London's population set to overtake its pre-war peak

[JTG]

anywhere north or west of Banbury?

the Shires surrounding the West Mids are very nice - lots of good countryside and pleasant towns/small cities, easy access into Birmingham should you need to get a fix of exhaust fumes and body odour, lots of relatively cheap housing, and as far as i'm aware, no weird BBQ fetish restaurants that charge £10 for a mushroom sandwich...

Birmingham is the new hip destination for people moving out of London el-ahrairah

 

[William of Walworth]

i wonder where is a good place to go to escape london for ever?

Be careful about where you move though -- after 27 years in London, I found myself in Swansea

 

[el-ahrairah]

you see, i like the idea of swansea. i've been to birmingham and it's just like london except there's not as many people and that's no good. why leave london for something that will remind me of london all the time?

 

[kebabking]

...why leave london for something that will remind me of london all the time?

well, yes, it is a bit 'London for people who can't afford London - and don't mind their children speaking in an appalling accent..'

i'm 30 minutes from the centre of Birmingham by train (though i've been into brum three times in the last 5 years), but i live in a small city (probably a hamlet by London standards) surrounded by miles of countryside, i live in a house i could never afford in the SE, i fish or shoot within 30 minutes drive every other weekend, my wellies get worn every day and look it, but i could walk into town in 15 minutes and get a frappa-latte-choco-americano-whatever-the-fuck-coffee-is-now, or walk into a dozen different nationalitys' of restaurant.

personally, having lived there many years ago, i think Birmingham is the arse of the world, but there's lots of work there and the area surrounding it - Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire etc.. provides an excellent quality of life.

 

[William of Walworth]

you see, i like the idea of swansea. i've been to birmingham and it's just like london except there's not as many people and that's no good. why leave london for something that will remind me of london all the time?

Try before you buy is my advice.

 

[el-ahrairah]

Try before you buy is my advice.

that bad huh?

 

[William of Walworth]

el-ahrairah : There's lots of plusses about Swansea the area -- there's some properly beautiful coast, countryside and mountains very near the city. And of course festivaldeb is here which is why we make the very best of it

The City itself though can be pretty hard to like for a lot of reasons ... just IMO like.