Moving to the country

Moving the country is a big step. At least that’s what we are assuming. For one thing, it’s another move. And the thought of actually physically moving flats makes us both feel a bit sick. Then factor in a move out of the city to somewhere we don’t know. At this prospect we feel faint. We need to sit down.

But it’s ok, it’ll be fine. All we need is a plan. In fact, making a plan presents us with an opportunity. Because thinking about it, if we are going to pack up everthing we own, and disrupt our lives and livelihood, I want to get more out of it than just to move. In fact, this is the perfect chance to take a long trip. Out of the germ of this idea the following plan has evolved: Instead of just moving our stuff from one house to another, we will put it all in storage, and we will decamp to North America for a few months before coming back and resuming the Move to the Country.

There are several reasons that this makes sense for us to do. We have many friends and family in Canada and the States who we miss and only see very occasionally. Also, I have a long-standing collaborative art practice with my friend Duncan, who is based in Chicago. Last year, we did a 6-week residency at the Banff Centre during which we started a new scuptural project. We also realised that working together in the same physical space is crucial to our continuing progress as an artistic endeavor. So spending a good few weeks in Chicago to finish the piece and do some general R&D. So.

None of this seemed terribly real until just last week. But that was when we decided to commit to all this, and buy our plane tickets. So we settled on dates, and we purchased TICKETS. Now there is no backing out, and we also have a set date to work around. And whenever i’ve had this sort of solid deadline in past, a deadline so big you end up subordinating all manner of lesser deadlines to it (some out of necessity, some out of expediency), I lay out my time like this:

I will post images of it periodically as the plan further concretises.

Talking with Ben, Jen and Clio last weekend we came up with a few things we miss about the country. I might add to this, but here it is so far:

• Proper darkness and seeing stars
• Quiet/sounds of the countryside
• Horizon
• Skies
• Vastness
• Time (*)

*Obviously they don’t have more hours in the day in the countryside, but there you definitely get the sense that you have more time there. Perhaps because things take more time to do–as Clio said “it takes longer to look out the window”–we have to slow down to allow for this. Also Ben–who comes from rural Leicestershire–clarified this point saying “I don’t get as stressed out about time passing when I’m in [the countryside]“

The first thing everyone asked when we started floating the idea of moving out of London is “where are you going to go?”. When we decided to make the move we didn’t really know, but we agreed on one limitation. It needs to be within a couple hours travel time to London, so that we can still get in for meetings and seeing friends and my family. Then we started talking to our friends Ben and Jen who also live in Hackney but have always said they wouldn’t stay (in London) forever. They couldn’t let us go and leave them behind in the concrete jungle so we started talking about all trying to move out at the same time and to the same area. So we threw down the points on a map which between us we wanted to be able to get to relatively easily and realised we needed to move out of London in a north-westerly direction. Coincidentally, Jen’s friends James and Zara are living in Banbury, which is in that general direction, so we agreed this might be a good place to start looking.

View Triangle of influences in a larger map

We have lived in London for over 6 years. Tottenham, Dalston, Upper and Lower Clapton have all been home. Somehow, up until now, living in the city has been satisfying, stimulating and imminently survivable. Despite the fact that we’ve moved 4 times in the 6 years, that I’ve moved studio 3 times (twice having been moved on due to the ongoing development blitz that is East London), that jobs have come and gone, that we have lived submerged in the noise and swirling grime of the city, we have enjoyed our time here. Until very recently.

A combination of problems with neighbours, noise, rent prices (not to mention the seeming impossibility of getting a mortgage for a decent flat or house in this area) has finally made us aware of the impact life in the city is having on us. We’d talked idly about moving to the country for years, as is our duty being Londoners. Suddenly, it occured to us that this flippant fantasy could be a reality! After all, we run a design agency focusing on web – we can do our work from anywhere, and we already work with international clients. They wouldn’t even know the difference. And we could actually afford to live somewhere with a garden!!! This was beginning to sound rather desirable.

So in a moment of spontaneous life-changing-decision-making, we resolved to simply leave. Of course, there are many stories out there of failed escapes such as the one we’re planning. To be fair, it might be a disaster, and we may be back in town a few months down the line with collective tail between our legs. But we’re going to give it a try, and we will use this blog to document the process. Please check back when you can for updates on our progress.