Medium Post Audio: Rural vs City Life Japan - Which appeals to you?

Have you ever thought about moving out to the countryside, buying an old house to fix up and living the simple life? https://medium.com/@jjwalsh/push-pull-of-city-vs-rural-japan-4c4f1157a00b (Read the full article with pictures on MEDIUM here.) This transition has become the passion of people across Japan during the pandemic and the reasons to move out to the inaka (rural area), or not, surprised me in a recent Twitter poll I did that had over 610 votes and many fantastic comments. Does where and how you grow up inform where you want to live as an adult, or is it more practical, based on where you feel you can enjoy the best quality of life?I‘ve been considering these questions for the last 2 years as the https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyYXjRuE20FnRrydax7RWlFLxibc6N-X (#Akiya #Minka #Kominka abandoned houses in Japan topic) has been the most popular in my Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow-podcast series. The pandemic has shifted priorities for a lot of people and this included a reassessment of how quality of life and work is defined. There has been a greater interest in sustainable innovation, traditional designs, and bringing old houses into modern relevance through renovations. Teleworking, and the newly discovered ability to commute to city jobs from rural locations has opened up a path to a rural transition many people thought wasn’t possible before. I hope this trend helps to save some areas in dire need of a population boost. As I prepared to join an upcoming seminar this March, sponsored by Hiroshima prefecture, I was one of 3 panelists. I live on the outskirts of Hiroshima city, but the two other speakers live on remote islands. I was impressed by their desire to really live away from it all. Island dwellers Tom Coulton and Jason Lawrence have both found great communities and work which counterbalanced the inconveniences of living almost two-hour’s commute from a city. While I admired and often envied their situations, it helped me consider what I value in my small city life and my o