To yearn for a simpler life?

[Misty9]

Busy life with two young kids and jobs etc. I'm about to finish my current job and find I'm yearning for something different from just getting another post and continuing in the rat race. I'm tired all the time, don't get outdoors into nature enough, could eat better and have various minor health complaints. I have visions of living somewhere more rural, perhaps by the sea, and just leaving behind the capitalist culture and spending and STUFF as much as possible. Sadly dh doesn't share this vision so I feel stuck.

Does anyone else yearn for a simpler life? Or found one?

situp dh and I watched that documentary you mentioned last night, Minimalism, on Netflix. Wow. It was amazing and very thought provoking. I was sat there mouth agape thinking this is exactly how I feel, and dh was sat there slightly crapping himself wondering what I would suggest afterwards

It's really helped me realise that the feeling of needing more is conditioning and I can ignore it if I want to. We've decided on a long holiday this summer to get closer to nature - house on a beach type thing - and we've also decided to declutter loads more stuff. Mainly the playroom. Not quite ready for tiny house living yet...! but determined to push back against consumerism a little at least.

Oh I'm defintely a maximiser wearegerbil !! Interesting. Not sure how to change to being more of a satisficer though? I've read something similar once. I do remember standing in front of the jam section in a supermarket and almost feeling like weeping because I couldn't make a decision based on fruit/sugar content. Oh dear

I live in London zone 4 and have so much green space around me. It’s so important to me to get out into nature and we re often going for long walks, bike rides, picnics and finding activities around nature.
I’ve recently been reading up on ‘nature art’ where you just use stones, leaves and twigs to create pictures. It sounds like such a lovely thing to do.
I don’t buy lots of stuff and would rather spend money on a day trip or a train journey.
My kids don’t do lots of activities and we have plenty of down time.
Working part time helps.
It does sound that you have a lot on and don’t have time to pick daisies.

If you can't make a simple decision it sounds like you are generally overloaded / depressed (I remember once walking out of M&S because I couldn't cope with the number of bras!)

One technique I use is to ask myself whether it will matter in a week, a month or a year to put it in perspective. I think just recognising that there is a better way overall to make a decision helps me - in my case it was my DM's voice I think that always told me to get the best thing - and once I realised there was actually a different way that was better for me that in itself helped me to change.

I cba to read that link about maximise because I just buy what i need ....however I would love to watch the Minimalist doc - does anyone know if I can find it somewhere online (we don't have Netflix)?

snowdrop you can buy it online apparently at Google play, Amazon, or iTunes. It's definitely worth it imo. Although I went to sort the playroom shelves just now and admitted defeat after 5 mins!

The jam incident was many years ago, I'm not so indecisive these days

“I want to leave, to go somewhere where I should be really in my place, where I would fit in . . . but my place is nowhere; I am unwanted.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea

OP I think that's a great psychology book title - "The Jam Incident"

We moved to the seaside a few years ago. Small town, but it only takes 15 mins to drive to a big town. All the amenities are here, super fast broadband etc, trains, buses, asda, tesco, restaurants, pubs, schools....all within walking distance. It doesn't have to be remote, there are plenty of seaside towns that are spitting distance from everything you need.

And just to add, maybe your DH is reluctant because the idea is too vague? He can't really visualise it? Change is scary etc.

When I wanted to move, I regularly sat on the Rightmove website, looking for houses that had sea views. When I found this house on-line, I booked a viewing and dragged DH along with me. He didn't think he liked the town, but when he actually saw it properly, and saw the house and the seaviews, he was interested. Could you start the ball rolling this way?

If your children are young, this is the best time to make a move. Once they are in High School, it's not going to go down well with them.

We simplified our life by moving back to Canada after many years in London. It was a big struggle at first; immigration with a 3 month old baby and a toddler, having to find jobs, renting then buying and renovating a house. In the end though it paid off because we got our dream house, much cheaper mortgage etc.

I became a sahm, our children are both in school, husband is able to mainly wfh. The sacrifices are we have one car. I do all of the house / child / garden care. We mainly eat at home, bring lunches, have cheap days out. No outsourcing. We have a big holiday every two years and stay within the province the rest of the time. It’s a good life.

derxa is that supposed to make me feel better?

We had a proper talk about the moving abroad thing and dh really doesn't want to. I do keep an eye out for properties but it's complicated by the fact that we built a home office in the garden and dh works from that, so moving would mean finding somewhere else to work too (or building again). Im too full of cold to angst about things this weekend luckily

derxa is that supposed to make me feel better? Sorry!
I just thought you were suffering from existential angst. Ignore me I'm trapped inside by the snow and suffering cabin fever.

It doesn't have to be abroad though. There are plenty of beautiful coastal towns, right here in the UK. Loads in fact.