THE CREATIVE MIGRATION - A CONVERSATION ON HOW TO “QUIT CITIES”
By Giulia Gotti
What happens when the city dweller encounters the countryside? How does the rural environment influence creativity? We recently had the pleasure of a dialogue with Karen Rosenkranz , an independent trend forecaster, ethnographer, and author based in South London who has been extensively working in this field.
Back in 2015, Karen started to research the emergent phenomenon of creative workers leaving the metropolis. Her work led to the publication of “City Quitters” an examination of alternatives to the state of things. The book features stories from dozens of “creative migrants”, and it explores a global perspective on post-urban life.
It is not just about “I want my kids to grow up in nature”
When the research began, something became rapidly clear: people leaving the cities are not just the elders or the families. “Yes, this was part of it”, Karen points out, “But there were also people who didn't have a family, people who did it almost to protect their work, to protect their creativity”. The researcher explains: “It really baffled me at the time - people who were working really creatively and, I thought, really inspired by the urban environment suddenly started to leave London.”
“It felt very countercultural, at the time. It was very much like: if you wanted a career in a creative field, the bigger the city, the better. That's where the jobs are. That's where the networks are. That's where you had to be. So I started to investigate and interview people.”?
Back in touch with the environment and the self
This move was often for very practical reasons - their work and their health. “People were saying, if I stay in a city, I'm just going to burn out, my work is going to suffer; I want to continue working in this field properly and be creative and free, and therefore I have to shift my environment”.?
Of course, shifting residence is a big life move, and having the possibility of working remotely would often make it easier. But there was also something on a more “internal level” of motivation: “About people being a bit frustrated with how things were working in the city and also a bit saturated by the way we consume culture and produce culture in the city”.?
So, now the creative people are “quitting cities” - but is the city remaining in the picture? Does it linger somehow?
“Yeah, there are different stories, but there is definitely a relationship. From the city, “They try to bring new things, you know, learn in the city and apply it in a rural setting. Actually, there is a lot more exchange going on than there used to be. It is not just for leisure, it is not just for holidays; it is also a place of cultural production”.
Also, when thinking of “the rural”, a certain image of the agricultural cycle may come to mind, the summer as blossoming and the winter as rest. Then, are people leaving in the winter? On the contrary, Karen explains: “What I have seen is also that people really enjoy this cycle. In the city you are often quite detached from the seasons, from the weather, from whatever happens outside. It is like a constant: the work is constant, the deadlines are constant, and all the demands are always kind of going".
"And I really think people enjoy these cycles, paying attention to nature a bit more. We have become so used to being always 100% and always working the same amount, and maybe it is also positive for work to quiet down a bit more in the winter, and then you rest a bit more”. It feels very natural.?
In Karen’s book, there are a few stories. For instance, the one about a couple in China with a very big and busy garden. So, the garden determines how much time they have left for their creative project in the spring and summer.?
Overall, this relationship with the environment becomes more symbiotic, and the creative process is also influenced in a very positive way. “What people said was like having a sense of space. It gives them more head space and more physical space”.
“But the main thing is that the financial pressure reduces. You still need to generate an income, it is not going to go away, but generally speaking, life is cheaper in the countryside, and you can afford a bigger space or a studio space. That in itself creates a new sense of freedom”.
How does relocating to the countryside affects creative industries??
These people are bringing their activities to the rural setting, and how does the integration between the two spaces work?
“There is definitely an opportunity”, Karen says. “People coming from a creative background are often good at this type of system thinking. They can impact the infrastructure through the creation of spaces that serve not just creative people but also community meeting spaces. Cultural spaces and so on”.
And how are these efforts perceived by the community? Might there be a pitfall, where city practices are just “transplanted” to the countryside, and integration is overlooked?
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Karen explains, “There is a total range of how welcoming communities are to newcomers, and that depends on so many factors. But of course, there's also gentrification in the countryside, where people are fed up with people from the city moving there and buying houses and all the prices go up, and they are not really spending too much time there, not really integrating”.?
But the encounter can also be positive and well received: “There are also examples where people are happy that they are finding young people coming to a place and reviving it, there is new energy.” It is a whole spectrum: “In the research I have done, there are stories that are very positive and stories that are very challenging. But I think the potential is huge for this kind of regeneration and also for the benefit of the wider community”.
But integration is both-sided
“There is often something challenging for people who come from the city. Because you are so used to your bubble and back there, you can just hang out with like-minded people. And then you move somewhere further out, and there are people with very different political views, ages, and different life experiences”. Experiencing a new, smaller environment can be the trial ground of being open-minded to the very end.
“So yeah, it is up to the people to be open to that”. Overall, the message is to be aware of your surroundings and be careful about romanticizing rural dimensions.
Systems are synergic, and every place requires a personalized approach. “You need to be very sensitive about your environment and the context. I think that's often also where things maybe fail a bit, where people just copy-paste and it is not really accepted in a rural place. There is a great need to be sensitive to your new environment - it is potentially a different audience”.
A final toolbox
So, you want to create something that doesn't fall into the problem of being disconnected from my surroundings. What should you do?
Very simple human practices can change things radically. Karen says, “Try to engage with the local community. Invite them for free. Offer them something to engage with your project, whatever. For instance, you are opening a restaurant – so offer free drinks or something”.?The bottom line is that you need to find a way to start talking to the local community and exchanging ideas with them; “Whether that's a more formalized process, like workshops, or it is like doing a big party and inviting everybody”.
“I have this one project that I have been researching -an artist couple who bought this place in rural Germany. It is a really old house, and people around were really nosy about what they were doing, with the refurbishment and all. So they had a big summer party where they invited the whole village. And everybody had a story about this house that used to be the heart of the village. People were really talking about how they remembered this house and so on. You know, something as simple as that can really bring people together, and then also show them that you want to engage”.
Overall, the space needs people who have the passion for it. The space needs to be driven by people who genuinely want to be in that space. As Karen concludes, “Things grow in a healthy and organic way because a person really likes that idea, and wants to do something about it”.
“It's the same as in a city - sometimes things growing organically just have a different feeling compared to when, for instance, a big developer comes in and restructures the whole area”.
“I think there is also a desire to be somewhere where you really can put down more roots - our lives are very transient and people move around a lot. I think there is really a need and a desire to engage with the place, and be in a relationship with that space, and make it flourish”.
In comparison to something coming from a detached, standardized practice: “Then it just feels a bit, yeah...soulless”.
You can learn more about Karen and her book on her website: www.karenrosenkranz.com
Interested in becoming a “city quitter”, but unsure where to start? Explore our current work on Instagram, LinkedIn, ruralradicals.com - and get in touch.
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