Why I moved to the countryside out of London...

I've always wanted to live in a big city, having grown up only in small towns which nearly destroyed me with their gossip and rejection.

But after 13 years in London, despite having managed to connect and find friends, I hardly could see those friends, everyone was so freaking busy...

I started to crave being part of a community as you said.

For ages I thought how stupid a nucleus family is. Husband, wife and child. No grandparents, no aunts, cousins to help you change those dipers when you have a baby and going crazy from a lack of sleep.

I remember having taken care of all my cousins (given I was the oldest) and it helped their mothers not to lose their mind.

It also nicely teaches you helping and responsibility or how to one day take care of your own child.

Given that my main focus has always been to figure out how to have a successful and healthy relationship one day, I've been observing one of the main reasons for our relationships failing - the lack of community.

The pressure of doing it all on our own, the job, the child, being tired, feeling unatractive and far too stressed, our sex life goes to hell, our partner starts feeling neglected and so on, you get the picture.

When I first moved to this 'small' town called Nuneaton in the heart of the UK, I made an active effort to go to shops, get to know the owners, chat, be known in the community. I had a great project in mind (dancing afternoons for everyone) but then Covid came.

Now the only thing left to do is to at least say hello to anyone I see on the street, in order to combat the loneliness we all feel. I have a husband who gives me plenty of closeness, and yet when I get to hug a friend these days, it literally hurts how much I miss human touch and socializing. I can't imagine how it must be for people who have no one at home... Damn.

No, FB and Twitter can't replace the chemistry between us and it never will.

While my husband is embracing all the exciting features of technology and a future with it, I feel like a dinasaur, insisting on human contact IN PERSON.

Covid won't last forever. And perhaps the silver lining will be just as you pointed out - social media can't replace the need for a community. So maybe we will change that and be far more appreciative of each other. Hm...