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Does moving away from the countryside have to mean giving the life up for good?
Choosing a ‘normal’ job meant one huge sacrifice… I had to take a break from the ‘country life’ we all love and dream about. Growing up working with horses and living in the gorgeous country side of Yorkshire meant I spent many hours outside in the fresh air. Having to take a break from this was easier said than done.
In the year I’ve been at university the most time I’ve spent actually in my university town before venturing back to the country is one month. Busy roads, 100’s of people and no fields in sight is definitely not the life I love. So instead of quitting the career I’ve always being passionate about I decided to attempt to combine the two. Combine being the wrong word. I basically live two lives which involves a lot of miles up and down the M1!
What is a ‘normal’ job?
I say normal meaning it is non agric/animal/ country related. My job is actually pretty far from normal . Being a student paramedic I see a variety of people, with no two shifts being the same. Perfect for me as I can’t stick with being cooped up in an office and I love the idea of not knowing what’s coming next. However I chose to move away from home so I can’t moan right? Wrong… I think I’ve spent the year complaining that I haven’t seen a cow for half an hour.
What does it take to combine the two?
‘Messy bun and getting stuff done’.
The go to quick hair style, perfected by many of us country girls! Once de-strawed and a quick spray of dry shampoo (or mane and tail spray?) none of your uni friends actually know you were knee deep in horse poo only a few hours ago! In fact , I’ve actually got compliments before.
A new wardrobe.
Ok, so some things are just for the country. Turning up to a none agricultural uni or workplace in green wellies , a schoffel and pheasant feather fedora may turn some heads. Now if you like being the centre of attention , go ahead but for me I decided to tone the tweed down and visit some high street stores. Who knew there were so many other colours other than brown and greens?
You shoot foxes?!
Coming from the country side obviously means you shoot every furry animal in sight right? So get ready for the hunting debate as people hide their beloved poodle from you as the educate you on how friendly and loving foxes are. My favourite being ‘I can’t believe you shoot pigeons on a weekend’ after posting a photo shooting clays.
Living out of the car.
I’ve found myself living out of bags from my car for a few days as I travel from uni/shift to home on my days. The downside is you normally leave something important and the long drives are tedious but what’s a 3 hour drive for a day out walking the dogs? Oh, and everyone always wonders why your car is covered in mud when its tarmac roads for miles. Little do they know only yesterday you were off roading to move over for a tractor into a puddle your little yaris really shouldn’t be in.
A lot of effort.
You never really settle in one place and your always counting the days down till your back in the city, wishing you had just one more day! Juggling shifts, uni work and exams is hard enough so the extra hours travelling does cut down your days off. Once your home there’s lots of family visits too, and dog and pony cuddles so trying to balance everything is sometimes challenging.
It’s also worth mentioning you may miss the social side of uni/your workplace too. Spending as little time as possible there means that you don’t get them work nights out or social gatherings so make sure to spend time with your peers and do plan some days off away from the country. You don’t want to give the impression you want nothing to do with anybody. I’ve been really lucky and all my course gets on incredibly well and we spend a lot of time together but they also understand that I do love my ‘old life’ too!
The time and effort it is completely worth it! You get the best of both worlds. Meet amazing people and can go from country boots, mud and gilets to a dress and heels in no time… ok maybe heels is pushing it for some of us. I also found blog writing is a fun way too in cooperate the country into town/city life too!
Thank you reading,
Meg xx
