Why the pandemic drove us to the COUNTRYSIDE

Writer Kiran Sidhu is one of the many people who were prompted by COVID to swap city living for the country. But are there any regrets?

- Kiran Sidhu

Feeding a lamb on a friend's smallholding

It's been a little over two years since I moved from London to the Welsh countryside. My friends and family had little faith I would actually enjoy it and they laughed as they said a city girl like me couldn't survive life in a Welsh valley. But fast-forward a few years, I have surprised myself - and others - at how well I've adopted a new life. And I'm not the only one. People have left the cities of the UK in their droves as the pandemic made us all realise how much we appreciate open space and fresh air.

If someone had told me seven years ago that I would be leaving the pounding heart of a city for rural life, I would never have believed them. I love London, it's my home - I've never had any desire to leave. I love how the city feels like a living and breathing being that has so much to explore. At the weekends, I loved visiting museums, stopping for coffee and then maybe lunch. I like how I could walk around Soho and Covent Garden and hear a multitude of accents - it always made me feel like I was at the centre of the universe. Being a foodie, there's no one who appreciates London's restaurant scene more than me. Having an array of exciting restaurants on your doorstep was my idea of heaven. So why did I leave?

Seven years ago, my mother died of cancer and my immediate family fell apart. With my mother dying and the breakdown of my family, the decision to move suddenly didn't feel so radical. Moving away from London was exactly what I needed; the city was holding too much pain and I needed to go somewhere where I could breathe again.

Kiran out in London before moving

Changed expectations