Where should I move in England?????

[TOURIT]

I would recommend the Yorkshire National Parks areas.

See tourit productions.com

[northeast canuck]

I think it really depends on what you are looking for.

There are a few comments here that reflect the reality here in the UK, that you simply cannot compare Canadian cities & towns to UK ones. It's like comparing apples and oranges. I live in Newcastle, which would fit the bill looking at your requirements. It's a nice part of the country, but like ALL British cities you have to be really, really careful where you choose to live. I spend a lot of time in most of the major centres in the UK because of my job, and in general the picture is the same: Really nice areas are butted right up against horrible ones. If you have kids, you could find yourself living in what looks like a great area but find out that the schools are terrible. There is a much larger variation in such things here, compared to Canada.

In Newcastle, as with elsewhere, the people are very proud of their city, fiercely so sometimes (although they are all resigned to the fact that their football team sucks). Almost invariably the citizens of a British city will hate their neighbours and vice-versa. Newcastle/Sunderland, Manchester/Liverpool, etc. Why? God knows.

As far as the racism goes, I have to say I have found the same here. In fact I have just got back from a four day mini-break with the family in London and just before I went a woman from work said "Oh, I wouldn't take my kids to London. A friend of mine just came back from there and said that there are no ENGLISH people there. I just wouldn't feel safe". I told her that to me that is a big part of the attraction of London. I find the homogenous nature of the more provincial cities to be backward and frankly suffocating. They complain that people from London still think we are all coal-miners up here, and there may be some truth to that, but they are just as bad if not worse in their assumptions about the "south".

I have lost count of the number of times that people have complained to me in general conversation about all the "immigrants" around and how terrible it all is. I always point out that I am an immigrant to which the reply is invariably that I am different, and somehow don't count and so am OK. Of course they never say that the reason I am OK is that I am white and look like them, speak their language natively and come from Canada. This is the mentality of most cities outside of London.

If this is your sort of thing, then great. Otherwise stick to the south coast or the west country. Bristol is nice but again, it has its problems. It used to be the car-crime capitol of Britain a few years ago, not sure if that is still the same? But Somerset, just to the south, is wonderful.

[lesterb]

Hmm, Somerset.

That was the first place I lived when I moved here. Geographically stunning but racist, horribly racist.

What part of America are you from?

The part that's called Canada.

"Good,I hate American's" , followed by "I'm not racist, but this country has gone to the dogs since they let in all the" Insert "Darkies/Eastern Europeans" or insert any other deragatory term that makes your skin crawl.



-- Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:17 pm --

Hmm, Somerset.

That was the first place I lived when I moved here. Geographically stunning but racist, horribly racist.

What part of America are you from?

The part that's called Canada.

"Good,I hate American's" , followed by "I'm not racist, but this country has gone to the dogs since they let in all the" Insert "Darkies/Eastern Europeans" or insert any other deragatory term that makes your skin crawl.

[Huntmar]

York is beautiful. However, if I could choose to go anywhere, I would choose the south-west. Cornwall or Devon! Gloucestershire is gorgeous but expensive. Check out Cirencester and area.

Bristol is not my idea of a small-sized city from what I have seen, but I could be wrong!

Good luck!

-- Thu May 28, 2009 2:40 pm --

"I have lost count of the number of times that people have complained to me in general conversation about all the "immigrants" around and how terrible it all is."

Thank God! I thought it was only me who noticed the racist attitudes. I can't stand how my in-laws are outrightly racist and xenophobic. Everything is the fault of the immigrants in their eyes. Outright racism. And I was told it was just my Canadian imagination.

[Steven]

All European countries can be racist imx, you have to remember that unlike Canada a lot of these people have no immigrant history (that they're aware of), so they have a very different attitude towards immigration.

Northern Ireland is probably the most racist part of the UK, however I still think it's the best part of the UK to move to because it's not as crowded so it's easier to avoid people.

But I do think anyone moving to the UK for a rural experience or a "quiet" small town is living in a bit of a dreamworld. Great Britain is a third the size of Alberta and has 15+ times the population.

You can always move somewhere in Wales or Scotland that is out of the way, or even Shropshire for example but there aren't that many shops there and with the price of gas and the lower salaries out in rural areas, it's a non-starter. Just listen to all the people in rural areas complaining on Radio 4 about the lack of a decent bus service or a post office. Only 10% of the UK population live in areas defined as "rural", in Canada it's somewhere around a third, IIRC.

Also some of the supposed "quiet" areas are actually a myth, try driving through St Austell in the middle of the summer.

Buy a copy of Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson, which I always think is a brilliant book about the UK.

[heathermac]

i'm also in the same boat - i got a teaching job starting in sept. '09, in a gosport. and i'm not sure whether i'd be better off living in gosport, as it will be close to the school, or if i should live in portsmouth, which is a bigger town.

does anyone know anything about either of these cities? any help would be appreciated!

[iancanton]

All European countries can be racist

canada might be better in that respect, but don't forget that racist attitudes are common in virtually all north american, asian and african countries too.

ian.

[Steven]

i'm also in the same boat - i got a teaching job starting in sept. '09, in a gosport. and i'm not sure whether i'd be better off living in gosport, as it will be close to the school, or if i should live in portsmouth, which is a bigger town.

does anyone know anything about either of these cities? any help would be appreciated!

It's the same metropolitan area. If the school is in Gosport you're probably better off living there. I've been to Portsmouth and Gosport a few times over the years and I don't remember there being anything much to choose between them really.