I’m a millennial living alone in a small house in the countryside. I don’t feel like I miss city life.

• Nikky de Graaf, 30, moved to the countryside to live in a house on her parents’ land.

• She tried to live in the city during her studies, but found it too expensive and stressful.

• She spent $3,000 setting up the tiny house and doesn’t feel like she’s missing big city life.

This as-told essay is based on a conversation with Nikky de Graaf, a 30-year-old photographer and YouTube content creator living in the Netherlands. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I have lived in the countryside most of my life. I was born in a very small town, with about 1,500 inhabitants. The school I went to had only 90 students, divided into eight grades.

I was always curious what life in the city would be like. When I was twenty, I finally got the chance to move to Utrecht, a city just 25 minutes by train from Amsterdam — for university.

There, about 45 minutes away from my hometown, I lived in an old apartment building on a busy street. My room was about 15 square meters and I shared the kitchen and bathroom with other people on the same floor.

The rent was 450 euros per month and that was almost 10 years ago. I’m sure prices have gone up like crazy since then. Most of the other tenants in the building were students like me, but there were also some working professionals.

It was only a few months before I moved

I couldn’t really pay my rent, and I hated the stress of the city. It was always busy and full of people and sounds — I couldn’t relax.

My parents divorced just before I went to university, and when I moved out of that little room I lived with my father for a few years, about twenty minutes outside of Utrecht.

My mother had remarried and around the time I graduated in 2020 with a degree in photography and communications, she and my stepfather wanted to move to a larger property in the countryside.

They wanted enough space so that my grandmother could live with them. They asked my brother and me if we wanted to move in too, and we both accepted the offer.

But I still wanted to retain some of my independence

My brother and I chose to live in our own houses on their land.

I looked online for a cheap, portable house and found one for sale a few hours drive from where we live. I paid 1,500 euros for it. It wasn’t in the best condition and needed a lot of work, but I didn’t have a lot of money so the cheaper the better.

I spent another $1,250 to have it moved into the country by a professional small house moving company.

I immediately moved in, when I had no water or electricity, with only a mattress and nothing else. But it was a great experience.

It took me a few months to get the place into shape. Now it has everything I need: a toilet, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and living room. The entire house measures approximately 355 square meters and is made of wood.

With the help of my father and brother, I built a patio at the front so I could have more outdoor space.

My cottage is at the far end of the property, nestled under tall trees next to a pond. It has beautiful views of the surrounding fields and I really love it.

We have a very small farming village and some smaller towns nearby. Depending on traffic, the larger cities are about 40 minutes to an hour away.

My routine varies from day to day

Most of my income comes from advertising photography for companies, in addition to stock photography and videography.

Since I started my YouTube channel, my daily routine has been a little more focused on farm work since I film those projects for my channel.

I’m trying to grow my YouTube channel. Maybe one day it will be big enough to be my main source of income, but for now that’s not the case.

My mornings usually start with waking up and taking care of the animals. We have chickens, horses, pigs, dogs and cats.

I take on projects to help maintain the estate, such as collecting firewood for the winter, or building and repairing animal enclosures. I like to work with my hands.

I see my mother almost every day; sometimes I just walk over to her house to say hello. I also spend time with my grandmother; she is getting older, and I want to be there when she needs my help.

There is enough distance between my house and the house so that we don’t see each other if we don’t want to, but it is of course nice to interact with each other regularly.

I don’t feel like I miss life in the big city

We have a great relationship with our closest neighbors. When the power goes out, everyone gathers to see if anyone needs help. I love that.

I can go out for dinner and I like to do that with friends, but we have to travel a bit further. And maybe we don’t have as many options as you might find in the city, but that doesn’t really matter.

I meet up with friends from university about two to three times a year when I go to Amsterdam, since that’s where they live now.

I have a few childhood friends who live in the country near me, and I see them about twice a month.

I love this life and I don’t really miss any activity in the city because living in the country offers me so many other things to enjoy.

In retrospect, I don’t think I ever really saw myself living in the city, because I always wanted to be close to nature.

I love where I live now, but I would like to see more of the world. I think it would be possible for me to one day move to another country and live in the countryside. I don’t think I will settle in another city.

Read the original article on Business Insider