I hate my village

[Alijomer]

Jeez, I feel like I'm in a nightmare I can't wake up from. I had the chance to follow my dream of living in Cornwall and landed up in a place I hate. My move was paid for by the landlord and has said they want me to be happy, but I'm not - I feel trapped. How can I tell them I'm unhappy after what they've done for me? I just can't. I love walking in nature and although there's lovely views here I can't get anywhere without driving for miles to find any sanctuary or safe places to let my dog off lead. I always had that where I came from and I'm missing it badly. I can't go back because there's no home to go to and don't have the money to move. Anyone else in similar circumstances?

You should have got a payout!

footpathmap.co.uk has wonderful maps of all footpaths, bridleways, etc.

Not really any advice but I know how you feel. I used to go to a country park just outside the city I lived in. I had to drive but I felt completely safe there and I could switch off, knowing that I’d only meet one or two people. I’m ND too.

Now I’m in an area that should be lovely but I’m trapped in a very small town in a steep-sided valley….every day we walk into town through the park and back again down the parallel road. There’s no way of going sideways because it’s too steep! I long to go back to my solitary nature walks.

Be careful though OP. You may be switching to a different set of problems if you lose your secure rental.

Same here. Unfortunately I didn't really get a choice in the end about where I wanted to go in Cornwall - despite discussion about it. I didn't get time to have a proper look around the area and was told there was lots around - stupidly I trusted that. I did get to see the new house - that's alright but I find the village oppressive because there's no sanctuary at all. I came from a place where I could just walk 5-10 mins and be in the woods, park or riverbank and there's nothing even like that here. I want to walk the hills but as you say it's nearly all private farmland. If I'd known all that before.....

People should be very cautious before moving to a ‘village’, especially if they’ve always lived in a city. I put the word village in inverted commas because they hardly exist anymore. I’m in a so-called ‘village’ in rural Essex, but in reality it’s a noisy, crowded little town masquerading as a village. My local woods have been hacked down to make way for two new housing estates, and at the other end of the village a second massive estate is being built, with countless rabbit hutch houses jammed on top of one another. Also, the traffic is awful - so bad that I hardly go out at the weekends. I’d have a quieter life in central London.

Sounds very similar, yes I do too. I went back to Sussex over New year to see my mum and headed straight to one of our favourite walks - I just cried the whole way round, the grief is something else! I feel like I've lost my Dad and my two old dogs all over again and at the same time. I still want to live in Cornwall but I want to go to a place that is familiar to me as I know I can walk in places of sanctuary there.

God that's awful - sounds worse than this! To be fair I've got lovely views around and from the house but I can't get at much of it. I came from a village in the first place but it's got very touristy, busy and almost impossible to park outside your own house.

To be fair I was offered money to go towards a deposit to buy but I can't afford to take on a mortgage so it was out of the question. Otherwise yes I agree but hindsight 'n all that, too late now.

Exactly - I've had security for nearly 40 years, I'd be scared to lose it and they are subsidising my rent. I couldn't afford today's rent prices.

I hate my village too. Im used to living in big towns/cities or VERY rurally, villages feel like the worst of all bloody worlds to me. I feel like i live in a fishbowl, and yes surrounded by private farmland, me and the dogs have exhausted all the small boring local routes :( i have reasons to live here so cant move for a number of years unfortunately.

I moved from London to the county, a tiny hamlet of just 8 homes, surrounded by farmland , close to the coast in Northern Ireland

In London I had a park right across the road where I would walk my dog

Here there is no right of way, all land is private .Woods are forestry so are managed, trees just grown in lines . Dogs are allowed on beaches in off season Dogs are not allowed off lead in parks or public spaces

No pavements, no street lighting

Dogs adapt. The dog I moved here with learned to walk on lead and the dog I have now walks on lead. The farmer has told me as long as the field is for silage I can use them as long as I poop scoop and there are no cows or sheep in the adjoining field

When I first moved here I loved and hated it at the same time. hated it for the same reasons you hate where you are

But id not live anywhere else now. I absolutely love it here. Ive become part of the community. I have friends. I have a social life. Im much happier here then I ever was born and bred a Londoner

Took a while mind, not helped that I didnt drive when I moved here, soon had to learn, no public transport and the nearest shop is 4 miles away :)

OP I'm so sorry, this is a bit of a echo of our situation too. Not quite the same but we moved to a small village & the house is lovely, but it's isolated & the neighbours are nosey & also clique. I cannot stand it.
I think if you told your landlords how you feel they're not going to be heartbroken, they might even feel bad for you. I would & I'm a landlord. I wouldn't want my tenant miserable. It's your life after all.
I don't know what the answer is honestly but I think start by telling them what's going on. You're not settling well in the village & it's not ideal for you.