POV: Leaving a big city? Get yourself a hyperlocal social network

The pandemic was a fork in the road for many creative people, where the liberation of working from home opened up relocation options that didn’t previously exist. For many, it was the final push to get out of the Big Smoke / Apple (insert any other overpopulated, polluted, thriving hub of industry here). It seemed a no-brainer: why would you pay astronomical rents to live and work in a shoebox, when you could do the same job, and get more space and fresher air by moving somewhere more rural?

But the realities are more complex, of course. Leaving behind the infrastructure of a major city means losing community, opportunities and many more benefits of centralised, long-established creative hubs. Illustrator Ryan Todd and photographer Emma Todd were part of the creative community’s post-pandemic dispersal, swapping Walthamstow, London (with a population of approximately 8.9 million) for Frome, Somerset (which had a population of around 28,559 in 2021). Both had firmly established and successful careers (which makes it easier to uproot, in some ways) and they had long-stewed dreams of setting up their own “creative homestead” somewhere nearer nature, so took a leap when a Victorian warehouse came up for sale. Five years later, this has materialised in Makers’ Yard, an artist-run community space, housing studios for all sorts of creative people, from carpenters to architects. But getting here was hard.

“We knew things were going to be a lot more difficult when we moved to Somerset,” Ryan says. “However, we thought we’d done a thorough job in weighing up the pros and cons before we moved – career compromises, cost of living, cultural trade-offs. But what caught us off guard were the less obvious provisions and hidden infrastructures we hadn’t realised we relied on in London. It was the lack of creative recruitment agencies or Facebook groups for set designers to sell and share props. It was the reduced word-of-mouth opportunities, or the lack of apps, magazines and influencers keeping you up to date with every exhibition, opening or event. It was the accumulation of these smaller, more invisible gaps that felt the hardest to acclimate to. Only after we moved did we realise how essential those things had been to our creative practices.”

Setting up Makers’ Yard helped in this process a lot. “We didn’t know anyone when we moved to Frome, but the building quickly became a hub for local creatives. The conversations, connections and collaborations that have unfolded in the space have been personally and professionally significant for us. Without those impromptu introductions and serendipitous chats, the transition would have been much harder.” Makers’ Yard became a testament to the power of a concentrated community space – but not everyone can take on a Victorian warehouse renovation. Soon, Ryan saw fellow city-ditchers grapple with the same issues they had faced, whether it was about jobs, events or selling kit. That’s how Ryan and Emma spotted an opportunity for a digital version of what they had created with Makers’ Yard – an alternative type of social network, one that was hyperlocal to Frome and nearby towns, and dedicated to the creative industry there.

The result is M.Y Local Network, a localised social network for creatives. For a £25 annual subscription fee, members gain access to a closed Discord community for Frome and its surrounding area (currently at around 150 members, including organisations and individuals). From there, you’ll find specific groups serving different needs: a jobs board, a professional sell-and-swap, peer advice and recommendations, local events, workplace listings, a library of member-recommended digital tools and online resources (podcasts, funding resources, etc.), as well as a collective Google map.

It’s proved very successful, a catalyst for real-life projects, new jobs, relationships and sold-out events. So, Ryan and Emma, together with site designer Richard Sanderson, are currently piloting networks in five other UK locations – Exeter, Falmouth, Plymouth, Margate and Brighton. There’s also “cross-network functionality”, Ryan says, to allow members in one community to connect with members in others. “That’s part of the vision – to create a network of localised networks that support creative communities in their specific local setting, while also providing access to a wider, more connected ecosystem.”

The tailored nature of M.Y Local Network is particularly resonating in our current social climate. Alert fatigue is on the rise, and the sprawling chaos of big social networks has become white noise. There’s too much to pay attention to, and it’s hard to know what to prioritise. Professional creatives also struggle with these networks being muddied with personal lives, which adds to distraction and information overwhelm at work.

Before this, those yearning for focus and value online might turn to Slack groups or Subreddits catering to a fairly niche purpose or subculture. However, the upside of local social networks is that they are not industry-specific membership platforms. The twist with M.Y Local Network, and others like it, is that it’s cross-disciplinary, which is ultimately more useful for building community and multidisciplinary projects. What was missing, Ryan says, was a platform that answered three vital questions: What’s happening near me? Who else is doing interesting work? And how do I feel part of something?

This also touches on a major issue with moving to a new place: isolation. It’s one of the most chronic after-effects of the pandemic, so much so the UK’s Arts Council has prioritised tackling it through grant programmes such as the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund – supporting local creative groups, to help with widespread loneliness. “Dialogue, feedback and collaboration are often crucial parts of the creative process,” Ryan says, “but when you’re working alone in a rural or semi-rural setting, connection can be hard to come by. That sense of community can’t be overstated – it’s where ideas are shared, collaborations are born and friendships form.”

The network’s success has given a tech twist to a wider movement towards local connection in the design world. In graphic design, we’ve seen creatives like Lawrence Slater and Devin Mathews rebranding their local shops, hoping to use their skills to help their community; there’s even hyperlocal magazines being made by creatives for a few surrounding local streets, all in the name of reconnection with locality. Networks like this can give creatives everything they need to succeed and find fulfilment in their work: community, inspiration, resources, opportunities. But, if done well, they could also hold the key to the successful devolution of creative megacities, spreading the wealth and making other lifestyles truly viable. With infrastructure like this, creatives could opt for the rural lifestyle without cutting so many ties to their sector, and wouldn’t have to all breathe the same (polluted) air to feel part of the industry.