Location Location Etc.
As a sideline to my current plans, I'm beginning to wonder whether I should be looking to move to a part of the country I particularly like, rather than one I've been telling myself I ought to go to but which in fact strikes seven shades of fear and apprehension into my heart, viz. London. My policy has thus far been that 'beggars can't be choosers', that London is the most sensible place to start a career, and that there are probably nice and less-nice areas in all parts of the country so it's just a case of finding them and the fact that I don't know about them yet shouldn't faze me. But in the case of London of course, I strongly doubt that I'd be able to afford to live anywhere remotely pleasant. (At this point I regret again that I've never visited anyone in London to see what the reality of living there is like).
So, places I already know I like include Bath & Bristol, Cambridge, rural Yorkshire and York... and I've been wondering about Devon too (Plymouth, Exeter and such). Anyone have an opinion on these? Birmingham was a lot nicer (and cheaper) than I might've expected too, and I hear a lot of northern cities are being redeveloped very nicely these days, although for logistic reasons of being near family and friends I think I'd rather stay in the southern part of the country.
In fact, I suspect that most of the places I've been to are places I'd happily live, given sufficient money to escape the worst areas. There are some exceptions though - Northampton of course, being one; London's satellite counties being possibly another. But London inspires a particular ambivalence in that I enjoy going there, and the mingled sense of danger and excitement about it, but am much less inclined to become A Londoner.
Hmm.
Bet you're glad I broke my silence for that well-thought-out tirade...
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Oh yes, anyone with £1,000,000 burning a hole in their pocket might be well-advised to look at this.
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And another thing: this week there's been a spider living in our laundry room. It generally sits just in front of the tumble drier. If I open a door in a menacing manner, or drop my laundry crate on the floor, it runs away under the drier. But if I drop the door-key, it comes out to investigate. It would be interesting to investigate which features of a stimulus elicit these different behaviours. Wouldn't it?
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The commentator for today's flypast for the Queen's birthday tells us that the new Typhoon is a 'top-drawer dogfighter' or somesuch. That should come in handy, then... [shakes head, rolls eyes]. Also, the Canberra is being taken out of service this year. Which is a bit sad.
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Another addendum: I've just emailed Sainsbury's to express my disappointment with signs I saw for "Mens lifestyle", "Kids birthdays" and "Womens weeklies" in their newsagent section. Well, really. Even more distressing, I couldn't find any hash browns...
So, places I already know I like include Bath & Bristol, Cambridge, rural Yorkshire and York... and I've been wondering about Devon too (Plymouth, Exeter and such). Anyone have an opinion on these? Birmingham was a lot nicer (and cheaper) than I might've expected too, and I hear a lot of northern cities are being redeveloped very nicely these days, although for logistic reasons of being near family and friends I think I'd rather stay in the southern part of the country.
In fact, I suspect that most of the places I've been to are places I'd happily live, given sufficient money to escape the worst areas. There are some exceptions though - Northampton of course, being one; London's satellite counties being possibly another. But London inspires a particular ambivalence in that I enjoy going there, and the mingled sense of danger and excitement about it, but am much less inclined to become A Londoner.
Hmm.
Bet you're glad I broke my silence for that well-thought-out tirade...
---
Oh yes, anyone with £1,000,000 burning a hole in their pocket might be well-advised to look at this.
---
And another thing: this week there's been a spider living in our laundry room. It generally sits just in front of the tumble drier. If I open a door in a menacing manner, or drop my laundry crate on the floor, it runs away under the drier. But if I drop the door-key, it comes out to investigate. It would be interesting to investigate which features of a stimulus elicit these different behaviours. Wouldn't it?
---
The commentator for today's flypast for the Queen's birthday tells us that the new Typhoon is a 'top-drawer dogfighter' or somesuch. That should come in handy, then... [shakes head, rolls eyes]. Also, the Canberra is being taken out of service this year. Which is a bit sad.
---
Another addendum: I've just emailed Sainsbury's to express my disappointment with signs I saw for "Mens lifestyle", "Kids birthdays" and "Womens weeklies" in their newsagent section. Well, really. Even more distressing, I couldn't find any hash browns...
posted by Z31 at 10:09 am
2 Comments:
Gorgeous house. The round portal/door makes me think of Bag End. Shame it's in the wrong part of the country and an order of magnitude out of my budget.
Don't worry about London. I've lived there most of my life and while it can be a little scary at times, it's mostly an exciting scary rather than a terrifying scary. If you follow simple, common sense rules then won't have any trouble on the streets i.e. keep your head up, eyes open and for god's sake if something looks/feels wrong don't walk into it. The positive things that London has to offer far outweigh the negative, and the negative things are pretty much standard for any industrialised British town/city.
All the best for your chosen path, you start soon right? Found a place to live yet?
Plymouth and Exeter are nice. Exeter nicer than Plymouth probably but I know Plymouth better and therefore know the places to avoid etc. I think the south of the country is a good place (and cheap still).
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