repiV
Tank
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2006
- Messages
- 4,283
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So we all live in very different places, tell us all about yours (I can't imagine what living in India would be like for example, we should discuss these things more often).
Devon. Good stuff:
I love the variety of the place - we have Exeter and Plymouth for commerce, nightlife etc., two national parks (Dartmoor is eerie, bleak and awesome, Exmoor is stunning), lots of outdoorsy stuff to do and the nation's favourite tourist destinations on the doorstep. While Exeter and the surrounding areas are relatively modern and cosmopolitan, the more remote parts of the county are like going back in time 50 years. Like Princetown 1500ft up on Dartmoor, home of the infamous Broadmoor prison - that place is weird as hell.
I like the pace of life here. People are laid back and friendly, they have time for you. People seem to be a lot happier than they are in the south east. There is lots and lots of space here and you can drive for miles in parts without seeing anyone else at all.
I like the climate. It's a lot milder than the rest of the UK, it's been springtime since the middle of February and you can go for a walk in a t-shirt in the daytime at the moment. It doesn't get so stiflingly hot in the summer either.
It's heaven for motorcycling, there are endless miles upon miles of challenging, windy, hilly roads which are almost devoid of traffic (outside of tourist season anyway) and police. The scenery is stunning too, I can be up on the top of Dartmoor inside 30 miles or the North Devon or North Cornwall coasts within 70.
It's still English. There are very very few ethnic minorities here, so there's been no place for "the great multicultural experiment". More importantly, the immigrants we do have are a wholesale part of the community, they don't form ghettos. Everyone gets along.
There is very little crime here. I often don't even bother taking my keys out of the bike when I go in to pay for petrol or to the newsagents, it's not gonna go missing. You won't get any trouble down here.
Bad stuff:
The road infrastructure, although fantastic for enjoying on Sundays, is a nightmare if you actually want to get anywhere. So much of Devon is so remote not necessarily because of distance but just because there are no decent or direct roads there. And the main A roads are like the treacherous (yet fun) rural backroads elsewhere. Most of the minor roads are just single-track lanes. Also not nice when the weather's bad, especially as they don't grit 80% of the road network.
Living in a rural area, I'm basically stranded at home if I'm without my bike. There's a total dependency on transport, also bad if you want to get pissed and people come from far and wide too. It's a 20 mile round trip to the nearest supermarket, takeaway or petrol station - and I live near the city, not in one of the remote parts at all.
The job situation is shit. There are very few decent jobs down here, the average wage is something like 14k. I'm very lucky to have a good job (although I could still earn more elsewhere), if I lost my job I would probably have to move or take something way below what I'm doing now. People here tend to stay in the same job for years, not like London at all.
To compound the above, the cost of living is very high here. A one bedroom flat in Exeter will rent for between 525 and 700 a month, excluding bills. Second home buyers push the prices up elsewhere so locals cannot afford them.
In the more remote areas, there's a lot of ignorance and, er, inbreeding. It really can be like going back in time.
Generally though, it's fab. Tell me about where you live, bonus points if it's somewhere strange and interesting.
Devon. Good stuff:
I love the variety of the place - we have Exeter and Plymouth for commerce, nightlife etc., two national parks (Dartmoor is eerie, bleak and awesome, Exmoor is stunning), lots of outdoorsy stuff to do and the nation's favourite tourist destinations on the doorstep. While Exeter and the surrounding areas are relatively modern and cosmopolitan, the more remote parts of the county are like going back in time 50 years. Like Princetown 1500ft up on Dartmoor, home of the infamous Broadmoor prison - that place is weird as hell.
I like the pace of life here. People are laid back and friendly, they have time for you. People seem to be a lot happier than they are in the south east. There is lots and lots of space here and you can drive for miles in parts without seeing anyone else at all.
I like the climate. It's a lot milder than the rest of the UK, it's been springtime since the middle of February and you can go for a walk in a t-shirt in the daytime at the moment. It doesn't get so stiflingly hot in the summer either.
It's heaven for motorcycling, there are endless miles upon miles of challenging, windy, hilly roads which are almost devoid of traffic (outside of tourist season anyway) and police. The scenery is stunning too, I can be up on the top of Dartmoor inside 30 miles or the North Devon or North Cornwall coasts within 70.
It's still English. There are very very few ethnic minorities here, so there's been no place for "the great multicultural experiment". More importantly, the immigrants we do have are a wholesale part of the community, they don't form ghettos. Everyone gets along.
There is very little crime here. I often don't even bother taking my keys out of the bike when I go in to pay for petrol or to the newsagents, it's not gonna go missing. You won't get any trouble down here.
Bad stuff:
The road infrastructure, although fantastic for enjoying on Sundays, is a nightmare if you actually want to get anywhere. So much of Devon is so remote not necessarily because of distance but just because there are no decent or direct roads there. And the main A roads are like the treacherous (yet fun) rural backroads elsewhere. Most of the minor roads are just single-track lanes. Also not nice when the weather's bad, especially as they don't grit 80% of the road network.
Living in a rural area, I'm basically stranded at home if I'm without my bike. There's a total dependency on transport, also bad if you want to get pissed and people come from far and wide too. It's a 20 mile round trip to the nearest supermarket, takeaway or petrol station - and I live near the city, not in one of the remote parts at all.
The job situation is shit. There are very few decent jobs down here, the average wage is something like 14k. I'm very lucky to have a good job (although I could still earn more elsewhere), if I lost my job I would probably have to move or take something way below what I'm doing now. People here tend to stay in the same job for years, not like London at all.
To compound the above, the cost of living is very high here. A one bedroom flat in Exeter will rent for between 525 and 700 a month, excluding bills. Second home buyers push the prices up elsewhere so locals cannot afford them.
In the more remote areas, there's a lot of ignorance and, er, inbreeding. It really can be like going back in time.
Generally though, it's fab. Tell me about where you live, bonus points if it's somewhere strange and interesting.
