How My Relationships Changed After Moving to the Countryside [Is It Honestly Tough?]

Hello♪ I'm mon🌱

The third part of my countryside relocation series is about human relationships.

When you hear about living in the countryside, you might have images like

'The social life seems intense'
or

'Neighborhood relations seem difficult.'

Honestly, I had those images too. Especially since I'm shy, I was a bit anxious about that, and it was part of why I hesitated to take the plunge and move. Today, I'll write about the reality of how it's been since actually living here.

Conclusion: It's more normal than I thought. But it's confusing at first

To start with the conclusion, it's completely more normal than I thought. However, there are definitely things that will confuse you at first. I want to be honest about that.

The Reality of Human Relationships

I think it's partly because where I live isn't a so-called 'marginal village' and there are a decent number of people, but daily social interaction is much more normal than I imagined. However, I did feel the differences at first. ・The intonation is completely different ・It's honestly hard to understand what the elderly are saying ・The tempo of conversation is a bit different. At first, the flow of conversation would sometimes stop, and I was often asked, 'Where are you from?' But once you get used to it, you can have normal conversations, and it wasn't such a huge wall.

The Honest Truth in My Case

I'm naturally shy. However, since I worked in customer service in my previous job, I can talk normally once I turn on that 'switch.' I think I'm managing to enter the new community in my own positive way. But since I'm shy at the root, there are days when I come home and feel completely exhausted. This still happens even now.

The Reason I'm Still Managing

The reason I'm still managing is that when I get home, my husband and children are there. Just having this makes a huge difference. Also, the feeling of



wanting to change my environment



was stronger than the 'anxiety about human relationships.' That's why I think I was able to overcome some of the hardships.

It Was About 'Frequency' Rather Than Distance

Since it was a fresh start in a place where I had no parents, relatives, or friends, I was naturally anxious. But when I thought about it, even when I lived in Osaka, after I had children, I only hung out with friends once every six months to a year. I saw relatives and friends who had also become moms a bit more, but even then, it was only about once every three months. Thinking about that, it was a big deal to realize, 'I don't really need to be tied down to that place forever.'

Things I Feel Are Good

・Since there aren't too many people, stress has decreased ・The sense of distance is just right ・Once you get used to it, you can spend your time normally. When you're with small children, you get called out to by elderly people saying how cute they are quite often☺️

Things I Feel Are Tough

・You do have to be careful at first ・There are differences in culture and sensibilities ・You can't have exactly the same sensibilities. I think this is an unavoidable part.

People Who Are Suited vs. People Who Are Not

Thinking about it after actually doing it, people who are suited are: ・People who don't dislike talking to others ・People who aren't extremely bothered by entering a new environment ・People who can accept some differences. People who are not suited are: ・People who feel strong stress from changes in social relationships ・People who don't want to let go of the relationships in their current environment.

Summary

Countryside relationships aren't incredibly intense, nor are they incredibly easy. They are more normal than I thought, but you'll be a little confused at first. This is the reality.

In conclusion

Before I moved, I couldn't take the first step because I was worried about relationships, too.
But in reality, my honest impression is that it wasn't as scary as I had imagined.

I hope this serves as a reference for those who are stuck in anxiety, just like I was back then.🌱

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