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I live in a mid sized city with 17,000 population with farms surrounding it (I'm not sure if Europeans would consider that a village or not). Anyways, whenever I need something, I go to Wal Mart to buy it. This supermarket includes everything from furniture, shoes, clothes, foods, and etc. of course, all of their items are made by factories/machines. But honestly, I prefer things in a simpler way.
Once upon a time, every little European village included a shoemakers(replaced by factories), clockmakers(replaced by factories), matchmakers (replaced by Internet), and a tailor (we just buy new clothes instead of repairing them). do they still exist today?
It was easy to ask your local shoemaker to make a special, custom shoe that was especially for you. Now most people wear expensive and cookie cutter nike. These jobs were very decent, artistic and simplistic. Also, even though it is more convenient to one supermarket to buy groceries, I prefer bakeries, candy shops and ect. I know they do exist today but are they common? I just love simplicity
In Germany a city with 17,000 residents would be considered a "Kleinstadt" small town. How many stores are available in such a town depends on whether the town is near a larger city or is the town surrounded by small villages. Normally you would find 5 or 6 grocery stores in such a city. 3 or 4 discount stores (Aldi, Lidl, Netto or Penny) and 2 traditional grocery stores (Edeka + Rewe). One clothing discounter (KIK) and maybe 2 Euro stores. 2 hairdressers, 3 bakeries (not real bakeries, just 3 bakery shops from larger regional bakery chains). Maybe 3 pubs. The amenities are mostly the same like in a same sized city district of a mayor city.
In Germany a village or "Dorf" is a small settlement with maybe up to 2,000 residents. Shoemakers or tailors are more common in larger cities. Small villages can't maintain such independent businesses. Compared to most other European countries, Germany is dominated by chain store branches.
Even in rural areas with many small villages there is normally a somewhat larger city within a 20km radius. But living in such villages without a car isn't a pleisure. Often there isn't even a proper bus service.
Any town of 17,000 is going to have supermarkets and all of the relevant amenities whatever the country. Alternatively any village or community that is isolated is not going to have a Tesco's next door, supply and demand is the answer, isolated communities in the UK, US or Australia or Sweden or anywhere in the world are all going to be 'missing' many of the facilities of towns and cities, I think this is the appeal for 'some' people of the isolated life. Tesco's is slowly overtaking the world! :-(
Any town of 17,000 is going to have supermarkets and all of the relevant amenities whatever the country. Alternatively any village or community that is isolated is not going to have a Tesco's next door, supply and demand is the answer, isolated communities in the UK, US or Australia or Sweden or anywhere in the world are all going to be 'missing' many of the facilities of towns and cities, I think this is the appeal for 'some' people of the isolated life. Tesco's is slowly overtaking the world! :-(
Location: Northern Ireland and temporarily England
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blob456
Just because a place has shoemakers and tailors, it doesn't mean the place is stuck in the 12th century. The website says that places like UK, Italy and Germany still have shoemakers. In fact, in St Augustine, Germany, there are almost 100 shoemaker workshops.
Location: Northern Ireland and temporarily England
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Reputation: 1392
I find it ironic that you are telling me to look outside my own 'little bubble' when I have just moved to a foreign landmass. I am sick and tired of people in cities claiming to be 'cultured' and less 'sheltered', if anything my recent experiences of England and their little cities have shown that in actual fact city people are the sheltered ones.
People from Ireland must go on a plane to go to any country, we must go to other countries as we don't have everything in supply. English/American people are not willing to travel the world or see any other countries/cultures, they are only interested in their 'little bubble'.
Most of rural Romania is still stuck in past decades or even centuries. Some mountain villagers have not been farther than a town from nearby and still wear hand made footwear or clothes. They have gardens and produce anything they need and many almost have not money at all, neither need, because live a very simple life, without modern amenities. But there are not much traditional professions as T.O. asked, save for smith.
Nevertheless, population of these villages is old and in few decades the villages willl become devoid of humans. Hundreds of small hamlets or even bigger villages already got this fate.
Here is a reportage about Râmeț, a village in Western Carpathians (commonly called Apuseni), Transylvania. People live here in tatched abode houses like hundreds and even thousands years ago:
Yes, same for Bulgaria and Moldova, but I would pick Northern Romania.
I think almost any European city, not just village, still has those tiny shops and workshops. Probably because a typical European downtown is different from an American one. I live in a city of 120k souls and we still have lots of tiny shops and workshops in the city center, whereas malls are more remote, like 3km from the center.
No idea, though, what all that has to do with being simplistic. To a European, US villages and cities might seem simplistic.
Yeah I don't quite get the simplistic angle either......
Come to think of it and depending on how small of a town we are talking about but many small towns/villages in Europe still have their own little "city-center" which provide almost all the day to day amenities one needs and have a bigger store somewhere on the outskirts within driving distance. So I don't see how it would be simplistic compared to US villages...........
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