When we left Dungloe last year, I was glad to be leaving the damp, moldy apartment without having fallen through the bathroom floor, but I was still sad to be leaving. Before things started going haywire in the apartment, I loved it. I never stopped loving Dungloe. If there had been a different place available there, I would have moved there instead of here, but here was what was available. It was weird going back to Dungloe on a regular basis--it's the first time we've moved somewhere and still had the old place as part of our everyday life. There were days when we walked around there and I felt sad about not living there anymore. Then summer came.
Even before we left, some people had set up a food truck down by the pier. They had a generator running and it was so loud. I remembered the lovely mornings I'd walked around the corner with my tea to sit on the pier and listen to the birds, sheep, lapping water, and the wind. No more of that--now it's just the noise of the generator. I felt like something precious had been lost.
The last few times we were there, I found myself surprised by how crazy it was, particularly on Main St--cars parked everywhere, people dashing across the street, traffic, noise. As I was sitting on the bus, it dawned on me--I had no idea what it was like in town during normal times. For almost the entire time we lived there we were either in lockdown or there were still some restrictions. We never spent a non-Covid summer there and I discovered it isn't really appealing. It was an excellent place for us to be in lockdowns, but I wouldn't have loved it quite so much if I'd been there before the pandemic or if I was there now. I still like several aspects of Dungloe, but I realized that if we still lived in the place we moved from last year, I would have found it quite difficult in some ways. Live and learn.
Update on yesterday's post: Mr Strimmer left shortly after I posted so I was able to listen to some music, podcasts, and videos after all. Most of the yard is still full of tall weeds, with just a strip along the lane cut. When he will be back to tackle the rest of it, I don't know. It's a holiday weekend here and as is typical for holiday Mondays, tomorrow has rain in the forecast. He didn't start until 8-ish last night, so he could be back tonight, too.
12 comments:
Glad you aren’t living there now…
Turns out I am, too! 🙂 It's definitely a surprise to me!
That would be hard! It's one thing to see gradual changes that may or may not be that noticeable at the time, but to have a jolt like that after decades of change would be weird!
You must be glad not to be living in your old place now that you can see how busy it is. Does it make your new place look better than it already looked? Happy August Sheri.
That is interesting for sure. You loved what the town became during lockdown. So really you have a kind of image or idea in your mind of what suits you - quiet, serenity, nature etc but not so much on the hustle and bustle (or the sounds and signs of it anyway).
It's interesting to see you writing in a sort of 'post' mindset, since here cases are rising, people are getting it for the 2nd and 3rd time... People like me are starting to cancel appts for one reason and another, mostly to do with 'so and so has it now so...'. I had an appt with my Integrative Dept Head and it was our first chance to discuss long haul syndrome and it's various iterations. I'm oddly grateful for her perspective and the various supplements I can use to maybe feel better, it gives me a new lease on the possibilities of getting better. Those possibilities are pointing me OUT of here and have been for years but somehow it feels 'closer' to possible now. I'd love to be in your shoes looking back and appreciating the differences and how much better you feel 'on that side' of the situation just one step closer to your most idyllic options there.
It'll be interesting to see if you keep finding more and more idyllic little towns and villages to move to and see how it goes. I love that it's just out there for you to find. Maybe you could 'pole the audience' of locals, drivers or real estate folks and start asking what towns in other areas that you could visit have these same qualities? It all sounds wonderful!
I will have more to say about this soon, I hope!
Erika--as it happens, in spite of the fact that where we are now is much more rural in that there is no town/village centre, it is just as loud as Dungloe is now, if not more so, due to the specific location where we are. So we get all of the inconveniences of living here without the peace and quiet. One day on the bus the radio was on and an Elton John duet medley thing played as we were almost home. There was a line that said, 'Some things look better, baby, just passing through.' I immediately thought about how well that describes my experience here :-)
Joy--it's true that each move teaches us something about ourselves. The last one taught us that we prefer being somewhere where there is an actual town centre. We did have another wave early this summer--one of the subvariants. They are gearing up for the double whammy this winter with a new wave along with flu. Bill got his second booster in May. My age group has not been offered them yet, but I think we will be soon and I'll get it when I can. WE have a lot of tourists around at the moment and many of them don't mask up, but most locals do.
OH I am sorry they're not masking-up =(
Yeah the Omicron BA-5 is wreaking havoc atm here.
Sorry re Typo: Poll the audience (the other sounds rather painful).
So having the town centre = shopping options such as Aldi and maybe a small medical facility?
Yeah, a GP and a grocery store, but also the opportunity to get involved with community groups.🙂
Interesting, so you could almost 'shop' for places to check-out just by looking up locations of your various favourite stores and things you prefer like near water, near gp offices, library etc. That could definitely make it easier.
And also where there was a suitable place available--housing market is very tight right now, but we jumped on a place when it came up and we got it. Yay!
That is great! Interesting about the housing market being so tight. I wonder what is changing?
AirBnB. People are taking advantage of the staycationers and the return of overseas tourists and turning what used to be long term rentals into short term.
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