Crap Towns

Slothrop

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Looking back at this thread, I'm reminded of Owen Hatherley's argument (which, tbf I don't think he wastes any time backing up with evidence) in Militant Modernism that when 'eyesore' tower blocks get demolished and the planners and local councillors (who live miles away in leafy suburbs) who are responsible congratulate themselves on replacing a brutal dehumanizing environment with a wonderful humane one, noone bothers to talk to the people who actually live there, who were normally pretty happy with where they were living...
 
C

comelately

Wild Horses
It's true that a lot of people who live in London do not explicitly take advantage of what's really available to them; if you live outside of TFL Zone 3 and don't work in Central London then your lifestyle probably won't differ that much from somebody who lives in Stevenage. There's perhaps a greater potential to get out and do stuff but most people won't because they're too skint, tired or don't have the time. London is a brilliant city but it takes a certain amount of discipline and energy for a working person to get the best out of it and most people don't have it. The alternative of actually living in...."England" doesn't really appeal though. People like to have the option of having things to do more than actually doing them sometimes, that may be irrational in a sense but options are a kind of freedom - if sometimes a (very) superficial kind.

Ultimately there are many more (vaguely 'middle-class') jobs in London then there are in Leeds, Brighton or Norwich and that provides a lot more flexibility and opportunities for advancement. That's why, I think, people choose to work in London (certainly it's why a lot of mainland western Europeans choose to work here). And whilst people do commute of course, that's certainly a questionable lifestyle choice:

Stress That Doesn't Pay: The Commuting Paradox

I liked Eindhoven a lot and would happily live there. Food in the Netherlands is definitely the main drawback, they don't have particularly high standards for the most part (Albert Heijn is not Waitrose) and restaurant bargains are thin on the ground. But 30 minutes in a coffeeshop has a funny way of bringing me down to their level.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
comelately said:
People like to have the option of having things to do more than actually doing them sometimes, that may be irrational in a sense but options are a kind of freedom - if sometimes a (very) superficial kind.
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Yeah, it's just nice to know you have the option of jumping on the tube for 20 minutes and seeing a cool new exhibition at the British Museum or a new production at the ENO - you don't have to be out there doing all this stuff (like a tourist, ha!) every weekend for it to still be a good amenity.

comelately said:
I liked Eindhoven a lot and would happily live there. Food in the Netherlands is definitely the main drawback, they don't have particularly high standards for the most part (Albert Heijn is not Waitrose) and restaurant bargains are thin on the ground. But 30 minutes in a coffeeshop has a funny way of bringing me down to their level.
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Shoulda know someone here had beaten me to it! :) Did you live there or just visit? Or live elsewhere in the NL? I'm not too bothered about food, as long as I can find shops that sell decent produce/meat/fish I'm happy enough cooking for myself, and if it works out I won't have to scour for special offers every time I shop. And there's lots of people there from south and east Asia so I'm sure there'll be plenty of interesting flavours to cook with and probably some reasonable 'ethnic' (horrible term, but you know what I mean) restaurants. I saw at least two Indonesian places while I was there, and I don't think I could name a single one in London - guess there was the 'Dutch East Indies' back in the day.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah I found the food in the Netherlands pretty limited but it's a good place for Indonesian restaurants. Not sure why I didn't really like the native food much cos I like heavy, meaty food such as you get in Hungary. The Dutch equivalent was just much less tasty.
 
C

comelately

Wild Horses
I spent 9 days in Eindhoven during New Year 2007/8 and I revisited it for a couple of days in 2009. First time I stayed with a lady friend, 2nd time in a (very nice) hotel. I've also spent a little bit of time in Nijmegen, which is a university town and quite nice too. When I ate at the aforementioned lady's parents, the food was very nice so obviously some of them can cook (the broth she made has got to be one of the umamiest things I've ever consumed), and the friend I stayed with in Nijmegen had an organic food shop quite near her. Plus I like olliebollen very much. And frites (though that charging for sauce nonsense is messed up). So it's not all bad.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Well, been here a week and a half so far. Seems to be a pretty cool place. Moved into a flat a few days ago - all the letting agencies here charge a non-redeemable "brokerage fee" of a month's rent, which is pretty fucked up, but can't really be avoided, and even so it's still cheaper than London (obviously).

Good beer and cheese, some nice bars...gonna get a bike soon as I've had my first paycheque, seems like the best way to get around.
 
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