'The loneliness of village life made me a recluse'

A woman who spent years living in a small village has said it left her feeling lonely and made her become a "recluse".

Liliyana Goodier, 25, who grew up in Somerford Keynes near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, said a lack of public transport and people her own age meant she rarely socialised and felt she was missing out on a big chunk of her life.

Professor Andrea Wigfield, leader of The Campaign to End Loneliness, said where people choose to live can have a huge impact on their mental health.

But Barbara Piranty, chief executive of Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) said there are "many benefits" of living in rural areas, including the way people look out for each other.

Goodier, who now lives in Cheltenham, said: "There was a real deprivation in not having people my own age to socialise with as it was difficult - with limited buses - to organise things."

She said returning to her village as a young adult after finishing university was very lonely, adding: "I could only socialise via social media and it wasn't the same at all.

"Because I couldn't relate as much to my friends, I couldn't swap the stories that they were sharing because I wasn't there. It made me quite a recluse and I suppose it took away my voice."

Goodier said she often felt lonely due to missing out.

"I was living at home with my dad and it was just me and him when I was 21, 22.

"I'm quite a social person, so it was a really lonely place to be.

"I felt I was missing out on a big chunk of what my life experience should be," she added.

A total of 3,000 people were surveyed as part of a national study carried out by the shared-living platform, COHO.

It found that 57% (1,710) of people surveyed felt lonely at least once a week.

About 20% of respondents said they would consider living in a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) or shared house to reduce loneliness.

Wigfield, director of the Campaign to End Loneliness and the Centre for Loneliness Studies at Sheffield Hallam University, said COHO's findings fall in line with other national and international research.

"The kinds of housing we live in is an influencing factor in our feelings of loneliness," she said.

"Our own research demonstrates that shared housing and living spaces can have a positive impact on loneliness and well-being, as well as offering cost savings."

Piranty agreed that mental health can be affected by where people live, but added that one of GRCC's roles was to improve links for those living in the countryside.

"There are many benefits of living rurally; the main one is health benefits and in a lot of communities people still look out for each other - even though we've lost a lot of the main services in rural areas," she said.

"We have some fantastic examples from our Village of the Year competition, which invites communities to tell us what they're doing to support their residents across the generations - it might be around loneliness and isolation, volunteering or health and wellbeing.

"Places like Highnam, Frampton Mansell and Painswick are fantastic examples of what villages are doing to connect people who are lonely or a bit isolated," she added.

Goodier, who now lives in shared accommodation with five other girls, said she was in "a very lovely experience that's really combatted the feeling of being lonely".

"It's absolutely amazing. I took a big leap of faith in deciding to do a house share with five strangers," she said.

"Thankfully it paid off and I feel like I've completely found my people while definitely gaining some of that lost social life back.

"It feels like my second family."

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