic activity with them. Often the only employer is the state which has perverse effects on local businesses (they can't compete with the higher public sector wages).