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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
No. A village may have a bakery, a local bar and a butcher, but otherwise no. You go to Carrefour or ALDI and buy your groceries in your car, and buy clothes online or when you hit the nearest city.
Europe isn't stuck in the 19th century or immune to globalisation.
Europe isn't stuck in the 19th century or immune to globalisation.
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:
Last edited by CARPATHIAN; 09-04-2015 at 01:32 PM..
Some parts of Europe are still like that. Much of Eastern Europe is still like that.
Even in Western Europe, there are parts. Ever been to Basilicata (an isolated, poor, province in southern Italy?) Or what about Extremadura, in Spain? Maybe some isolated parts of northern Scotland?
Heck even in the heart of populous, prosperous Germany there are a few isolated parts. If you live in the Eifel area it is kind of isolated and backward in some mountain villages, and yet you're only 90 minutes or so from Cologne or Frankfurt or Luxembourg. Many people never leave their villages and speak with heavy local dialects.
Some parts of Europe are still like that. Much of Eastern Europe is still like that.
Even in Western Europe, there are parts. Ever been to Basilicata (an isolated, poor, province in southern Italy?) Or what about Extremadura, in Spain? Maybe some isolated parts of northern Scotland?
Heck even in the heart of populous, prosperous Germany there are a few isolated parts. If you live in the Eifel area it is kind of isolated and backward in some mountain villages, and yet you're only 90 minutes or so from Cologne or Frankfurt or Luxembourg. Many people never leave their villages and speak with heavy local dialects.
Sounds interesting! I would love to visit a place like that!
Sounds interesting! I would love to visit a place like that!
You can find it right in the heart of Germany, just 90 minutes from Frankfurt's airport. Just head west to the sparsely populated, heavily wooded, Eifel Mountain range (basically between Mayen, Germany and the Luxembourg border), and there are villages that still have lots of older folks who have never really traveled, who still live off the land, and speak with very heavy local dialects.
Of course the younger people mostly leave for the cities, so these areas are slowly dying.
Location: Segovia, central Spain, 1230 m asl, Csb Mediterranean with strong continental influence, 40º43 N
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Originally Posted by NOLA101
Or what about Extremadura, in Spain?
Maybe you can find such things in some small villages in the most sparsely populated areas within Extremadura, though once you hit larger villages over 2000 inhabitants or so then you will see how everything looks modern there.
You can find it right in the heart of Germany, just 90 minutes from Frankfurt's airport. Just head west to the sparsely populated, heavily wooded, Eifel Mountain range (basically between Mayen, Germany and the Luxembourg border), and there are villages that still have lots of older folks who have never really traveled, who still live off the land, and speak with very heavy local dialects.
Of course the younger people mostly leave for the cities, so these areas are slowly dying.
I lived for 6 years in the Eifel and my ex wife and her whole family are from the Eifel, yes lots of farmers but they don't live of the land. They sell there crops, milk... And shop in little city's like Wittlich, Daun, Gerolstein, Bitburg, Ullman.. Village = pub, bakery with maybe a small shop. Even the small village in Poland where my GF comes from is not like that anymore.
I lived for 6 years in the Eifel and my ex wife and her whole family are from the Eifel, yes lots of farmers but they don't live of the land. They sell there crops, milk... And shop in little city's like Wittlich, Daun, Gerolstein, Bitburg, Ullman.. Village = pub, bakery with maybe a small shop. Even the small village in Poland where my GF comes from is not like that anymore.
OK, I know the area around Nachtsheim/Boos very well, and I thought many of the older people were still living off the land. They still had a few chicken and maybe killed a pig once in a while, and had shares in a vineyard somewhere, and would make their apple wine and would be pretty self-sufficient. All the young people had left and there was nothing happening in those villages.
There was only one bus into town (Mayen) and many people never owned a car; they just stayed in the village. Many of the old folks had never been anywhere. They thought Koblenz was "far away".
But, yeah, I'm sure in Eastern Europe and Mediterranean Europe, there are better examples of isolated areas. I just think it's interesting that the Eifel is in the heart of Europe and next to densely populated, wealthy areas on all sides, yet relatively traditional.
The Netherlands is small and densely populated and it is hard to find any village on the mainland that is more than a 20 minutes drive to a larger town where all amenities like shopping, medical treatment, etc are available. Some small villages still have a grocery store, a bakery, a hairdresser, a cafe but usually those are being shut down if the owners retire.
But a cinema, a shoemaker, a watchmaker, etc, those are only available in larger cities since probably 50 years ago.
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