Are you happy where you live?

[Littlepeahead]

Well there you have it, out of 111 places surveyed Chelmsford comes in 70th.

I mean for a start they've shown a photo of a bus in the news piece and I was already pretty unhappy this morning because once again my bus didn't arrive which isn't unusual as the service is rubbish and stupidly expensive.

We've got an M&S that's always sold out of Raspberry Royales and only ever seems to stock knickers in a size 22 (probably because the other shoppers ate all the Royales before I could buy any).

We've got five £1 shops but no John Lewis even though it's supposed to be an affluent area and not one shop that sells vinyl records anymore.

The street lights go out at midnight so you have to stumble home in darkness but they haven't spent any of the money they have supposedly saved on this initiative cleaning the streets so you inevitably tread in dog cr@p in the dark alleyway on your way home.

http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/Chelmsford-named-miserable-places-live-Britain/story-21119185-detail/story.html

Here's the full survey in case you want to see where your home city ranks.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/files/2013/03/Rightmove-Happy-At-Home-Index-2013.pdf

[maviczap]

Blimey Ipswich in 3rd place. I used to like my home town. Not now, when I go there now I find all the people I see to be really weird, not the Suffolk town I used to know.

Although Felixstowe might not be the swingest town out there & the shopping is dreadful, I love the place.

Near the beach and a nice place to bring my kids up in.

[Mr Speirs]

You'd have though that someone like rightmove would know that Northampton isn't in the west midlands.

[Bibio]

yes i love where i live.

we have riot vans at the weekend
shops being robbed on a regular basis
people being shot
families being burnt out their house
teenagers killing each other over a bottle of buckfast
junkies everywhere
kids of 12 getting their methadone prescription when your in the chemist

[Bibio]

81st for Edinburgh... fekin bullpoop.

[andrewsmith]

Enough Said!!! ;)

http://www.craptownsreturns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Crapmap2.jpg

[Bibio]

thats class Andy :-)

[maviczap]

Brilliant Andy

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

Excellence map, we are from Bognor which is full of old people, that is why we never go into the town we always go to Chichester which is lovely. Bognor is known locally as Poland on Sea.

[dizzyblonde]

PIES!!!

Anyway, that survey is wrong. There is no way on this earth that Halifax, the sh1thole in the cesspool of life is that happy, or indeed a great place to live.... How the hell can it rank 2nd in the region? Harrogate is far too posh and happy!

I've been trying to escape, and it's so cack, nobody will buy my house and release me from torture!!

[DJFridge]

I'm happy. 10 minutes from the downs, 2 minutes from the sea, Chichester is a good county town and only 15 minutes away and our local village still has 4 decent pubs less than 10 minutes walk away. Obviously Bognor itself is a bit of a hole, but we live right out on the edge, practically not in it at all. Actually, I couldn't even find Bognor Regis in the list.

[Matt-EUC]

Just for the record, Chelmsford is 56th.


Sent via the medium of interpretative dance.

[davepreston]

no but its just cos its full of English people

[Matt-EUC]

Winchester isn't on there either.


Sent via the medium of interpretative dance.

[kaivalagi]

Blimey Ipswich in 3rd place.

That's what I thought....Norwich is 10 times better than Ipswich but only 15th nationally :)

[BanannaMan]

No.
Because everything you've ever heard about Americans and the US is true.

[maviczap]

That's what I thought....Norwich is 10 times better than Ipswich but only 150th nationally :)

Yep you're not wrong there :mrgreen:

[Wideboy]

Yeah that survey is ********. Portsmouth got 52nd, birds fly over it upside down as there's nothing worth ****ting on.

[wyrdness]

I'm in North London, so right down near the bottom of the list (though thankfully above Dudley).

The part where I live is actually all right. The only down side is that I don't think that I could ever afford a house here and don't understand how anybody can unless they're earning well into 6 figures.

[Sid Squid]

I live in Hampstead, and have just discovered from that 'survey' (I'm being generous) that North London is one of the unhappiest places in the country in which to live.

Umm... No.

[timwilky]

Do you think they asked a certain Irishmans neighbours (http://www.lep.co.uk/news/preston-is-one-of-the-happiest-places-to-live-1-6629277)?

My town doesn't make any lists. But as I live less than a mile from where I grew up, I guess something keeps me here.

[Whitty]

PIES!!!

Anyway, that survey is wrong. There is no way on this earth that Halifax, the sh1thole in the cesspool of life is that happy, or indeed a great place to live.... How the hell can it rank 2nd in the region? Harrogate is far too posh and happy!

I've been trying to escape, and it's so cack, nobody will buy my house and release me from torture!!

Haha,its ripponden village that got it. It's in top 101 Sunday Times 'best places to live' this year for first time. Only place in Calderdale and only one of 3 in west yorks plus otley and chapel allerton. Fortunately I live in ripponden not Halifax :)

[dizzyblonde]

Haha,its ripponden village that got it. It's in top 101 Sunday Times 'best places to live' this year for first time. Only place in Calderdale and only one of 3 in west yorks plus otley and chapel allerton. Fortunately I live in ripponden not Halifax :)



If Calderdale Council get their way with residents parking, the smiles will be on the other side of their face :smt019 :mrgreen:

[JamesMio]

PIES!!!

There is no way on this earth that Halifax, the sh1thole in the cesspool of life is that happy, or indeed a great place to live.... How the hell can it rank 2nd in the region?

I've been trying to escape, and it's so cack, nobody will buy my house and release me from torture!!

How did that job interview for Visit Yorkshire go then Diz?

[ophic]

My town doesn't make any lists. But as I live less than a mile from where I grew up, I guess something keeps me here.
You grew up? when did that happen? :smt019

[Jayneflakes]

I live in Birmingham on Sea, a beautiful coastal town on the edge of the Severn Estuary. We have lovely muddy beaches that are swarming with faecal bacteria from the fine mesh sewage outlet, the chemical waste from Avonmouth is very diluted here so mutant fish are not that common. With Hinkley point in view from the beach you just know that you are safe because it has been a good couple of weeks since they had a leak of radioactive material.

The locals here are lovely and there is such a mix of cultures thanks to the influx of junkies seeking rehab in the many centres we have here. Every summer the town is descended upon by over four hundred billion Brummies who all want to eat ice cream in the drizzle and look out from the newly rebuild Grand Pier Games Arcade across the mud flats to Steepholm and flatholm islands.

The high street is a wonderful mix of Charity shops, money lenders, pound shops and empty buildings from businesses that have gone bust, so you can really see the economic history of the region. It is nice to be able to walk up the street and meet all of the Chuggers, Sky Media salesmen and the occasional drunken beggars who shout racist/homophobic/sexist abuse, because this can be used as a teaching aid for school age children to show modern Dickensian poverty.

What is nice is to be able to walk into the Jill Dando remembrance garden and see the over grown weeds swamping the shrubs and bushes. If you are really lucky there will be a dead junkie in the corner to act as a warning about the dangers of mixing methadone and street heroine. During the summer, walking through the actual park that the garden is in can be and enjoyable and challenging test of fitness as you dodge the mentally ill homeless people drinking pikey cider, brutal hooligans playing violent football and teenage chavs smoking in the fenced off bandstand. The local council have tended to the gardens well by ripping up the flower beds and privatising the toilet block making the park a safe and happy place to be, especially with the security cameras that like to watch the girls sunbathing on the lawns.

Birmingham on Sea is a vibrant and happy town that has only had three stabbings, two street fights and a reduction in the parking for the Easter holiday just gone. So visit Birmingham on Sea today and feel the joy of washing the thick filth from your clothes once the RNLI have pulled you to safety from the mud flats as the tide rushes in with a bore of chemical foam.

You will not find a more Birmingham on Sea place anywhere else. :smt036

[dizzyblonde]

How did that job interview for Visit Yorkshire go then Diz?





It was Yorkshire Airlines ;)

wPjJFv1NDBg

[pookie]

oooh i love a bit of sea even though it glows in the night... you should try living on the u bend of the thames :)

At one time there were more estate agents than indian restaurants...which now have been replaced by hair weave shops. Fortunately there are still plentiful indians which arent half bad. People are paid to move here :) I jest not .

The industry has gone and flat pack houses have gone up giving a modern ikea feel about the place ( the type where you find out the instructions arent in english and you have a screw missing).

The claim to fame of the area is that in the wonderful film " Four weddings and a funeral", where they have 4 weddings in lovely church grounds was that the depressing funereal was filmed locally.

There are redeeming features such as easy access to the that famous smooth race track known as the m25. You also feel like an extra in TOWIE whenever in a queue at the local supermarket.

Still it could be worse ... :)

[Bibio]

Jayne, you would feel right at home up here in Kirkcaldy, only difference is the sewage outlet and the pier. we have a lovely beach when the tide is out otherwise the front gets flooded in high winds/tides.

for all Kirkcaldy's problems i do like staying here. no traffic to speak of. the arzholes pretty much keep to themselves and little groups and dont bother 'nice people'. house prices are cheep as chips and due to this we have a high influx of 'southerners' it's actually a lovely town in the sun. employment levels are not to bad.

the best bit is that i can be in the Highlands in a few hours :-)

[tigersaw]

Winchester isn't on there either.



They couldn't find anywhere to park

[garynortheast]

Very happy thank you.

[BernardBikerchick]

Love where we love even though it's only rented love it and close to everything xxxxx

[Paul the 6th]

my beautiful beloved York...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/York_night.JPG/1000px-York_night.JPG

there's always something on, some stand up comedy, some theatre production, the races, a beer festival, a food festival, some celebration of romans or vikings or anyone else who passed through here and decided they liked it. Something like 500 licensed premises, tonnes of restaurants and cafes, some of the most beautiful buildings in the country...... and then in the wider area we're an hour away from whitby, an hour away from the yorkshire dales, 20 minutes away from leeds, 4 hours from london and 4 hours from edinburgh..

"my city is the kind of city that people like to visit so sit down and listen, because we cannot teach you about textures of the world, weaves of the universe or cultures that we have never met.... any city can teach you how to love, any city can teach you how to hate.... well, we will teach you how to take shortcuts..... we'll teach you find something you thought we lacked, because we stack company in barrels, put friendship on tap and fill up the glass, and even though at first glance we look slow............. we are always ready to burst at the banks and overflow"

Saw this dude at a Burns night thing in January with whiskey, poetry, scottish music and stuff.... Henry Raby - "my city" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6lV5cN1CUI

[L3nny]

When my work moved to Milton Keynes and I decided to move here rather than commute from the edge of the Cotswolds I was like meh, but I love it here now. Everything you want is within a 10 minute drive, when you get there you can normally park right outside. and if you don't want to drive you can walk or cycle along the redways.

I went for a run yesterday, went from my front door for about 4 miles and didn't go anywhere near a road, the parks here are huge, plentiful and clean.

You can be in central London in less than 40 mins which is quicker then most London suburbs.

Some of the estates are really dodgy but that's the same with any town.

Only down side is the lack of wheely bins!

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

Only down side is the lack of wheely bins!

Why no wheely bins, are they banned?

[Matt-EUC]

Why no wheely bins, are they banned?


They were all confiscated after all the local kids were found having fun in them.


Sent via the medium of interpretative dance.

[carelesschucca]

Yeah I'm happy where I live. A lovely quiet estate in whats probably a hole of a town. But the people are generally decent.

Most of all I live close enough to Glasgow to enjoy city life without having to be mixed in with it when I don't want to be. I also live near some of the best roads for biking in the UK and within five minutes I'm free and on the open road. I also live with an amazing woman what more do you need In life?

[andrewsmith]

Yeah I'm happy where I live. A lovely quiet estate in whats probably a hole of a town. But the people are generally decent.

Most of all I live close enough to Glasgow to enjoy city life without having to be mixed in with it when I don't want to be. I also live near some of the best roads for biking in the UK and within five minutes I'm free and on the open road. I also live with an amazing woman what more do you need In life?

Your estate looks like this on pension day though ;)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/07/17/article-2174617-14176A64000005DC-59_634x487.jpg

[Jayneflakes]

Your estate looks like this on pension day though ;)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/07/17/article-2174617-14176A64000005DC-59_634x487.jpg


Hmmmmm, blue rinse tottie. Get in there while it still has a pulse! :smt074

[L3nny]

Why no wheely bins, are they banned?

Must be, we have to put the bin bags out on the street where the cats rip them open. Not very civilised.

[carelesschucca]

Your estate looks like this on pension day

I know thats why the area is great the council put oldies into the houses, and the reprobates get put other places... it works, specially for me.

The main thing is I'm happy there, I talk to my neighbours (not all of them are old) and we look out for each other. I'm gonna be helping one of the do their garden. Its how it works. A little bit of community makes a huge difference.

just have to see how they cope when I turn up on the bike at omg its early o'clock in a couple of weeks :-)

[Littlepeahead]

Have one of my wheelie bins, we get 4 per house!

[Matt-EUC]

For all the empty bottles of fake tan.


Sent via the medium of interpretative dance.

[andrewsmith]

I know thats why the area is great the council put oldies into the houses, and the reprobates get put other places... it works, specially for me.

The main thing is I'm happy there, I talk to my neighbours (not all of them are old) and we look out for each other. I'm gonna be helping one of the do their garden. Its how it works. A little bit of community makes a huge difference.

just have to see how they cope when I turn up on the bike at omg its early o'clock in a couple of weeks :-)

Hmmmm org invasion for GM???

For all the empty bottles of fake tan.


Sent via the medium of interpretative dance.

There is one of these at the end of every street for the fake tan

http://thinkpinkskips.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/pict0005.jpg

[JamesMio]

On the whole, very much so.

It's not perfect (where is?!), but the area I live in is beautiful and pretty much deserted (imagine what the Lake District would be like if it had 10% of the people in it, that's where I live).

Dumfries the town is, by & large a bit of a toilet, with;

A dying High Street filled with banks, chippies, charity & pound shops.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/High_Street,_Dumfries_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1769863.jpg

A higher-than-average population of grey skinned, sunken-eyed leisurewear aficionados who never seem to have anywhere to be.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_m47RlRiYoAg/TR1Ykehg5PI/AAAAAAAAKS4/HvzuA64msUU/s1600/The%2BLife%2Bof%2BJunkie%2BJunior%2B%25281987%2529 16.jpg

Very little by way of 'entertainment', i.e. a 1 screen cinema that hasn't been updated for 20+ years, a 'new' leisure/sports centre that's about to close for refurbishments (despite being only a few years old).
http://www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/scotland/dumfries_odeon3.jpg

But...

Within a 5 minute walk from my front door I have things like this:

The Mill, East Cluden
http://www.architectsplus.co.uk/imgs/gallery/11195/11195_15439510714b9673cbf0fa4.jpg

10 mins on the pushbike and I'm here:

Glenkiln
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Glenkiln_Cross_,_by_Henry_Moore_-_geograph.org.uk_-_223434.jpg

15-45 ish mins on the motorbike would see me at any of the following:

Dalveen Pass
http://www.walkscotland.plus.com/Lowthers/duris/images/17a.jpg

Caerlaverock Castle
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/61/27/612761_3cb3e5fa.jpg

Talla / St Marys Loch
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7358/10931849046_616746b0ca_z.jpg

We've got some of the very best mountain biking trail centres anywhere in the UK right on our doorstep (7 Stanes + Drumlanrig), combined with some of the twistiest, scenic & quietest motorbiking roads anywhere in Europe.
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/559930_10151542347335097_2110601872_n.jpg

Edinburgh/Glasgow are 1.5 hours away for any time you need a city or airport.

And, the Lake District is just across the Solway if ever you needed a reminder of what Dumfries & Galloway would be like if the tour buses that crossed the border occasionally turned LEFT once they got to Gretna instead of setting the Sat Nav to 'North' and not stopping until they've passed Stirling Castle.

http://www.peakcyclelinks.org.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/cropped-A6-with-bikes-Aug-2011-2.jpg

All in all, it's not so bad really.

It does rain a LOT here though. If we get a full week without rain people start panic buying in Tesco's.

[davepreston]

was about so say big man ive been to your its fecking lovely

[Bibio]

pretty much any small town in Scotland is nice to stay in. the ones to avoid are the 5 'new towns' although they are getting better.