well I am now a proud dad of a baby girl, Kate. Well done, Anne:) Must start posting some Ciao stuff...
well I am now a proud dad of a baby girl, Kate. Well done, Anne:) Must start posting some Ciao stuff soon....
Member since:30.07.2000
Reviews:83
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Oxford...think of Oxford and it cunjures up all the usual stereotypical images - upper class uni students drinking Pimms or punting on the river; streets full of cyclists and Inspector Morse bimbling about looking for clues.
However, one should never read a book by its rather dog-earred cover, as they say.
Oxford is quite a charming place, which doesn't uphold all of its cliched values although it is true to say students & bikes do dominate the place in equal numbers.
However, the town is much more than the sum of its parts. Like all towns big or small, it has it good & bad points - poverty, homelessness, crime etc, but these little foibles never get noticed cus of all the picture-card motifs & stereotyping listed above.
For me, as a person who has spent 30 odd years living in Britain's second city - Birmingham, I am very much looking forward to decamping & moving down the M40 the 50 odd miles to this great town.
Oxford central is obviously very expensive as far as home buying is concerned and is a very popular port of call for the commuter-belt fraternity from the South East. However, move to the outskirt of the town and you'll find some quite decent housing and decent prices.
I haven't had much chance to sample the full delights of the city or what it has to provide, although obviously one is going to have to get used to all the tourists clicking away at everything that looks remotely historical.
But one shouldn't think Oxford is stuck in a time warp. From what I have seen it has its fair share of good shops, pubs, clubs, eateries & entertainments that can rival most other towns and small cities. Of course getting around town by bike or car is going to be a nightmare because most of the area is pedestrianised or contains a nest of one-way systems that will drive even the most determined motorist to distraction.
But another bonus from a city-dweller's point of view, is that Oxford doesn't suffocate the mind; it isn't heavily polluted; isn't populated by hideous concrete office blocks and doesn't place huge burdens on the local populace to get things done asap compared to the hectic life of the city.
I shall miss Birmingham after all this time but for me Oxford is the place for those who prefer not to continue chasing their tails; to take a step off the treadmill and take in the real beauty of the town one lives in.
Birmingham is dead, long live Birmingham, but for me Oxford is for Life!
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Advantages: Redevelopment, pedestrianisation, improved nightlife, cleaner, no traffic Disadvantages: still souless, no greenary, wildlife, do the local benefit?
dreamstar70 03.01.2001 (03.01.2001)
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