HighTide

I was reading that there would likely be a larger correction in the North than the South of the country although even the South should come down slightly in price over the next year. Sure hoping we are able to find something when we head over there this month.

Impey

Don hi,

Thanks for the up to date info on Church Stretton, will look on Google Earth.

Impey

Impey

Rodney hi, I don't think you can actually use the National Express coaches using the red rose. Let's say you fancied seeing the lights in Blackpool for example, you would have to pay on the coach, but once up there you could ride around for nothing.

If my memory serves me right, you used to be able to pay just £1 on the National Express coaches, but since then they have altered it. I will check their website shortly to see what they say and let you know.

Impey

cheers

My two bites worth.

Related to prices of homes. When we look at the prices and we think they are high, as I do, is it because of the rate of exchange for the dollar?

After hearing on the news tonight the big cuts that they are proposing in the US budget and those in the UK we are going to go on a very rocky ride financially (well they have to come up with the money from somewhere to pay the CEO's on Wall Street). If you haven't heard they want to cut social security and eliminate cost of living increases and then they want to cut medicare and raise the age for social security eligibility. Oh, and raise the gas tax by 12 cents a gallon.These are just some of their proposals. Unfortunately, no word on cutting the benefits of congressmen (fat chance)

OK enough already! I only bring this up because we, on this forum, are making plans based on our ability to pay when going back to the UK. We see the plans to cut spending there so we have to keep an eye on that also.

'Its being so cheerful that keeps me going' to quote one British comedian.

Everything will turn out alright!

cheers

Rodney,

I got confused and I thought you were going back to Bournemouth, sorry, I'll check on Plymouth from now on.

Cheers mate

Mummy in the foothills

National Express had some thing going for $5 anywhere in the country or something, maybe just select routes, you'd have to check.

sallysimmons

I saw that too and, although I think increasing the gas tax would be a vey good idea, none of that is going to happen. Most of the committee members already said they wouldn't vote for the ideas that were leaked today. So it's dead on arrival.

I think house prices in the UK are high because of the lack of space. More demand, less supply than here. I live 25 minutes outside Manhattan - one of the priciest cities in the world. My house is 2 minutes walk from the train into Manhattan and yet it's worth the same as a smaller house with less land in the Lake District. Nuts but true.

Easterndawn

What I found is that I had to stop changing the pounds to dollars and trying to figure out what it would be costing me back in Canada. A pound shop is just that a pound not a$1.67 or whatever the exchange was at the time. I almost drove myself crazy that first few months, now I don't even think of it.

I watched a programme which was the The Pride of Britain Awards, very moving and certainly put my problems into prospective for me. New reported that studnets went rioting yesterday and broke into the Milliband building and basically went on the rampage, they are protesting their right to free secondary education. Not sure how I feel about this as it cost me over $25,000 to get my degree and I certainly appreciated that I had to work to get it. I do agree that kids who come from deprived homes be given financial help.

Beedubya

Just a quick update about "Broken Britain."

As I have posted on here a few weeks ago my son went back to England on Saturday 23rd October, both to go to my sister's husband's funeral and he felt the need to re-connect with family.

He emailed me this morning, yesterday their time Wednesday 10th November he was informed he had gotten a job he applied for. It is pick and pack in a warehouse for now but they want to look at him for a supervisor role. It is for a distribution centre for Tesco and he starts next Monday. So not too bad eh? OK he is a lot younger than us, but there ARE jobs out there if you want one........like he said the pay isn't as good as the one he left in Australia, but it's a start!!

So much for Broken Britain and no jobs to be had, less than 3 weeks and he has one..........

Beedubya

Oh yes I well remember that Peigi, I too almost drove myself crazy with my brain currency converter!!

OH those pound shops are the BEST!! I have had some really good bargains there especially with toiletries and food. And I'm not sure if Home Bargains have headed up to Scotland yet, but they have really good merchandise at bargain basement prices.

Oh and Iceland has some really good bargains in the food department when you are on a budget. Though some of their frozen foods leaves a lot to be desired. You can pick up some good stuff in the canned and packet varieties......

PAT M

Congratulations to your son Beedubya on getting a job, as you say it's a start and will look good on his CV that he got a job fairly quickly. My son was just as lucky, he returned from Australia to London on a Thursday and started a job on the following Tuesday. Everyone, friends and relatives were very surprised as someone they knew with the same skills had been out of work for two years. After a year at that job, he applied for a better paid job and got it, thankfully. Compared to Italy where employment is hard to find even for Italians, we have always found (and we have been backwards and forwards to Italy for the last 40 years - well that's another story) that if you want to work (at least in London) you will find a job, it might not be very well paid but there are employment opportunities.

sallysimmons

I hate rioting and violence. But I must admit that I have sympathy for their argument. I grew up in the 70s in England and was entitled to a full grant for my education. My family wasn't deprived but they certainly didn't have the money to pay for an education for me. No one in my family had ever gone to college and none of my cousins did. I was the first and I don't think I would have done it if I hadn't been able to get a grant. I don't think I would have had the courage or self-confidence to take out that amount of debt so I would have drifted into some job with no sense of direction.

I still had to pay for living expenses and books, and to do that I worked as a cleaner in the local school every weekday, so it wasn't a walk in the park, but my life would be so much worse if I hadn't had that wonderful opportunity. I will always be grateful for it and I wonder if the country won't lose out now that the opportunity is denied to other kids like me.

If they need money, I'd rather see them tax those people on the back end. Raise taxes on the wealthiest people and they will pay for that education - only when they can afford it.

cheers

I'm looking at Abbey Road Webcam. Rain and wind and umbrellas flying today!

islandwoman120

Yes,it was raining buckets earlier - the sun just peeped out, here in Purley. But the wind is still blowing strongly. Oh well, tomorrow is another day! I was planning a bus excursion to a nearby town to buy some shoes, but the thought of taking a double decker in the early morning wind and rain was more than I could fathom. I have no idea how the bus drivers keep calm in weather like there was this morning.

dunroving

The difference between the 70s and now is that back then, 10% of school leavers attended university, whereas now it's almost 50% (over 50% in Scotland, where Scottish students don't have to pay a penny).

It's simply not feasible to offer cheap or free higher education to such a large section of society, especially now that "... there is no money - good luck!" (to quote Liam Byrne, outgoing Deputy Chancellor)