A passage from a book I’m currently translating:
Tiffany and Paul have finished decorating their new flat but they regret their purchase as they don’t like the area. Paul is a freelance graphic designer and works from home. Tiffany works for an insurance broker and has been dissatisfied with her life for some time. After a spate of burglaries in their area Tiffany suggests that they move to the country and try to live self-sufficiently. Paul has doubts but goes along with the idea and before long they have sold their flat and found a small cottage on the edge of Dartmoor.
When they get there they realise how isolated it is. Tiffany does not drive and the nearest village only has a post office and one pub. They miss their family and friends and realise that they have made a mistake. Paul tends to blame Tiffany as it was her idea.
This may seem unlikely but in fact some people do move from a city to a rural location in search of the‘good life’ before suddenly realising that the lifestyle isn’t quite what they had imagined. (Liz Jones in the Mail on Sunday magazine writes every week about the disastrous consequences for her of making this exact decision.)
Get me the Mail on Sunday magazine this instant! Wait… We live in the country, bereft of even our domestic nationals (save for the tabloids). Even on workdays.
