Exit big city: the village is where you want to live

In the first three weeks that I lived on the Dappermarkt, I lost two bicycles and gained ten parking fines. I love the big city, but I'm not really made to live there. When I bike, I end up in a split on the tram tracks and I manage to find myself in crazy groups on Saturday afternoons around two o'clock in the Kalverstraat. What I'm saying: not made for it.

That's why I inhabit the small towns and occasionally a village. It's much more manageable. Don't think it's something to do with the village and the girl, because I lived four years in Amsterdam and four years in Rotterdam. I've had my fair share of city living, but a smaller city is where I thrive. I'll tell you why. You have a house with at least three rooms – which is a utopia if you live in a big city – for under 1000 euros a month, which is an even bigger utopia if you live in a big city. You can park your car downtown for one euro per hour. Ha, u-to-pia. But you do have everything within a radius of one kilometer, from HEMA to that little stall where you get those divine green olives.

But now Nationale Nederlanden came out with news, news that made me chuckle quite a bit. I don't normally fall into the category of trendsetters or early adopters, but it turns out I am one. Because here's the thing: almost no one wants to rent or buy in the city anymore. But ten percent sees a little place three stories up in the Randstad, and the rest prefers to buy in a village or a small city. Ha. Twenty-eight percent of the searching public goes for the village, twenty-three percent chooses average urban, and twenty-four percent looks in the smaller cities. I belong to that last group. As an early adopter, that I am.

The village is more popular than ever. The counter-movement is on. Prices in the countryside will skyrocket within a year, and in the city, you can again make delightfully rude low offers. The mayor of Lutjebroek is introducing parking fees in the village center because those people from the city don't know any better. And the hospitality industry is flourishing on the quaint village streets because the villagers suddenly go out to eat. The village, the village, if you listen to Wim Sonneveld, you'll understand.

Am I going to buy quickly now, before the trend penetrates the city? Joejoe, your early adopter.