Agreed.
I left my rural parents' home at 18 and following divorce had to leave Amsterdam and go back home to a place where life ended at 9pm, at 34 years old.
I actually had a good time; the peace and quiet were healing, and I made some lovely new friends. 6 months there and I was ready to take on the world again.
Best wishes!
Man, that sounds tough. I can see the parallels, however in my case I don't really feel like I've ever had any proper independence and spent far too long at the family home early in adulthood; so going back there is only going to compound this feeling.
I'm glad to hear it was a positive experience for you; as it happens I do still have a couple of mates in the village (one of which I'm hoping I can lift-share with back to Oxford when the clubs open again and the local goth night returns; assuming / hoping of course that it does!). I also spoke to an old school friend tonight for the first time in a long time; who's apparently been having a hard time of it so I sent him some of my own misery to compliment his own; turns out he's doing a lot better and has also come to appreciate the benefits of cycling to his mental health so I'm hoping we can do a few rides too.
It's certainly not 100% unbearably horrific; probably only about 90%
In terms off cycling the Netherlands is better but affordable housing won't change much, alltough house shares are not very common, so it's more studio's apartments and the likes but they don't come cheap either. A place close to Utrecht with good train connections would be a better option(Woerden. Gouda have frequent trians for example)
But the overlords thingy i hear dutch family and friends say the same thing..
lol - IMO saying that the Netherlands is "better" than the UK for cycling is like saying Mother Theresa is "better" than Hitler
Thanks for your comments on the housing; the small amount of research I've done seems to suggest the same. Prices seem broadly similar to Oxford (maybe a bit cheaper, or at least they were when we last visited some years ago) however (keying into your house-share point) there seems to be a lot more tiny (15-30ish m^2..?) apartments avalialble; which I think is very important as it allows the young proper independence and more accessible housing; even if it is tiny. Plus I guess it opens up the market to first time buyers rather than expecting them to rent forever because the entry point to the market is ridiculously out of reach.
I've not looked at stuff outside Utrecht, but tbh the cycling and wider transport infrastructure seems so good that I imagine that would be a much better prospect than living a similar distance out from Oxford. Of all the satellite villages only a handful have stations..
I don't doubt that there's a wealth disparity in the Netherlands, however I'd expect it to be less severe than over here and (from an outsider's perspective at least) the country seems a lot more supportive, inclusive, fair and egalitarian socially as well; which I think is illustrated nicely with their cycling infrastructure... conversely over here you almost get a pat on the back if you run over a cyclist in your luxury 4x4 while driving 5 minutes round the corner to buy the Daily Mail