“Rich in Nature Country Life” place the monetary value of such a lifestyle at JPY740,000 (average of 150 people), which means that its value is approximately 13% of the average annual income of the 150 general residents who participated in the questionnaire. In other words, for people who find greater value in Country Life, choosing to live in the country seems reasonable, even in an economic sense.

This means that there is a variety in the value people place on the local traits, so it is not necessarily appropriate to come up with city and district policies with only certain individuals of a particular set of values in mind.

For example, if collective economy is the presupposition, living in a certain size of city would be more rational, but there are both people who value the countryside for its stock of local traits and people who value the city, and should the economic conditions change for some reason such as a decrease in income, for some people it may be more reasonable to choose the countryside based on their own value system. In this situation, it seems that what becomes important is the flexibility and variety of choices in places to live.

In order to achieve this, it would be effective to raise the level of freedom in changing residence by things like revitalizing the circulation of existing houses for Japan—which is at a lower level than the countries of Europe and America—as well as the smooth circulation and matching of available housing, so that existing housing of good quality can be bought and sold with confidence.

Furthermore, it is important to increase the mobility of people who place high value on the “Attractive Traits of the Region” which the Rural Areas have to offer that are currently still living in cities. For example, for people who are feeling a vague attraction to the Rural Areas, it is important to provide information regarding migration, promote matching services with Rural Areas, and create opportunities for them to experience the attractive traits of the local districts through activities like trial migration. Then to extend that even further by working on revitalizing the local economy itself by things like creating employment opportunities to minimize the changes in economical environment due to migration.

## Column Women Who Migrate

In the past, the reason women migrated was mainly due to getting married. However, in recent years, there is an increasing number of single women who decide to migrate as a result of being attracted by a local district and its residents after participating in various programs in the area such as volunteer work, internships, and tours to experience nature.

Young women are relocating to districts other than the place where they grew up or became familiar with during their student years. What was their parents' reaction when these young women started talking to them about migrating to another district? They probably advised the young women to rethink this plan at least once.

These are the “Women Who Migrate”, women who make the decision to migrate with a strong “conviction” in their hearts. They are from different hometowns, moving at diverse times and to various places. They did not know of each other’s existence and they overcame their fear and anxiety with their own “conviction” and with the help of those who supported them. It is not hard to imagine that wherever they move to, the conditions each one faced were much the same.

Four of these “Women Who Migrate” who had moved to the hilly and mountainous areas around Niigata Prefecture and shared the desire to “let others know about the life in the hilly and mountainous areas”, made use of the “FAAVO” District Support Ground Founding Site to publish the booklet “ChuClu” Note in August, 2013.

This booklet provides information on various things including the actual daily life of “Women Who Migrate”, a comparison of how they spend money before and after migration, love-life conditions, and things they know only after having lived in that area, the good things and the challenges, all from a very “womanly” point of view.

Note Quarterly Publication Free Paper. Distributed in Niigata Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture and antennae shops in Tokyo.