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I have asked myself this question at different stages in my life and come up with different answers. Firstly as a child growing up in the country in the west of Ireland I didn't realize that there was any question. I felt happy to grow up in the country and was free to roam around in complete safety. I went to a school where my class size was four, which is pretty close to having a private tutor. It was a smaller world then. There were three grocery shops within walking distance from my home, as well as a post office, a school, a pub and a church.

As I grew up and reached my teens my attitude started to change. First of all I realized that there was an option and city life seemed to be the better one. I was heavily influenced by TV in this and everything glamorous, exciting and dangerous seemed to happen in urban areas. I used to think this was an advantage! Also as I grew up so did the world. The three grocery shops were reduced to one as more and more people did their main shopping in the supermarkets in the town and the whole area had a whiff of decay about it as I moved away to Dublin almost as soon as I turned 18. Since then that one shop has now closed, along with the post office and the school, while the church is just about clinging on for now. The pub is still there though.

Now, in my thirties I have again begun to appreciate the countryside for the quality of life you can have there compared to living in a city. When I go home now I see the isolation and the quiet as a good thing. I like looking out the front door over the treetops and watching the cloud formations float past. The closest you'd feel to being afraid to walk the roads is when a cow is blocking your path!

However I only appreciate the isolation as long as I have the means to escape it. While I may enjoy the idea of returning to live in the country I still expect to find work in a town and to have means of transport to that town both for work and also for whatever food and clothing I may need. My idea of living in the country doesn't include self-sufficiency!

After many changes over the years my view now of an ideal situation is to live in the country, but to be within easy reach of a town where I can work and shop.

Learn more about this author, Sean McGoldrick.
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