Bright lights, big city

I saw an old friend last week; she was up from London for her boyfriend's birthday. She left her rather dull job at a school in the wilds of Suffolk last year for an exciting career as a PR exec in a small, but racy, firm in the City. Her descriptions of London animation - the fast-paced days and whirlwind nights - made me wonder if I was missing something in my quiet little provincial life. After all, my days are quite routine and invariably spent within a few miles of my house, nestled in a tiny village surrounded by woods and fields.

I lived for a few years in America, first in small-town Georgia and then in Virginia. Northern Virginia is regarded by most Southerners as a northern outpost of the East-Coast liberal intelligentsia - occupied as it is by federal workers and military employees attracted by its proximity to Washington DC - yet it is only half an hour from the beautiful farms and plantation houses of the Old South.

I rented a flat in a quaint little harbour town, Alexandria, full of 18th century terraces and grand houses. George Washington's home at Mount Vernon was a forty-minute bicycle ride along the wooded river cliffs, and the White House dome could be seen from the very end of the pier. I worked at the Pentagon, and, even after a few years, still got a thrill driving up to that huge building every day. On my afternoons off I would take the Metro underground train into DC, where I would lay on the grass of the Mall and gaze at the White House or the Washington Monument, and then perhaps visit a museum or the Smithsonian (entry was free!)

Being a history buff, as well as an amateur politico, I loved Washington, but I was still happiest when out in the country - hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains or lazing near a secluded cove in Maryland. When I moved back to England it was, of course, to sleepy Suffolk and my parents. Some of my friends encouraged me to work in London, but it never appealed to me. I had my life planned out - a nice cottage with a big garden; dogs; cats; horses - and this didn't fit with a twelve-hour a day job in the city. I am happy with my mediocre, low-paid nine-to-five; it leaves me the time and energy to devote to me and mine.


So, although I sometimes miss my Washington life, and need to occasionally get my ‘London fix’ - enjoying the rush of being around lots of people (as opposed to horses and dogs) - I am always eager to return to the green landscapes and clear skies of Suffolk. I suppose, then, that I am definitely a Country Girl - and although my life is quiet, it is surrounded by beauty, and I am at peace with it.