For most of my adult life, the places I’ve lived have been dictated by my work. I grew up and studied in Scotland, but at the time there weren’t many design jobs even in the cities and most people moved away for work. I was no exception and shortly after graduating, I packed my bags for Bristol to start a grad job at Dyson. I’d never even visited Bristol before moving there, which in hindsight was a bit of a gamble, but thankfully it paid off.
Both my partner and I grew up by the sea and have always been pulled to coastal places. After our partying days were mostly behind us, we spent a lot of our time leaving Bristol to visit the beautiful beaches of South Wales, where he grew up.
We always knew we wanted to live by the sea at some point but never knew exactly when or how it would work. A combination of the post-pandemic rise of remote work and my transition into self-employment meant we suddenly had much more autonomy over where we lived. So we decided the time was now and two weeks ago moved to a seaside village in South Wales.
It is so beautiful here. Every morning I walk over the sand dunes to the stunning beach on our doorstep and marvel at the fact that this is now our home. It feels so much more expansive — looking out into the horizon and up into the open sky (which we only ever saw a slither of in Bristol) does something to you I swear. We used to get woken up by drum and bass raves and drunken shouting, now all we hear are birds chirping in the trees. And thanks to the lack of light pollution (and curtains) my partner saw a shooting star from bed on our first night!
But of course, the rural setting does have its downsides. Bristol is a vibrant and exciting place with an abundance of incredible arts and culture… I’m sure there is culture in Swansea (our nearest city), but it’s much further away and harder to find. Plus the nearest parcel drop shop is a 20 min drive! (I’m going to have to be a lot more considered with my online shopping, I already have a pile of bad homeware purchases I need to return).
I’m also worried about making friends here. Our old neighbourhood was full of young people, now most of our neighbours are 70+. Although it’s definitely not a bad thing, they’ve been very welcoming, bringing us cups of tea and jars of homemade marmalade whilst we unpacked. Maybe it’ll be a new era of intergenerational friendship for us! And I’m sure we’ll find some people our age too… it might even be easier making connections in a small community than in a big city.
I’m also worried about how this move will impact my work. I’ve spent the best part of a decade integrating into the design community of Bristol. And although I could continue to work with Bristol based companies, I decided before the move that I only wanted to take on projects that were fully remote or based in South Wales. I want to feel rooted and settled in this beautiful new home, not spend every day commuting away from it.
But practically that hasn’t been easy. The last three projects I’ve been offered have been in Bristol. I turned them down, confident the right thing would come my way, but as the weeks rolled by I started to panic… I’m happy to share that this week I finally found a project that fits the bill. It’s with the period tracking app Flo and is fully remote! Funnily enough, at the start of this year, I made a list of dream clients and Flo was the first on the list! (is that #manifesting or what?!)
Although I love the freedom remote work brings, I also want to integrate into the local community, not just isolate myself to my home office. I don’t think the product design scene is as big in Swansea, but like the culture, I am sure it’s here, I just need to work harder to find it! Last week I went to the Design Swansea event and was reassured by the impressive showcase of interesting companies and people. Hopefully, I’ll get an opportunity to work with some of them in the future.
Although big changes like this are often scary and come with lots of concerns, it’s also very exciting, like a fresh slate. And spring feels like the perfect time of year for new beginnings. I’m feeling hopeful for what’s ahead and incredibly lucky to have the freedom to make our seaside dream a reality.
P.S. I finally made my website, check it out hannahkirkbride.com
Ooh you lucky thing, living near the sea! It’s beautiful in South Wales.
A very honest piece. Thank you for sharing with us.
How about searching out a local coworking hub? Might be a good place to meet some new people.
Earlier today, I met up with a group of strangers via the Meetup app. I wanted to meet some new people, in particular childfree people. I had a lovely time, got to explore a new area, and met some interesting new people ☺️.
Congratulations on taking this step! Your morning walk sounds heavenly 🥰