City Quitters why the future belongs to the country side
Transcriber: Julia Simões
Reviewer: David DeRuwe
Cities have long been synonymous
with creativity,
and usually the bigger the better.
It’s where the jobs are,
where the interesting people are.
They’re packed with culture and money,
and it’s here in cities
that creativity thrives
and new trends emerge.
For my work as a trend forecaster,
being based in a big city - in my case,
London - has always been beneficial.
My job is to spot shifts in culture
before they become mainstream
and back in 2015, I saw a trend emerging
that would become the focus
of my work and my first book:
a phenomenon I called “city quitters,”
the idea of creatives moving away
from urban areas to the countryside.
Six years ago, this was still
quite a radical move.
Cities, as was the accepted cultural norm,
were the epicenters of creative life,
promising progress
and professional success.
Yes, people had moved out
of the city before,
but it was mainly to retire
or to bring up their kids
in a house with a bigger garden.
What was new was that these
were creative professionals -
architects, designers, photographers -
all at the peak of their career.
At the time, swapping city life
for the countryside
was pretty much unheard of
in those creative circles.
Fast forward to 2021,
and we’re in the midst
of a creative exodus
from major cities around the world.
Of course, the shift has been massively
accelerated by the pandemic.
We’ve seen a huge push
in acceptance of remote working.
However, the desire for an alternative
life away from urban constraints
was bubbling away
well before the pandemic hit.
People that make up the cultural scenes
of our cities have struggled
with tough living conditions for a while.
High rents and relentless
competition for fewer and fewer jobs
make it hard to simply exist,
let alone thrive creatively.
Growing commercialisation is crushing
any kind of experimental spirit
that makes it so exciting
in the first place.
As a result, many urban centres today
feel more like a playground for the rich
and less like the creative
capitals of the world.
I want to share three themes with you
that illustrate the potential
of the countryside as a place
for sustainable creative practice,
and they all have to do with connection:
connection to nature, connection to people
and connection to self.
Let’s start with the most obvious one:
connection to nature,
In cities, our sense
of environmental attachment is huge.
Many people living in urban areas today
are unable to name even one bird or tree.
You have little idea
where food comes from.
And with climate collapse,
no friend of mine,
the need to rekindle our bond
with nature is urgent.
Visits to a local park
are no longer enough.
We’re looking for something
deeper, something wilder,
and especially for creatives, nature
can become a huge source of inspiration.
This is nothing new, of course.
Artists have always been drawn
to the countryside,
but we have never lived in a moment
in time where we needed it more,
where the separation has been greater.
Nature can also give pace
to creative work:
Seasons start to play a role.
People tune in to natural cycles,
observing the change of light
over the course of the day.
We might even notice a change of energy
during the lunar cycle
or adjust our work hours
to daylight in season.
This architect and sculptor
who relocated from London
to a small village in northern Italy
chops wood for his sculptures only
during a particular phase of the Moon.
This is based on ancient knowledge
passed on to him by the elderly locals.
These two, a cartoonist
and photographer in rural China,
have to look after their garden
in the summer months,
and their creative work takes a backseat.
In winter, the garden needs less attention
and there’s more time
to dive into design projects.
In cities, being aware of natural
cycles is really hard.
People tend to work the same
and generally too much,
no matter what external conditions.
But with so many young,
creative professionals
suffering from burnout and exhaustion,
connection to nature
could provide a powerful remedy.
Second, connection to people.
One of the biggest fears that people have
about moving to the countryside
is that they feel isolated,
especially creatives worry
that they won’t find
the same progressive
and open-minded community
that they have access to in the city.
Yes, cities have more diverse
populations than rural areas,
but they also allow us to only mingle
with people who are just like us
without ever being challenged.
Moving to a smaller place
forces us to interact
with people with different political
views, life experiences, and values.
It might not always be easy,
but it certainly helps
to broaden our perspective.
In my research, people describe
this act of getting out of their bubble
as a very refreshing experience,
benefiting both sides in unexpected ways.
In my view, it’s terribly important
to engage with people who are different
from us if we want to live in
a less polarised world.
Moving to a smaller place
also helps to combat loneliness,
a problem that ironically
is especially prevalent
in the most populated areas of the world.
The scale of the village is much more
conducive to human connection.
It makes participation easier.
People can share ideas and contribute
to the community in a more tangible way.
And this creates a sense of agency
and life satisfaction
that is often lacking
in dense urban areas.
In terms of creative work, there
is more time and space for collaboration.
(Applause)
Thank you.
In big cities, people tend
to be too busy to commit
to more experimental work
or help out with someone else’s project.
Here’s an example from Hudson
in upstate New York,
where a huge community effort
enabled two artists implement their dream
of opening a restaurant
that doubles as a performance space.
By trading meals for hands-on help,
they built an exciting new place
that is open to all.
Thirdly, connections itself,
an aspect that is absolutely essential
for anyone whose work
involves coming up with new ideas.
In order to express ourselves
freely and authentically,
we need to know ourselves.
Unfortunately, our modern urban lifestyles
are doing anything
but connecting us to ourselves.
In fact, they do quite the opposite.
We have normalized a constant state
of stress, anxiety, and distraction.
We are often unable to focus as a result.
We are bombarded with stuff
and enticed to consume all the time.
Of course, part
of the distraction is online,
and social media exists
in the countryside too.
But when we geographically remove
ourselves from the city,
we tend to be a little less concerned
with what others are thinking
about us and our work.
The people I spoke to often found
an improvement of headspace, focus,
and more time to think deeply,
and this sense of freedom allows
them to truly experiment,
to explore fresh ideas and to discover
their own aesthetic away from the noise.
Whether that means testing your ideas
within a new environment
or deeply connecting
to the history of a place
by working with local artisans
like this example from Sardinia,
imagination can flourish.
So will global cities continue to see
a mass exodus of creativity
to the countryside?
What’s for sure is that the scenes
and the cultural hot spots
will become more
decentralized and spread out.
As artists and creatives
discover the periphery
as an aspirational place to work and live.
It will grow more attractive
to the wider population as well.
What is crucial for the shift
to become a sustainable movement
is collaboration between the old
and the new guard.
Prospective city quitters
must approach the move by asking:
‘What can I bring to this area
and this community?’
rather than ‘What can this place give me?’
Areas that suffer from population decline
could be rejuvenated
by an influx of younger residents,
stimulated by this new coexistence
of tradition and innovation.
Reverse migration of people who honed
their professional skills in the cities
could create new jobs
and economic prosperity.
The potential is huge,
and by their very nature,
artists and creators
are in a unique position
to imagine alternative ways
of breathing life into declining areas.
They have the tools and the vision
to manifest new ideas
that others would simply deem impossible.
As rural newcomers
looking at things with fresh eyes,
they might be better able
to see opportunities
where others could see limitations.
I firmly believe that the countryside
can become a place
where progressive culture emerges
and diverse communities thrive.
Thank you.
(Applause)