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I’m not saying that a Briton will be unhappy in Manchester or in Coventry, I’m saying that for me, a European that lived in Rome and Berlin and Dublin, these ar

by mmarq 5y ago

I’m not saying that a Briton will be unhappy in Manchester or in Coventry, I’m saying that for me, a European that lived in Rome and Berlin and Dublin, these are non-places where nothing happens and where there’s nothing to do. When I say that only locals can live there I’m not referring to xenophobia (even if that’s a thing), but to the fact that in places like Harrow or Newcastle there is literally nothing to do, apart from going to the mall or to a pub that closes at 9PM. You’ll barely find a pub still open at 11PM in Westminster (where I live), let alone Mortlake or Brentford. And don’t make me start on the beer selection. It’s hard to get a decent espresso in London and there are at best 10 places where you can get a edible pizza, I’d be surprised if there were any in the rest of the country. In Westminster I don’t have a single cinema at walking distance (it’s a 20 minute walk to Leicester Square), and I live in the area with more cinemas and theatres in the entire country. I want to reiterate that I live in what is probably the most expensive and most active area of the country, and compared to Rome or Berlin sometimes it feels like living in the middle of nowhere. Outside of inner London, the UK is a gigantic periphery, with square kilometres of houses and not even a church or a café in a 10km radius. At best you get a shopping mall and a pub that closes at 9PM.

throwawaythrow1 5y ago
This is simply not true. One could naïvely say the same for ANY country where it has not been explored. It can't be all rollercoasters and silicon geography everywhere all the time. Anyway, the UK has some of the most dense proportion of pubs per capita in the world. (Since that appears to be a concern in your comments)
- mmarq 5y ago
  That's not true of any country and it's not about rollercoaster and silicon geography. It's about having stuff to do that isn't going to the mall or to the N-th replica of a Weatherspoon or of a Young's pub. I've lived in the UK for more than 10 years, and I have indeed explored the country and experienced the nothingness that's the UK bar inner London. On pubs, I was being generous by picking the most common, say, cultural attraction in the country. And yet, you get a better pub offer (in terms of variety and opening times) in Rome or Berlin or even Dublin. On density, try to re-compute that density at 11PM or check in how many of these pubs you can get a Chimay Rouge or a Franziskaner. The countryside looks more like a nuclear test site than Tuscany or Latium, to name a few places I'm familiar with.

by mmarq 5y ago

throwawaythrow1 5y ago

This is simply not true. One could naïvely say the same for ANY country where it has not been explored. It can't be all rollercoasters and silicon geography everywhere all the time. Anyway, the UK has some of the most dense proportion of pubs per capita in the world. (Since that appears to be a concern in your comments)

mmarq 5y ago
That's not true of any country and it's not about rollercoaster and silicon geography. It's about having stuff to do that isn't going to the mall or to the N-th replica of a Weatherspoon or of a Young's pub. I've lived in the UK for more than 10 years, and I have indeed explored the country and experienced the nothingness that's the UK bar inner London. On pubs, I was being generous by picking the most common, say, cultural attraction in the country. And yet, you get a better pub offer (in terms of variety and opening times) in Rome or Berlin or even Dublin. On density, try to re-compute that density at 11PM or check in how many of these pubs you can get a Chimay Rouge or a Franziskaner. The countryside looks more like a nuclear test site than Tuscany or Latium, to name a few places I'm familiar with.