surrounded by dykes and everything — Benkei

:up:

I would never move back to the UK, unless it was Ireland. I cannot support this endeavour :sweat:

Sorry, but I don't get your phrase due to how it is written. It seems that you refer to Ireland as part of the United Kingdom, when it is clearly not. If I said 'I would never move back to the UK, unless...' And the territories included in this kingdom are England, Scotland, Wales and NI. If I wanted to say I would never move back to Ireland, I guess I should have mentioned Ireland itself as a separate nation.

"Ireland", typically, includes both the Republic and Northern Ireland in everyday conversation, outside of those two geographical areas, in my experience. "Ireland" alone refers to the physical Island which is merely geopolitically divided.

I refer to places like Ballycastle and Armagh and Antrim here. That said, I would prefer to move somewhere like Wicklow or Cork.

Yes, I know. When I was in both Dublin and Belfast, my mates and I always referred to Ireland as the whole physical island, including Ulster. But your comment surprised me precisely for this reason. I searched for 'Ballycastle' and it is part of the UK, and now I understand your comment now. But it is the first time I read a comment where it was not specified that it was a reference to the UK because the city is in North Ireland, not in the Republic of Ireland. If I were you, I would have posted: I would never move back to the UK, unless it was Northern Ireland, because it is obvious that you are referring to the UK, and not all the island.

I don't to look like I am fussy, and this is just too interesting for me :grin: .
In the end, you are the Irish, not me. If you think it is fine to say just Ireland, I have to accept it indeed!

No, totally a fair comment. I should be aware of what those i'm speaking to interpret me to be saying. I should have said Northern Ireland.

As long as it isn't as burning hot as Australia! — Pantagruel

I'd encourage you to consider Australia (although the price of housing is astronomical). The burning hot zones in Australia are actually pretty remote, the climate on the East Coast cities is generally temperate, outside the occasional heatwave where it will hit 40 degrees or more. But it doesn't happen often. I've lived briefly in the UK and also have immediate family in Wisconsin so am pretty familiar with those areas - Wisconsin is nice but the winters are not too different from your own. Socially and politically, Australia has a lot going for it, currently centrist Labor governments at Federal and most State levels, reasonable standard of living, and lots of space. I couldn't consider living in the UK (was last there in 2022, was actually standing in the Tower of London at the moment the Queen passed away.) My perception of the UK at the moment is that it's pretty frayed around the edges, and has a lot of dreary towns.

Apparently we are going to have to wait until the rest of civilization catches up with Canada's progressive cannabis laws before we can think about going anywhere. My outlaw days are past.

I believe it's been de-criminalised in the Australian Capital Territory, the area around the national capital. You're not allowed to trade in it, but having it is not illegal. That said I wouldn't expect anyone would want to live in Canberra without a reason :-)

Apparently we are going to have to wait until the rest of civilization catches up with Canada's progressive cannabis laws before we can think about going anywhere. My outlaw days are past.

You can smoke it legally in the Netherlands and I recently heard it was to be decriminalised in Germany. But in reality in the U.K. if you have small amount for personal use at home it’s ok. The difficult part is buying it. But even then the police would only be interested in the dealers. I used to have a couple of skunk plants in pots on my windowsill which provided enough for what I was smoking. I gave it up a long time ago, though, anyway.

That said I wouldn't expect anyone would want to live in Canberra without a reason :-) — Wayfarer

Funny you should mention this. I love Canberra and am there now. Just for 3 days while on a road trip. I love the manageable scale of the city, it's quirky regions, the modernist architecture, it's amazing free galleries. I think I could easily live there.

I couldn't consider living in the UK (was last there in 2022, was actually standing in the Tower of London at the moment the Queen passed away.) My perception of the UK at the moment is that it's pretty frayed around the edges, and has a lot of dreary towns.

I was in one of my favourite restaurants in the south of France (near Bordeaux). Anyone who was British knew within a few minutes of the announcement. While all the French people around us had no idea.

Yes the U.K. has lots of dreary towns and more recently sink towns. The class divide has increased with enclaves of affluence hidden away here and there. There are some interesting, progressive towns and cities though such as Bristol, Norwich, Brighton, Edinburgh. Even Manchester is having it’s renaissance.

In the U.K. a dyke is a lesbian.

We had this uncanny experience at the Tower. Of course it was well known that Her Majesty was at Balmoral and the end nigh, but we couldn’t help feeling that the Yoemen in the tower were agitated about something - hushed conversations in the cloister, so to speak. My dear one took a striking photograph of a misted sun perched above the White Tower pretty well at the exact moment. We didn’t actually know until we went to dinner a couple of hours later near our hotel, but the maitre’d telling us only confirmed our feelings.

I'm well aware, we also used to be ruled by a queen...

Ahh, synchronicity. I know that feeling.

This interesting news popped up on my desktop. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/best-places-to-live

If I am not wrong, I think Leeds was mentioned in the thread. Clerkenwell, Folkestone, Sherborne, Stirchley and Wivenhoe are also good options, according to that poll and data. I have never heard of these English cities but Leeds, which is in Yorkshire. What do you think about Yorkshire? @Punshhh

By the way, I was in one of the cities on the list: West End, Dundee (Scotland). I was there in 2018. I remember the weather was cloudy and rainy most of the time, but the city and the people were cool and chill. I can't remember why the hell I was there because I used to live in Edinburgh, but when I read about this Scottish city, some memories - which were kept in the memory - flourished again.

I am not interested in moving to England, but it is always interesting to read the opinion of others on what a city should be to live in, and why some are better than others. Is this subjective or objective? :chin:

Could I be happy in both Madrid and Leeds if I tried to? Does it depend on the city or the neighbors? Hmm...