Things you like and dislike about where you live

[uphillstruggler]

St. Neots. Cambs.

Likes:
It's not East London where I grew up. A hole at best.
Small(ish) town with friendly people.
Nice countryside, at least it's not as flat as the fens to the north east

Dislikes:
It's slowly turning into a commuter town, so that town feel is disappearing. I can see us moving further away when our children grow up.
It's still flat by most people's standards.

Tony.

The old road into st neots - probably the old north road is amazing. Gives a glimpse of what it may have been like before the expansion. Also the town centre is pretty good looking at the bridge end.

It's a shame that it has gone the way of most towns and expanded massively.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I know what you mean. We're in Cambs, but right on the border with Bedfordshire so we're not home counties, but not really East Anglia either. Kind of in the middle. Still 50 miles north of London though thankfully.

I'll now think of the place as being 'Ice Station Zebra' - Like a navigation beacon for a plane, a depot on an old Antarctic trek, or a sort of 'Point of no return'


Anyway, my West Coast Mainline equivalent would be somewhere between Milton Keynes and Watford. I would say Hemel Hempstead, but that isn't quite right somehow, it seems too close.

 

[outlash]

Largest town in Cambs apparently. It's changed a great deal even in the dozen or so years we've been here. Not all bad though, they finally built a cinema in town which is a major plus. No more schlepping to Huntingdon, Cambridge or Bedford.

 

[totallyfixed]

A recommendation from another, @meta lon is a good start. We are immensely lucky to live in Rutland, Oakham is a proper old market town, even has it's own castle. This is worth a look:
http://www.discover-rutland.co.uk/discover-rutland/curiosities-of-rutland
Likes are too many to list but the ones that stand out:
Very good road surfaces
Not much traffic, if you are unlucky you might get passed by one car per mile, but usually much less.
Courteous drivers
No McDonalds
No litter
Fantastic network of quiet country lanes, can choose hilly or relatively flat
Only 5 sets of traffic lights in the whole county
A stonking great lake the same area as Windermere which you can cycle around
We have Ospreys

Dislikes
Very Tory
High council tax

@Drago and @meta lon get your backsides over here for a ride [19th April, see informal rides]

 

[TVC]

Leicester:

Like
Excellent theatre, great music venues
Really close to Rutland (See above)
Great cycling country
Stoney Cove just down the road
We've got our own King.

Dislikes
Rubbish road layout
The dominance of Indian resteraunts mean that there are very few eating places representing other culinary cultures that you see in other similar sized cities.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Some might say Accrington (Hyndburn) is attractive to some as it's next door to the Ribble Valley but what's so special about the Ribble Valley? The Queen once commented that she'd like to retire there so from that day they've thought of themselves as something special. People say Ah the Ribble Valley with its stunning views. That's stunning if you like looking at hills and sheep!

The advantages of living in Accrington...
Beer is £2.50 a pint.
Most folk are unfit so if you're fit you can stand out while amongst them.
Houses are cheap which is good for first time buyers.

The disadvantages
The weather is crap due to it being near to the Pennines.
Houses are cheap which attracts slum landlords who put anti social tenants in.
Jobs have been scarce in Hyndburn since most cotton mills and engineering works closed in the 1970's.

 

[outlash]

A recommendation from another, @meta lon is a good start. We are immensely lucky to live in Rutland, Oakham is a proper old market town, even has it's own castle. This is worth a look:
http://www.discover-rutland.co.uk/discover-rutland/curiosities-of-rutland
Likes are too many to list but the ones that stand out:
Very good road surfaces
Not much traffic, if you are unlucky you might get passed by one car per mile, but usually much less.
Courteous drivers
No McDonalds
No litter
Fantastic network of quiet country lanes, can choose hilly or relatively flat
Only 5 sets of traffic lights in the whole county
A stonking great lake the same area as Windermere which you can cycle around
We have Ospreys

Dislikes
Very Tory
High council tax

@Drago and @meta lon get your backsides over here for a ride [19th April, see informal rides]

Big fan of Rutland, it's just do-able from here on a ride.

 

[Sandra6]

I like that its not a city in the way that Manchester or Birmingham are, but then I dislike that in equal parts too.
Mostly I like that I have town centre things on one side and peaceful countryside things on the other.
I dislike that if I "need" anything I have to go to Newcastle and we don't have a proper theatre or anywhere to go that isn't a pub or the cinema.

 

[Fubar]

Dunfermline, Fife on the east coast of Scotland - I've never moved far having been born in Fife but never really felt "at home" here either as my family are all from the west - worked on and off between here an Edinburgh so live here out of convenience more than anything.

LIKES:
It's a city (really just a big town) but very near the country, it's not too big so you do get to know a lot of people here;
It's commuting distance (car or bike) to Edinburgh which is much better for... well everything really;
Great Cycling Club (I had to say that )
We tend not to get the worst of the weather compared to the rest of Scotland.

DISLIKES:
Bit like @Mad Doug Biker if you want a night out in the city you need to leave before 11pm otherwise it's a costly night out;
Some of the people, well... (having said that there are some great people there too);
It's turned into another one of those towns with a depressing high street, too many supermarkets and a cinema/bingo/"restuarant" complex on the edge of town frequented by the Great Unwashed.

My 19-year old self would be horrified at the thought of having stayed here and I do regret not travelling more, but ultimately I have a lot to be thankful for and I'm quite a lucky boy.

 

[Sittingduck]

Live SW London.

Likes:
Accessibilty to the middle of the capital - less than 10 miles to commute into the City
Get to ride the length of Embankment twice a day
Commuting into town and back is great fun
Close to large green spaces
Lots to do and incredible choice of shopping, restaurants and bars/pubs
Surrey hills & Kent countryside are in a striking distance and can be ridden to, through and back within half a day.
Local is an old pub with good food and a great beer garden, 2 mins walk away

Dislikes:
Expensive rent
Hectic traffic (more of a concern when driving, than cycling)
Pub roasts average £15 (I mean, really...)
It can take a few miles of suburban grind to actually get to the countryside
People in this town seem happy to pay extortianate prices for stuff, driving the prce up for average folks

 

[RWright]

Sanford NC. Small town of about 30k people in a small county with about 30k more.

Likes:
-Quiet (except for the inconsiderate neighbors down the street with a herd of Chihuahuas.)
-Quick access to some pretty good rural roads with rolling hills. I find most of the roads I ride on to be pretty good. Much nicer than a lot of places I have been.
-Not a lot of traffic.
-For the most part people seem nicer than in the cities, but that has been changing some I think.
-I have lived here all my life and know my way around very well, even more so after riding the bike for a couple of years.

Dislikes:
-The Chihuahuas down the road and the Chihuahuas up the road, pretty much anything that barks at me or chases me, I don't like.
-More development everywhere. My county and the surrounding counties that were mostly agricultural are now becoming bedroom communities for the big cities. With more and larger highways and more home construction.
-I sometimes have to travel about a half hour to get some of the really cool toys I might want if I don't order them online. (bike stuff and electronics)
-I sometimes wish I lived in a more rural area with more land around me so I could target practice with my guns and bows and have more privacy ( I am not a hunter, I just like to shoot but rarely do anymore). I could do that where I live now when I was growing up but they annexed my area into the city. I also sometimes think it would be nice to live in the city with so many things to do there. I think just being in the same place for so long makes other places sometimes look more attractive.

 

[Leaway2]

Oh, Miss Goodbody is quite accommodating, and assures anonymity. Well, that's what the vicar told me.

Are you close to Cockermouth?

 

[hopless500]

Like:
Norfolk's pretty good on the whole. Nice scenery, nice people (mainly).

Dislike:
Don't like the coast here - it's kinda tame and it doesn't smell right! Prefer west coast Cornwall and Scotland.
Roads are shite (unless you like potholes).
Nearest public transport (as in local bus) is 3 miles away, but I can live with that.
Shopping is a write off - hooray for the internet

 

[Large]

Like - big enough to have all things I need, small enough still to keep its market town character. Frequent and fast trains to London. Good cycle lanes and parking.

Dislike - public transport to the frequent and fast trains is rubbish. Not much else. I love Leighton Buzzard

 

[hopless500]

[QUOTE 3621849, member: 45"]Are you afraid to let your kids play in the street?[/QUOTE]
I don't have any, so the answer is no. Although it would still be no
On thinking about it, I also don't live on a street!