Young, gifted and thriving

Escaping to the country is a long-cherished retirement dream for many. But, as Fergus Butler-Gallie discovers, an increasing number of young people are making the move and bringing valuable skills with them

- Fergus Butler-Gallie

TWENTY years ago, Escape to the Country arrived on the nation's television screens. It is a longstanding staple of daytime scheduling and, as such, is especially beloved by students: a friend of mine would watch it religiously at university, giving it considerably more attention than they did their degree. Part of the programme's continued appeal it has now clocked up more than 650 episodes -is that, deep down, Britain continues to have a great yearning for the sort of life it professes to show.

The combination of space, privacy, verdant pastures and engaged community living still has enormous currency. A country cottage -or simply an environment in which 'R&R' means a little more than a snatched 15 minutes with a podcast on a packed commute-is high on many people's wish list. Unfortunately, this used to be a pipe dream for young professionals, who would only move when they'd hit one of life's natural turning points, such as the arrival of children.

High house prices, lack of work opportunities and poor transport links have historically meant that even those of us who grew up in the countryside left at some point between the ages of 18 and 30. Indeed, an October 2021 report by the CPRE, significantly titled Outpriced and Overlooked, found that only two in five young people living in the countryside thought they'd continue to do so in the future, with 84% of those considering leaving citing those poor transport links as a key factor influencing their decision (86%), together with a sense of loneliness (84%), lack of affordable housing (84%) and poor digital connectivity (76%).