Go to live in a village with a disability. Moving from city to village: useful tips
1. Beginning
This will be a long post.
Where did it all start? How does an ordinary city dweller come to understand the need to change the familiar and comfortable urban environment to rural life, with all its advantages and disadvantages?
Maybe for this it’s worth living for twenty-eight years on the ground floor in a two-room Khrushchev house, with windows overlooking a piece of the Nizhny Novgorod-Moscow federal highway. Maybe it’s worth exploring all the delights of the “fun” Azerbaijani? families behind the wall, and also insatiable, in terms of sex, neighbors from above and a key-making workshop on the other side of the bedroom. Get stuck in traffic jams. Breathe the exhaust fumes of the Moscow highway. You never know what else.
But for me, the starting point was the birth of my second daughter. (now there are three children). 40 square meters is not the area on which children, a wife, a dog and a cat can live happily. I decided to move. At first my wife was not enthusiastic about this, but over time she either came to terms with it or was inspired by it. However, now neither I nor she can imagine life within the city. I will tell you without embellishment what it means to radically change your lifestyle. It's not as difficult as it might seem. And, yes, this will be a “different” post, I have nothing to hide - let’s get acquainted.
3. Are we moving?
Have you decided to move? You must first decide: where exactly! It's unlikely that you REALLY want to go into the middle of nowhere. You can go into the wilderness for a couple of weeks, even for a month - you can! With tents, sleeping bags and supplies of you know what. But not for life. There, in the wilderness, it is not boring - in any wilderness there will always be something to do that, whether you want it or not, you will entertain yourself with. It is UNCOMFORTABLE in the middle of nowhere. It is inconvenient to buy groceries, it is inconvenient to take children to school, it is inconvenient to build buildings and many other “inconvenient” things.
To be fair, it should be said that while in the process of choosing a place for future habitat, I traveled almost the entire Nizhny Novgorod region. I was in Vetluga and Voskresensky and Knyaginino and Arzamas. But fate magically brought me to the village where my roots came from - the village of Golovino, Gorodetsky district, Nizhny Novgorod region. This is where my father grew up, this is where he met my mother. I didn’t even consider this area as an option for searching, I just found an ad on Avito and decided to call. And he called. My father's godmother (I found out when I signed the contract - it happens). In general, I bought (almost) a family nest quite cheaply
5. What we have
Let's be honest. Pros:
1. 50 km from the city (Nizhny Novgorod). not 400 km, like to Vetluga. Although there are places... mmmm.... Still, in the city, no matter what, property remains. We need to visit him sometimes. Well, relatives, of course. Them first.
2. Complete lack of industry. production in the area. On the other side of the Volga there is a dying Balakhninsky paper mill, but it is 10 km away.
3. Nearby is a school, kindergarten and shops. 1 km on a dirt road. Too lazy to go? Walk there!
4. Small village of 12 yards. It's really quiet here.
5. In the village, besides us, there are still living people. Pensioners are homebodies, of course, but still, not a bearish angle.
6. The roads are cleared (of snow). I'll say more. They clean better and cleaner and 100% faster than in my yard in the city.
7. Nature. The forest is nearby. The lake and river are nearby. Even abandoned orchards with apples, plums, strawberries, cherries, harvested according to the principle of whoever stood first and slippers, are also nearby.
Minuses:
1. 1 km on a dirt road! 350 days a year is nonsense! and only 2 weeks in the spring, when the snow has melted and the earth has not yet moved away, this is a real ass. The nearest village has asphalt, but you need to get there.
2. Hospital. First of all, for children. There is a paramedic station, vaccinations, examinations here, but all the specialists are in the regional center.
3. Education. The school only has 9 classes. Periodically (as they are completed) there are 11 classes. How lucky you are :)) How to insert the map here is the link https://maps.yandex.ru/20035/balahna/?clid=1955454&ll=43.593919%2C56.549086&z=14 Golovino village.
7. What you will need.
1. Freelance income (at present) from 40,000 rubles. Not necessarily permanent. But average for the year. If you, such an all-around CITY man, in full bloom, hope to realize yourself in working (and God forbid, He in Whom You Believe) farming activity - forget about moving to the village - this is not your case. You could become a super farmer - if you had the opportunity to survive for five or six years on the financial cushion you had previously accumulated. And this is provided that the “cushion” will also allow you to invest from 1 million rubles. per year for the development of your farm. If you are not a freelancer or a millionaire, do not ruin the life of yourself and your family. Stay in the city.
2. Spacious all-wheel drive vehicle. There is absolutely no way without him. I have a 1995 Subaru Legacy, a station wagon, rotten, but a tank. I'm as happy with him as an elephant. Anyone who wants to start a fight about Subarey, I recommend creating a separate topic and inviting me there. I have something to say about these cars. Only on the delivery of building materials I saved more than it costs. The rest is nuances. There is also an equally rotten Nissan Almera from 1996. This is front wheel drive for "light" trips.
3. The desire to build yourself. With the above income - construction only in independent mode. In general, you need to understand that no one will come for you or do anything. It (understanding) comes with time, it is important not to miss it. But you can handle the construction itself easily. Some information from books and the Internet. A little ingenuity on how to do it alone. And now - you are a builder, slightly inferior in level of knowledge to an average worker with a specialized (not higher) education. And since you will most likely be building a frame house on your own, you will not need tricky calculations. Only your time, energy, money and desire. All.
4. Support from your family. If your spouse gets her claws into the urban environment - her favorite nail salon, supermarket, girlfriend or “society” - believe me, nothing will work out for you. You may move to the village, but one, and these are two big differences! In general, without a family, wife, children in a house in the village, you will quickly howl like a wolf. Or you'll get drunk. Because the alternative to a family home in the village is a drinking grandfather-neighbor who has no one to drink with and nothing to drink with, and here you are, and with money at that.
I just want to tell many people - do you need it? And this article “6 reasons not leave the city for the countryside"is addressed primarily to those dreamers and romantics who are regularly visited by an impulsive desire to quickly change their surroundings and leave. Yes, not just leave, but run, get out of this blackened cities to villages, to freedom, where there is open space, meadows and rivers. Dear citizens and townspeople! It’s too early to pack your things, grab the handles of your suitcases, drag, straining, heavy boxes of belongings and put them with difficulty into a crowded car. Better sit down, relax and read this article. What if this village life is not your dream? Why think about this life with the smell of fresh manure, broken roads and smoke coming from the chimneys of an old and very dilapidated rural house?
Image reason.
You are used to showing off every day in a beautiful suit and chic high-heeled shoes along the spacious city streets, showering the surrounding city inhabitants with your wonderful smile, dousing them with the aroma of expensive perfume. Constantly catching the envious and playful glances of passers-by, you are the center of attention, beautiful and charming. The world is at your feet!
In the village it's the other way around. Every day you won’t be able to surprise your fellow villagers with your splendor. At best, you can hardly pull on your rubber boots and walk along the dirty village streets, making your next weekly promenade to the village store for shopping. Or once a month, make a memorable, magnificent voyage to the regional center. You will definitely be deprived of close and tender attention. There will be disappointment. Do you need it? Where is the respect and recognition from others?
Financial reason.
You work in the office from 9 to 18 and are free. The main thing is to sit from Monday to Friday, to withstand this time. A little more, a little more. And here it is, the long-awaited weekend. I survived and won. Well done, what a guy. Now I’ll get some sleep, go for a walk, lie down on the sofa with a newspaper, and fall asleep to the murmuring and sweet sound of the TV. I’ll run and have fun at the bowling alley, throw balls at the pins, and swallow the famous “Big Mac” with Pepsi at McDonald’s. How pleasant this life is.
Where's the salary? Here it is, the long-awaited one, I waited. And the bonus in the envelope is just right. I counted the money. How nice these bills are, new, they smell like printing ink and from their rustling comes joy and real bliss, which suddenly takes your breath away and makes you want to melt with happiness. How good and glorious it is to live! We'll pay off the loans and have enough for beer and fish. Why not a celebration of life?
What's in the village? What kind of work? To plow on a farm or in a field, on a hot day and freezing cold, and for pennies, for 7,000 - 10,000 rubles a month, and even in work clothes. Digging in the dirt in the garden, cleaning the sheds daily. And the smell... Oh, what a smell there is in these barns. Permeates clothes with its fetid aroma. Sticks into hair and skin. Don't wash yourself off. You are constantly in worries and thoughts about where to make money and, moreover, more, so that you have enough for everything. But what to live on? What a prospect! Where is the career growth? What is this life for? Is this my life purpose?
Vacation reason.
Vacation. There are so many pleasant memories, dizzying adventures and events in this magical word. Unforgettable discoveries of new places, travel around the world, holidays at sea. And the warm sea and clean sand. Oh, what wonderful memorable moments in life!
Stop. Wait. How are things going with holidays in the village? In the village, taking a vacation is unlikely to work, especially if you have your own farm or garden. After all, lying on the shore of a large ocean, on the warm sand, when your milking cow is mooing and suffering from hunger. And winter is coming. It would be advisable to prepare some firewood... It definitely won’t work.
Will there really be no vacation living in the countryside? Is it possible to forget about vacation and relaxation? Never go anywhere? How so? And dreams of walking along the Champs Elysees, seeing Venice, visiting Hawaii... How to deal with this? Is it possible to survive this? In honor of what holiday should we give up all this? Why do I need this kind of life in the village?
Educational reason.
Children. Little cute kids. But they will grow up very soon. We must give them a decent education, no worse than others. They will not live in the village and be shepherds and milkmaids all their lives. No, our own children deserve and deserve much more. And science and knowledge are an expensive pleasure in modern times. And to dress up adult children, give them a good meal in student canteens, cafes... Money is needed for entertainment, discos. Just renting a house is worth it. The expenses are simply unbearable and what not. Will I be able to handle this living in the village? Something to think about! Assess your capabilities, prospects and strengths.
Everyday reason.
Housing and communal services. In the village everyone is on his own. Clear the snow, mow the grass. Fix the plumbing, fix the house. What kind of chaos is this anyway?
Prepare hay and firewood. That stove is smoking again. And daily cleaning and kindling. Feed the animals, milk the cow. Whitewash and paint the house. And so every day, year after year, constantly. Was I hired to do this? Why did you get involved in such a life?
Or maybe his this village? In the city there are janitors and plumbers at every turn. There are fewer worries and problems. The apartment is always warm, hot water runs from the tap. The toilet is warm in the apartment. Sit and read a magazine. And you don’t need to do anything, there are zero unnecessary movements, a real heavenly life for a modern person. What else is needed for a happy and contented life? Life without worries. Why should I deprive myself of comfort by moving to the countryside?
Age reason.
You have retired. We have been waiting for this for a long time and now this happiness has come in an instant. The joy is incredible. Now a new life begins, you can only think about yourself and your dream - moving from the city to the village. Pack up and change your place of residence. But for some reason it’s hard in the village, my back hurts, and I can’t move much, I don’t have enough strength, I’m short of breath. Diseases prevail. But the hospital is far away and there is no transport. Is old age approaching? And then what? What to do? The years go on and on. How can an old, sick person live in a village house? It’s hard and the children are far away. Who will help? What are these tests of life for? Who needs them?
If you don’t care about all of the above, then it’s another matter, continue packing your bags. Start the car and go towards your dream. Welcome to the modern Russian village. Welcome gentlemen!!!
This article was written thanks to you, dear readers of the site, and is my response to your many questions about the doubts that have arisen in you that still hold you back from living in the city at the moment. But you never stop dreaming about village life. You are looking for advice, lifesavers. You are constantly indecisive and looking for an opportunity to decide to take a desperate step towards change and a new turn in your life. There are still many things stopping us.
Only you yourself have to decide about moving from city to village, and no one, no one at all, has the right to impose their personal, individual, sometimes erroneous opinion on you. Further life is your personal step, your decision. Think with your head, take the right steps, act wisely and correctly.
While the article was being written.
Another family could not stand the test of the village. Newly arrived people are escaping back to the city. There will be two fewer people in the village.
I met my neighbor Vera. She is very talkative and knows everything about everyone.
“So what if they came to the village a year ago. Maria’s husband doesn’t like it here, said this village life is not his. It's better in the city. Accuses her of being the one to blame for their move. He's already left. And Maria is selling the house. She has placed advertisements, is waiting for buyers and will go to town to pick up her husband.”
“Only she really regrets that she sold her apartment in Barnaul a year ago. We spent the money, bought a car, a house in the village, and all new furnishings. Now give it up. It's a pity. And there is nowhere to live. And these were their dreams and hopes.”
“Where does her husband live? Yes, for now with my daughter. So what if they are retired, he has already found a job and is working. And he doesn’t regret it.”
If you do not live alone. Find out from your other half whether she or he is ready for this desperate step in radically changing their life. Whether rural life is interesting or not to this person, and not just to you. The main thing is not to regret it later.
“Every moment is priceless, there is no stop tap.
It's a pity we don't understand this right away.
On the train called "Earthly Life"
They don't sell return tickets..."
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Fresh air filled with the aroma of cut grass, berries and fruits in abundance, water from a well, the feeling of morning damp dew on bare feet and intoxicating happiness - this is exactly how rural life seems to many. Some residents of megacities dream of moving the fence to the countryside. Is this feasible? In what ways can this dream be fulfilled? Will rural life not be a burden for a city dweller?
The benefits are obvious!
People who spend their entire lives in a metropolis cannot boast of excellent health. Junk food from supermarkets, constant stress and fuss - all these factors destroy a person’s natural protective shell, making him vulnerable to various diseases.
A villager feels completely different. It has been proven that people living in villages have much better health. Constant exposure to fresh air, consumption of clean water and food have a beneficial effect on the human body, forming normal metabolism and powerful immunity.
Land, garden, vegetable garden
People who are not afraid of working on the land tend to move to the countryside from the city. Vegetables and fruits grown in your own garden are very tasty and healthy. You can also arrange your own garden and collect fragrant apples, currants, and raspberries every year.
A cozy gazebo made of wicker and a spacious hammock will look great between the fruit trees. Here you can relax in the shade of trees on hot days, enjoying the peace and quiet, and on weekends invite friends and have fun in nature.
New opportunities
After moving from the city to the countryside, some people cannot get used to the deep silence that lives in a rural home. There is no roar of cars, signals at night and noise from neighbors behind the wall. Silence reigns everywhere, you can hear the thin-voiced singing of birds and the rustling of leaves. Once in such an atmosphere, a person begins to feel freedom, the measured pace of village life and completely gets rid of stress and anxiety.
New opportunities appear that are inaccessible to city dwellers. Now you can get a dog or a cat and not really worry about whether they want to go for a walk today. Pets will happily run around the yard without interfering with your plans and concerns. If you wish, you can start a farm: chickens, a pig or even a cow. Then the usual products in your monastery will be homemade eggs, fresh meat and milk.
Benefits for children
All parents know how good the child is in the village. The baby becomes more independent and calm, and clean air and fresh food have a beneficial effect on metabolism and strengthen the immune system. Constantly being outside, playing with friends, running around and cheerful exclamations - absolutely all children like the freedom of the village, away from the noise of cars and the dangers of the city.
In addition, here a child can constantly communicate with domestic animals, get a pet, and care for it. In summer, village kids look tanned, rosy-cheeked and absolutely happy. And how much fun they give in the village! Snow-covered meadows attract children with their steep slopes, and now you can hear ringing laughter and the fervent courage of little mischief-makers!
Moving from city to village
If you have finally decided that you want to give up city life, there is no need to rush. You need to think carefully about everything and decide on the area that is ideal for making your dreams come true. It is best to leave the city for a village where your friends or relatives live. You will have at least some support at first, and friendly advice or a little help has never hurt anyone.
When choosing a place to move, you should not focus on remote villages. There must be at least some kind of civilization in the village: a store, a school for children, a post office to receive or write letters. It can be difficult to get from a village to a city, so it is advisable that there be a convenient transport interchange and buses.
Choosing an activity
If the village you are moving to is far from your city, you should consider how you will earn a living. You will have to leave your main place of work, and finding a job in your specialty in the village is very difficult.
Perhaps you will sell homemade milk, eggs, or raise chickens in an incubator. All options for making good money need to be thought through and calculated, so as not to curse yourself later for making a hasty decision.
It’s good if you have some kind of passive income in a bank or a share in a business. Then you will have confidence in the future and stable financial support.
Warm and comfortable
We live in an age of progress and modern technology, so even in a village it is necessary to improve everyday life. All amenities, a bathroom and warm radiators must be present in your home, or immediately after moving you need to solve this problem.
Of course, if you like to chop wood and light the stove, the question disappears by itself. But it’s still better to just relax in a warm house and not feel inconvenienced, especially when it’s freezing outside.
Do you like to drive a car?
To quickly move from city to village and not feel disadvantaged, it is very good if the family has its own car, or even better, two. Transport communications are often very poorly developed in villages, so you will have to drive to get to school, hospital or bank.
It is very good if the wife is also a driver. Then she will not depend on her husband’s work schedule and will be able to take the children to school herself or go about her business at any time convenient for her.
Neighbors and locals
When moving from a city to a village, migrants are least concerned about the issue of communication. It seems that people are the same everywhere, and if friendliness is developed by nature, there should be no problems. But that's not true. more closed than city dwellers, and perhaps, at first, migrants from the city to the countryside will feel increased attention and tension.
A very unpleasant feature of small villages is that every resident is in full view of everyone. Any action or lifestyle is always discussed and very often not in a positive manner. Gossip and gossip arise, and if at first you try to pay attention to such little things, then over time the influence of the social environment becomes very noticeable.
Residents of megacities are accustomed to the noise and bustle, the crazy pace of life, and therefore, for the first time after moving from the city to the countryside for permanent residence, many feel boredom and loneliness.
Technical side
Another important circumstance that citizens are not aware of is the lack of some services and communications. The speed of the Internet in many villages leaves much to be desired; there are interruptions in its operation and a complete lack of coverage. This also applies to cellular services. In order to comfortably talk on the phone with relatives, some village residents climb to the roofs of houses or some elevated surfaces.
There are also power outages. This occurs due to breakdowns, hurricanes or other adverse weather conditions. You may be left without light for several hours, and if the repairs take longer, then for a longer time.
Hard labour
No matter how long-awaited your move from city to village may be, you need to understand that now your life will change. This mainly concerns personal time. Life in the village is, first of all, work, daily and hard. Work in the garden, in the garden, caring for the territory of the house, taking care of pets - all this will have to be done every day.
In addition, no one canceled the usual things either. Cooking, cleaning, ironing and washing - these women's worries are not going away, only now they need to be combined with other activities.
It's great if all family members help each other and strive for a common goal. This is especially true for the stronger sex. If your spouse loves football and a soft sofa, you need to think very carefully before moving to the countryside from the city.
Rough work requires male participation. In winter, you need to remove snow, clear paths, in summer, you need to fix something, chop firewood, and help in the garden. In order to create a cozy life and a comfortable environment, the participation of all family members is very important. Then it will bring joy, and the work will go quickly and easily.
If in doubt
Calm rural life attracts residents of megacities who are tired of the hustle and bustle and rigid daily routine. I want a carefree existence, unencumbered by problems, stress and the eternal “chase” for prosperity or a good position. However, relocating from a suburb to a village can be disastrous for people who:
- cannot imagine their life without theaters, clubs and active events;
- do not have a permanent source of income;
- any difficult work is a burden for them;
- not ready for difficulties;
- afraid of physical labor.
Desired freedom
Of course, not everyone can live in the city, but not everyone is comfortable in the countryside. When deciding to move to the outback, you need to be prepared for surprises, some difficulties and even conflicts. Rural life may look completely different from what many imagine.
An excellent option would be to live in a village you like for a while, for example, in the summer. Then you will be able to really assess the situation, meet someone, and learn about the social life of the village. If at the end of summer you do not change your decision, then feel free to move to the village.
Green meadows with tall grass, blooming fragrant gardens, scarlet apple trees and a cozy, well-appointed house - isn’t this joy? Several years will pass, and, sitting on the terrace under the quiet murmur of grasshoppers, you will think for a moment and realize that you are very happy, and your decision to move to the village was really the right one!
Residents of small towns and villages often move to Moscow, hoping to find a good job here and settle down for a long time. But there is another tendency - to leave the capital for the countryside. The Village spoke with those who consciously decided to give up life in the big city.
Elizaveta Mokeeva
Doula (birth assistant), 34 years old. Three years ago I moved to the village,
located 600 kilometers from Moscow.
My husband and I are from the military town of Vlasikha, Odintsovo district. We met as children, and studied and worked, naturally, in Moscow.
I am a marketer by education, graduated from Natalia Nesterova University.
We rented an apartment in the capital, and everything suited us, until in 2011 we found out that we were expecting our third child. Then it became clear that we needed our own housing.
We studied the real estate market and came to the conclusion that we couldn’t afford a large apartment in Moscow. To buy it, we would have to pay the mortgage for 40 years and live in constant financial stress, so we decided to build a big house in the village.
Plots in the Moscow region also turned out to be expensive, and then the husband remembered that he had land inherited from relatives in one of the villages of the Nizhny Novgorod region. We drove 600 kilometers and saw a nice plot of land with an old wooden house. Soon we demolished it and began construction of a new two-story house.
Due to work in Moscow, we could not participate in construction, so we had to hire people from neighboring villages. Fortunately, prices for building materials and labor here are several times lower than in Moscow. As a result, in two years we spent almost all our money on construction - about 1.5 million rubles. Construction was completed by the fall of 2013, my husband and I quit our jobs and began planning the move. However, the house was ready on the outside, but not on the inside, and we had to move into an almost empty room - life began without furniture, without money, without work.
Immediately after moving, we began to look for work in the regional center, which is located 10 kilometers from us. In Moscow, I worked part-time photographing weddings and thought that I could get a job here as a wedding photographer without any problems, like a person from the capital with a cool camera. However, it turned out that in the regional center the field of wedding photography is well developed, and no one needed me.
Before moving, I also worked as a doula, that is, I helped pregnant women. In my time, I have attended many seminars and courses for doulas, so I can advise on breastfeeding and natural childbirth. I decided to use my knowledge and started a thematic blog on Instagram. Within six months, I held the first seminar on childbirth in Moscow, which brought good income, and I began to develop in this direction. At the same time, my husband was given the position of head of the rural House of Culture, and we began to have a stable income.
There are about 50 houses in our village, and more than half of them are abandoned. There are only four new good houses like ours. The village is emptying out because there is no gas in it, and heating with electricity is quite expensive. In addition, at minus 30, no electricity will heat the house - you have to heat it with wood. Our neighbors are mostly older people who farm and drink well. Young people come here only to visit in the summer.
The land here is fertile, and farming is not difficult: for example, this year I planted seedlings and didn’t even weed the beds - tomatoes and cucumbers grew by themselves. But my husband does not support the idea of creating his own vegetable garden, and I am often busy with a small child, so we are not growing anything for sale yet. To make money in agriculture, you need large investments in technology and infrastructure, but we have neither the means nor the desire for this.
There are about 50 houses in our village, and more than half of them are abandoned. There are only four new good houses like ours.
There is no store or school in the village, so due to frequent trips to the regional center, most of the earnings are spent on gasoline. But still, living in your own home is several times cheaper than renting an apartment in Moscow. In the village I only pay for electricity: in winter - 20 thousand rubles a month, and in summer only 600 rubles. There are, of course, force majeure events: for example, the roof of a house can be blown off, sometimes the water supply system breaks, but no one is immune from this.
After living in the city, it was hard to get used to the fact that in the village no one owes you anything. For the first year and a half we lived without an electricity generator, and one day our village was covered in snow and the wires were cut: there was no light or heat in the house, and in the yard there was waist-deep snow. As a result, we spent six hours clearing the road to the highway in order to at least go to the store. Another time there was a hurricane, our electricity went out, and the roof of the house was blown off onto the car. If you're going crazy in the city, you just call the housing and communal services department. If your car breaks down in the city, you call a tow truck. But in the village no one will help you; here you can only rely on yourself.
In general, my husband and I calmly accepted our new life, but the move was difficult for the older children. They studied in the third grade, all their friends remained in Moscow, and here, in fact, the only person you can go out with is your brother. We placed them in a rural school five kilometers from home, and they plunged into an environment where children do not know what a touch phone and PSP are, where the school has strict control over the completion of assignments, because there are two or three people in each class. . In the first year there was no decent toilet at school, there was just a pit on the street and a washbasin without running water. Therefore, it is not surprising that two months later, when my grandparents came to visit us, the children began to complain and ask to go to Moscow.
Nobody, of course, allowed them to leave. They graduated from the village primary school, and in the fifth grade went to another school in the regional center. But it didn’t suit us even more than the previous one: our children’s classmates smoked, drank energy drinks and beer, actively skipped classes, and this was considered the norm. Neither the parents of these children nor the teachers did anything to stop this, so I decided to homeschool the children.
With the help of textbooks and the Internet, my husband and I began teaching children on our own. I made a schedule and soon realized that it was quite difficult to study different subjects every day. The child jumps from one discipline to another and does not delve deeply into any one. Therefore, we study one subject during the week. The child fully immerses himself in the topic, watches additional videos from the Internet, and his knowledge becomes organized.
In order for children to receive a certificate in the future, we connected to an online school, where in order to be promoted to the next grade they must pass exams annually. In addition to the school curriculum, our children also study what interests them. For example, Sasha loves to draw, so he has already completed an online drawing course, and is now completing a web design course. At the age of 11, he will receive a web designer certificate and will be prepared for his future profession. Nowadays children no longer ask to go to the city, but, of course, they like to come to Moscow for several weeks to visit their grandparents. I call us a “family of the future,” in which children come on vacation not to the village, but to the city.
During the day I have practically no free time: I do household chores, teach and raise children, and take the kids to sports activities. Besides this, I work - I run my own blog and online courses on preparing for childbirth. However, it’s easy to find time to relax: take a step into the yard - and you can already barbecue, swing on a swing, jump on a trampoline. By the way, in the village you get enough sleep faster. Many guests say that we sleep very well. Maybe it's because of the air, or maybe it's because of the atmosphere of calm.
In the city, everyone is chasing the best: everyone wants to have a good car, a good job, good things. But here, dress however you like - no one cares.
Last year in Cyprus I wanted to buy an Armani bag, but I realized that in the village this bag would look like an ordinary bag from the market. Over the course of three years, I changed and realized that the value of life is not in things and status, but in your freedom, in the fresh air around you.
Time moves slower in the village. Here you spend less time on the road and empty conversations, so you get more done in a day than in the city. Here no one distracts you from your work, no one invites you to numerous weddings and birthdays.
Our move was a gamble. We left into the void, our friends laughed at us, and I thought that we would not be able to live in the village for long. And now I'm happy with my life. I live stably, without stress, and I earn more than before the move. Most of our acquaintances do not understand us: they think that we are suffering here and are trying to persuade us to come back. But I don't want to live in the city anymore.
Miron Dementiev
Farmer, 26 years old. In 2015, he moved to a farm located 100 kilometers from Moscow.
I was born and raised in Moscow, graduated from the Russian State University of Sports and Sports with a degree in sports medicine. After studying at the university, he worked as the head of an aikido school. The story of moving to the village began with the appearance of a girl in my life. I began to think about my family and realized that the quality of the products that my family would eat was important to me.
After some time, I found out that the parents of one of my friends are farmers.
In May 2015, I came to visit them. Valery Ivanovich, the head of the farm, showed his possessions and talked about real life on earth. At that moment I realized that I wanted to engage in agriculture. As a result, we agreed on cooperation: I move to the farm and help with the housework, and Valery Ivanovich teaches me everything he knows.
In two weeks I decided all my affairs in Moscow, quit my job and went to the farm with my wife. Our family was accommodated in a two-story guest house. The main reason for my move is food security. Of course, I could live in the city and buy farm products, but I like country life, there is a different state of body and mind here.
In Moscow, I lived in a rented apartment and I can say that maintaining a house in the village is much more expensive. Living in an apartment is initially very simplified: all living conditions are created in advance, you just need to pay rent, rent and other household services. And in a village house you constantly have to do something: fix plumbing, dig a well, nail something, build, improve, and so on. But the pleasure of village life compensates for these worries: there are no neighbors screaming behind the wall, there is an open field in the yard, and nature all around. For me this is real life.
Before moving, I knew nothing about agriculture, but now, a year and a half later, I know how to work with livestock and equipment, and I independently produce and sell dairy products. At first it was hard for me due to the large amount of physical work and isolation from society, because all my friends and relatives remained in Moscow. However, over time it became easier: volunteers began to come to us, and my friends Vladimir and Alevtina, who now work with us on the farm, moved in permanently.
Our farm consists of two houses, it is not tied to any locality and is located 100 kilometers from Moscow. From the farm to the nearest store the drive is about 10 kilometers. It takes an hour to walk around our entire site - we have 50 hectares of land, most of which is mowed down for cattle feed. We have all our own basic food products: potatoes, bread, eggs, vegetables, meat, pickles, jam, apples and pears. In the store we only buy sweets, cereals and pasta. For a year and a half, I have become so accustomed to natural products that food from the store seems fake and plastic.
Everything here is subject to common sense: one day feeds the next, there is no such thing as an “existential crisis”, “psychological problems”, you don’t ask the question “Why am I doing this?” In the village I breathe deeply and feel the “salt of the earth”
We produce milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, cheese and butter for sale. Most of our clients are mothers from Sergiev Posad, for whom it is important to feed their children good foods. They find us through friends, thanks group on VKontakte or meet at environmental and farming exhibitions. Our products are of very high quality and sell quickly - demand exceeds supply approximately twice.
Dairy production is a seasonal job, so income is unstable. From six cows I earn from 50 to 100 thousand a month without taxes. Part of the income goes to maintaining livestock. The remaining money is enough to provide for my family and to pay Vova and Alevtina, but there is a catastrophic lack of funds for the development of the economy. In general, the main problem of agriculture in Russia is prices. Everything in this area is very expensive. For example, to create a farm like the one we live in now, you need to have a starting capital of at least 10 million. Cattle also costs a lot: a normal cow will cost from 100 to 150 thousand rubles.
Over time, we began to cover the activities of the farm on social networks, and this gave results: the media began to write about us, people from Moscow flocked to us. Last summer we organized a work camp for volunteers: more than 30 assistants came to us for two weeks, for whom we prepared a historical and cultural program with trips to Sergiev Posad. Volunteers helped us with farming and construction: with their help, we built the frame of a cowshed and changed the roof of a residential building.
In addition, a month after moving, we started raising money through a crowdfunding platform. In a month we collected 450 thousand rubles to buy sheep and building materials. Soon we launched a second fundraising project - this time we collected 900 thousand rubles and bought six cows, a tractor and other equipment. As a reward, donors were sent dairy products or handmade gifts: wooden dolls, paintings, watches and other crafts. There was also a third project - we received two hundred million for the construction of three guest houses so that volunteers could live comfortably at any time of the year.
Life in the village is always orderly. For example, in the summer the daily routine is as follows: at 5 a.m. the cows get up and milk in the morning. Women handle the milk, men take care of the cattle: water, feed, clean. After milking, you can have breakfast yourself. Then the housework begins: either on machinery in the fields, or at a construction site, which, by the way, never ends with us. Recently, for example, we assembled a garage and made an extension to the barn. Lunch at 15:00, after which there is again housework until 19:00, that is, until dinner. In the evenings I work on the Internet or communicate with guests and farmers. We love to sit around the fire and play the guitar over delicious pies.
In a year and a half of living in the village, I have never regretted moving. Everything here is subject to common sense: one day feeds the next, there are no concepts of “existential crisis”, “psychological problems”, you don’t ask the question “Why am I doing this?” In the village I breathe deeply and feel the “salt of the earth.” I am sure that my children and grandchildren will grow up loving the land and will share my life values.
Vitaly Boltinov
Brewer, 49 years old. Four years ago I moved to the village,
located 100 kilometers from Moscow.
I am a third generation Muscovite. He studied to become an electrician and worked in his specialty for a year before being drafted into the army. Then he took up free enterprise: he was engaged in the construction field, produced confectionery and sold clothes. As a child, my father constantly took me with him on country trips to visit relatives, and with him I visited villages in many Russian regions and Ukraine.
My father had a plot of land in the Moscow region, and as a teenager I spent my free time there. I was interested in everything that is on and in the ground. I put the site in order, took care of draining the land and other things. In short, I have known chicken droppings since childhood. Even in the army I did something similar. I was so bored there that I started a small farm. He started with one rabbit, and after a year and three months he left behind 500 rabbits, two rams and two goats. Throughout my life, like my father, I spent a lot of time outside the city. Every weekend, my wife and children and I left Moscow further away. Sometimes I was so tired of the city that I left on a weekday evening and returned back in the morning.
All my life I have been pursuing a dream - to live in the village. I set myself a goal - by the age of 50, I would save money and move my family to my own house outside the city. In 2009, I began to make my dream come true and look for a suitable plot in the south of the Moscow region. The main criterion when choosing a site was the view from the window. As a result, I bought one and a half hectares of land in the village of Sonino, 100 kilometers from Moscow. When I ask my city friends: “How do you start your morning?” - they answer that for no reason. And my morning begins with a beautiful landscape, with a sunrise, with birds singing.
I organized a team of builders, and construction began in July 2009. I wanted to build two houses, a bathhouse, a brewery, a technical room, a stable and create a small pond. By the way, the architecture and layout of the buildings were made by me personally. Yes, I also worked actively in construction. In four months, the foundation of all buildings was laid, and in 2012 I fully moved into a two-story guest house. However, by that time I had disagreements with my wife, with whom we had been married for 28 years. At first she supported my desire to move, but then her opinion changed. As a result, we separated. That's why I didn't finish building the master's house and didn't make a pond.
There are only eight houses in my village, but I can’t say that I’m missing anything. For example, a ten-minute drive away is the village of Zaoksky with an excellent entertainment infrastructure: there are large gyms, a cinema, a theater, a spa and a shopping complex. By the way, I am an avid theatergoer: I attend about 40 productions a year, and the distance to Moscow is not a problem - an hour and a half by car, and I’m in the city.
I have also loved beer since my youth. Over the course of my life, I have tried several thousand varieties and learned to brew beer in Germany and the Czech Republic. I lived in breweries for several days: observed, asked questions and generally learned the craft. Therefore, I decided to produce my product in the village. In 2011, I purchased equipment and started brewing. On the sixth attempt, I found the right proportions and settled on three varieties: light lager, dark lager and a mixture of both - ruby. The process of brewing beer is creativity and delicate work with ingredients. Only if you truly love beer can you make it well.
Initially, I brewed for myself, gave beer to friends and bartered with farmers for their products. For example, I haven’t bought potatoes, beets and poultry in the store for a long time, but exchange them for beer from my neighbors. Another friend of mine gives my car a registration certificate for a case of beer. Over time, people learned about my beer, and the year before last I received my first orders. Around the same time, my friend Sasha founded the Mark and Lev farming cooperative. Since then, my beer has been named after the cooperative, and they help me with sales. In 2014, I finally quit my business in Moscow and devoted myself to brewing beer.
My Moscow friends are aging before our eyes, Against their background, I was frozen in time. Despite my age, I have more energy: at 50 years old in the village I feel the same as at 35 in the city
In the summer I work every day from 07:00 to midnight and produce 2.5 tons of beer per month. Due to the large number of orders, sometimes we have to cook even at night. My record is three days of cooking without sleep. Now I supply beer to regional, Tula and Moscow restaurants. You can also buy my beer through LavkaLavka and in Mark and Lev stores. My monthly income from selling beer is about 150 thousand rubles, and this is enough for me.
I love fishing, so before work I go fishing from four to seven in the morning. Where have you seen this in the city? People have been going fishing for months, and I just walk 200 meters to a pond with crucian carp and tench. In the spring I love to hunt woodcock. I hunt not for the sake of shooting and killing, but just to be in nature. I take a chair with me, some cognac and sit in the twilight. If I want mushrooms for dinner, I put on my sneakers, walk 100 meters and half an hour later I’m frying them in a frying pan.
In Moscow, you can eat right, drink water through 48 filters, but it will still be fake water and fake food. You can run in the morning, but you will still breathe waste. You may not smoke or drink, but your health will still deteriorate. My Moscow friends are aging before our eyes, and I am frozen in time against their background. Despite my age, I have more energy: at 50 years old in the village I feel the same as at 35 in the city. Every day I walk from 3 to 20 kilometers, and I don’t notice these distances. I don't go back and forth on purpose - I just get things done and am on the move.
In the village, my second life literally began. When I come to Moscow, my friends always ask why I smile so much. But because in the village there is rarely a bad mood, peace and tranquility reign there, there are no irritating factors, so I smile a hundred times a day. And if you are in a bad mood, it is very easy to lift it: sit on the grass in the yard, drink coffee, pet the cat - and that’s it. There is nowhere to get so much positive energy from in the city. People smile little, constantly surf the Internet and are rude.
All my city friends are jealous of me. They come to visit and admire, but they themselves are afraid to move. But in reality, what do you have to lose? You can’t make a career at 45 years old - sell your Moscow living space, and for half its cost buy yourself a house of 150 square meters. With the remaining money you can live peacefully or do something else. Moreover, you don’t have to invent anything: all the information is in the palm of your hand, there is electricity everywhere, and our cooperative will help you with land, with installments, and with infrastructure.
I go to Moscow once a week to buy raw materials for cooking and see that people cannot cope with the frantic city rhythm. The good mood in the city diminished, people began to get tired quickly: by the age of 40 they begin to get unsettled, their efficiency at work gradually decreases. Lately I feel sorry for the townspeople, so I try to help them on my own: I always bring positivity and beer with me.
Now I live in a guest house with my new life partner and her two children. However, I miss a kindred spirit, a like-minded person with whom I can fight side by side for a common cause. Soon my son will return from the army, and I hope that he will live with me in the village. In general, I want to create a family nest, as many Americans do. So that my children and grandchildren can live in neighboring houses. I hope this happens someday.
