This is why you want to move to a village right now

The free (!) parking space right in front of the door, the greenery just a three-minute walk away, the garden where I can host fifty people, and I even have more than one floor. Every big city dweller's calculator is now rattling, because this must be a property with a driveway at Vondelpark worth a few million. But no, not if you just look outside the Ring.

Listen and shudder big city dwellers: the village is more popular than ever. Not only because you can still buy something here, but also because people see the advantage of moving to the countryside. The magazine LINDA. even released a whole portrait series this month featuring several celebrities who have left the city. Katja, Typhoon, and Najib Amhali are just a few faces from the series. But also our own Carolien Karthaus-Spoor traded the city for some cozy goats in the backyard, Lucy Woesthoff moved to the quieter side of Ibiza, and Arie Boomsma was initially the trendsetting city leaver. The countryside is hot, and I understand that.

I don't necessarily need to be in the middle of the city. When I'm on a city trip, I always look for the nearest rooftop terrace and beach for a more expansive view. Just let me enjoy village life and visit the city (preferably within twenty minutes) when I feel like it. Living in a village has its advantages, which are certainly good to know in our post-pandemic world.

1. If another pandemic breaks out, you can just borrow the neighbor's dog to walk after curfew. You can sit with ten people at a distance of five meters in a spacious garden. You don't have to fight with your partner over who gets to set up the office in the bedroom because you just create two (!) offices in separate rooms in the house. You don't have to walk over heads at a ‘lawa’ over the canal, but have the whole forest to yourself.

2. The postman gives a signal when the mailbox is full. At least, mine does. Then he points cutely towards my red mailbox and mimics that there is mail inside. You just don't experience that in the city.

3. Speaking of mail, you never miss a package again because that friendly DHL delivery person knows how to find your secret hiding spot. What am I saying? If he sees that the light above the kitchen table is on, he just leaves it at the door because he knows I can't hear the bell but am still home. Added bonus: my package isn't stolen by a passerby in the meantime.

4. People living in villages are happier, research shows. Just saying.

5. So it's not at all mandatory to participate in social practices. I've been living in this village for two and a half years now, but I still manage to do that on my own terms. Every neighbor who says something even slightly controlling to me gets a funny response, and I'm set for the whole year. And that good morning when you leave the house has its own cozy charm.

6. Did I already mention that houses are cheaper? It does depend a bit on where and what you buy; Abcoude seems to be the new Amsterdam. But within the Ring, you quickly pay five hundred thousand for a medium apartment, and that doesn't have to be the case here (yet).

7. You discover that the background noise of traffic is not always and everywhere present, which gives just that little bit of extra peace in your head.

8. If you don't feel like calling someone, you can always pretend that the reception in Lutjebroek is really terrible. City dwellers already think you live at the end of the world.

Will I see you soon?