The Covid Refugees

[MaryN]

Are any of you country-dwellers being invaded by Covid refugees heading out from the larger cities into the countryside? We are seeing so many incomers heading up from the South and the Home Counties, and it is driving some of the locals here absolutely loopy. I quite understand the desire to live in the countryside; I have never lived in town or city myself, and wild horses and all that, but these folk have a completely warped idea of what life in the countryside is like.

There is a lot of muttering in local groups about some of the complaints made by the newbies. Comments like: "why are there so many dogs?" Well, we keep dogs to guard properties from invaders and they are also working dogs. "Are you allowed to keep cockerels here? They are very noisy" It's the country; suck it up. "Aren't tractors noisy. Look at all that mud on the roads!" !! It's harvest time - stop moaning.

I just can't wait to hear the complaints when they realise that the big combines do not knock off work at 5.30p.m. and can keep going right through the night if they are racing against inclement weather. Should be entertaining. Now those things really do make a racket!

[Skean Dhude]

That is the main downside from refugees. They bring with them the seeds of the places they are running from. It isn't long before they campaign for less guns, dogs, smelly animals. Then it turns into the place they are running from so they move on to the next haven and destroy that too.

[bigpaul]

not so much in Devon.
"incomers" seem to prefer Cornwall to Devon, even more so after the filmed reports on the G7.

[kellys_eye]

It takes some determination to come to where we are. There are no properties for sale right now so anyone wanting to come here has to build a house first! If they did they'd find there's not many places to get mains water (so ground water and septic tank), little access to electricity (much of it is at capacity and running a supply any distance costs £££££'s), no gas unless you use tanked and internet access has only recently gone from 2Mb/s to 20Mb/s (for us) - add that to 10 miles of single track road before reaching a B-road and we're quite safe from invaders!

If you can stand the politics of it (though England is no better) there ARE some excellent places in Scotland if you want to get away from the city centres.

[Straight Shooter]

We had some newbies complain about the smell of farms spreading muck back last year ? Hello ! And one complaining about mucking out the stables ? “ the smell is horrific “ this is easy I said to this stupid twat ....move back to where you come from then you silly bugger , listening to the radio last week there was a case where this lady moved to the country with her animals ( she saves them ) and runs a small sanctuary the reason for the move was more room for her ducks and hens along with some other small animals , within weeks she received a complaint regarding noisy ducks , she tried to set up some sound reducing fencing to help ....but next the council turn up saying she will have to something or there will be a enforcement order set against her small holding ....the complainant lives over 500 mtr away in a residential property , in the middle of nowhere ! You can’t make this stuff up !

[bigpaul]

thats incomers for you SS, village in Devon had to muffle its church bells because of ONE complaint, from an incomer natch! the church was there when he bought the house, silly sod!

[Lightspeed]

We had lots of arrivals last summer, escaping cities to rentals and family owned cottages.

They had fun living the country life, bemoaning the smells and noises that go with it, and increasing our county's incidence of virus many many fold!

Summer's short lived here, and by late September fires started getting lit for heating. By mid October most new arrivals had run out of stored fuel and started buying in. By mid November there was no fuel to be had for love nor money. They were very upset that the locals wouldn't share what they had in store. Those who ventured into the local forest armed with chain saws got big trouble from the forest owners.

Come December, cold, miserable and unloved, almost all of them had disappeared once again to the cities.

So, our winter infection rate once again dropped to almost zero and we were left in peace until Easter. But with still little fuel to be had, and a particularly late cold spell, they were soon off again.

Now the warm weather's returned, along with it has come the next wave ;-(

[bigpaul]

infection rates have risen sharply in Cornwall probably due to tourists possible from the north west (accents not local) following the minimal lifting of some Covid restrictions, last night the local news said the infection rate in Cornwall had rocketed to 134 in every 100,000, my area of Devon has 14 most of them confined to school infections in towns 15 miles away, no infections locally.

[MaryN]

I have noticed that the incomers seem to be obsessed with logburners. It must be some sort of status symbol in towns/cities. Personally I thought of them as an economical way to eat my home, but I am way out of touch of the latest fads. No sooner do the newbies arrive (ooh, looky, a logburner!) than they start bleating about needing logs - in peak summer! - and how do they get chimneys swept.

[MaryN]

I mean heat not eat my home!