Misconceptions about where you live

I think HH is giving MK a run for its money now the new Ski Centre is open - its fab! (And plus - we have pavements...? ?)

I live in Jersey and much as WifeyLind said about our sister island Guernsey the general perception is that we're a bunch of millionaires clinging to a rock. This just isn't true. The fact of the matter is that whilst we do have a few millionaires about the place the vast majority of us are normal hard working people trying to earn enough money to cope with the exorbitant cost of living that we have over here. Also we definitely don't drive around in burgundy Truimph Roadsters - Bergerac style. Neither do we speak French - yes we're independant of the United Kingdom and have our own laws and government but we have an alligence to the Crown so are British.

That aside it is a beautiful beautiful Island and though it does have it's problems generally it's a pretty safe place to be. We have stunning beaches, gorgeous countryside, great pubs and restaurants (from the shack down by the harbour serving bacon butties all the way up to Michelin starred restaurants in town).

It's not perfect but it's my home and my island i'm very proud to be from Jersey and don't intend on moving away any time soon. ?

wow small world!

I went to Willingdon (both primary and secondary) was at the secondary 90-95. what about you?

I must admit it has changed quite a bit in the last few years - certainly a lot more cosmopolitan!

You must remember the airshow every year with the red arrows etc?! Its' still going, and on in fact the week after next - I remember being a wee tot and going down to watch it with the folks...

I might pop in there at the weekend, it's a stone's throw from my parents.

Mrs SW - I live in walton ! whereabouts are you? I'm just off County Rd.

Sometimes I think I should move, but its just so convenient for everything and we have so much going on in the area.

We prob will move at some point, but only because we want a garden.

I'm from Northern Ireland, so have had to deal with the usual comments about terrorism (one American asked me if we had bombs going off in our school yard - em, no) or strangers who think that after asking where I'm from the next question has to be "Oh, what religion are you?". Then I moved to Dublin city centre, a part that 14 years ago when I moved there was starting to be developed but looked a bit rough around the edges. My mum took a little convincing that I wasn't going to be attacked walking home every evening but it was a great place. Close to shops, parks, restaurants, the river, work, a nice pub up the road and a chipper across from us that would batter whatever chocolate bar you wanted, including curly wurlies and creme eggs - what more could you want? Well, maybe not the battered curly wurlies and creme eggs.

I now live in Wicklow, so most of the time people comment on how beautiful they think it is which is nice. Some people ask about the commute, thinking I must have to leave at the crack of dawn every morning (really it's not that different to the time it would take if I lived in a Dublin suburb) and one person seems to think there's nothing in Wicklow except mountains and can't understand why I'd want to live there.

It is brilliant. But then I'm a big kid and just like the way that because its painted with that funny irredescent paint the building changes colour as you drive past. Can't be far from me then, I'm in Apsley.

What SC99 said about Birmingham.

I live in the Black Country, and yes, it does have it's rough spots, and there is a lot of industrial stuff here still, but it's not a complete cultural wasteland, and it's very close to some lovely countryside. There's a lot of creativity in the area, e.g. there's been something of a resurgence in small-scale glass-making over the past few years as the big crystal manufacturers have closed down.

I think my biggest bugbear is the assumption that anyone with a Brummie/Black Country accent is a bit thick though - it's sooo not the case.

That it is an okay place to live because it is culturally diverse, parks, erm hats etc. No. It is a sh1thole. It's best feature (the one touted in all the tourist stuff) is that it has a major airport and great links to London (so that you can escape quickly). I can idly count that there have been about 5 murders within a mile of our home within the last five years. And I live in a 'nice' bit of town.

I don't even know what people think when they think of leeds. that we all wear clogs and shawls? keep a whippet? use the bath tub to store coal? speak like mel b?

please post your leeds stereotypes here and i'll try and contradict them ?

I live in Dudley and um nope sorry nothing good about it.

I live in between Highbury and Finsbury Park. People therefore tend to think of football and Abu Hamza ? Actually lots of people I meet have never heard of Finsbury Park and mistake it for Finsbury (in the City) and assume Finsbury Park is a super-smart bit of it. Dim.

Actually it's typical London- a complete mix. Quite a lot of petty crime, bit grotty in parts but also v multicultural, amazing food (from North African, Turkish and West Indian shops to the best cheese shop and butcher in London), great parks (Finsbury and Clissold), amazing transport (I can be at Oxford Circus in 20 minutes, City 30 minutes). It's where you move to if you're a young couple living in Islington proper in a 2 bed flat and decide to have kids but don't have £2m for a big house and garden in N1 or EC1 ? Lots of young professionals living next door to pensioners who came over on the Windrush- it's about as varied and diverse as I can imagine a place in Britain being.

My ex's sister and her H used to live in Camberwell in a building they called the tower, wasn't a tower block, probably about 4 floors high if that and round in shape, anyway, I always liked it.

I live in a little village between Spalding and Kings Lynn (about 15min drive from each) I guess people would say I'm now a country bumpkin and it's true, there are fields for miles which I love, the village has a post office, butchers, hairdressers, church, garage, village hall and a little shop and it's lovely, yes the average age is about 80 but everyone is friendly, the couple that run the shop know practically everyone on a first name basis but that doesn't mean that everyone knows your business.

I'm also not far from Peterborough or Lincoln, and they have plenty of the bigger shops, bars, clubs if I want them.

I think that Spalding may get a rough ride, mainly because of the huge polish community we have here but saying that they are the people who are willing to go out and work the land so they do have some importance here. We have a tulip parade every year as the area is known as South Holland which attracts people from far and wide.

We are also not far from Hunstanton which is a lovely beach, Skegness isn't too far away either but it's too touristy for us and we like to go to a quieter beach.

I think in the next year or so I may actually move into Spalding but for now, I'm happy where we are.

I live in solihull which seems to have a reputation of being posh. Well our bit isn't - we are just over the border from Birmingham. Just means that the house prices tend to be a bit inflated to account for the postcode iyswim.

I am from Wednesbury which is in the Black Country - I love it there. People talk properly for a start ? and are [generally] very friendly.

Oh and people from the black country are not all thick - and we don't live on faggots and gray peas. Altho they can be very nice sometimes ?

Lenny Henry went to the college I used to work at - not for long tho ?

I live in Northampton. It's a non-town - I dont think people really think about it, let alone take the time to bother thinking up misconceptions about it.

We are in a bit of a black hole here, it's just a place that has a good train link to london.

We have some nice countryside. But we have high house prices, not much work, a declining town centre.

I don't like it here - someone please save me.

For the people who live in Jersy & Guernsey, you mentioned millionaires, are any of them single? ?

Can't quite remember the quote, but it was to do with cleaning up all the grafitti and was something like "In Leeds, we like our concrete grey"

Oh and London is about 1hr 10 on the train, house prices are quite high, the local papers blame that on people moving out of London, and buying up here but I guess thats the same everywhere.

Anna Belle, I was watching 8 out of 10 cats the other night and I'm sure it was mentioned that someone had recorded a song about Northampton...random point I know.

As has been said people assume you're a rich tax dodger if you live here! I wish ?

Guernsey is lovely and fairly safe, but it's expensive to travel off island and there aren't loads of things to do like you would have in a bigger area.

never heard that one ?

i wouldn't have thought of the stereotypical leeds being grey concrete. red brick maybe...

MrH went to Leeds for the first time Friday and said he saw 4 shoplifters beign chased in 20 minutes and half the shops were boarded up/ had smashed windows. So he wasn't too impressed ?

i don't think i've ever lived anywhere which had misconceprtions that weren't in fact, true. Not sure I've lived anywhere which has negative connatations though- Oxford, Pimlico, St Albans.

Actuyally I lie. I spent 8 months in harlesden which is knwon for being gang land central which it IS.

I never uinderstand londoners fascination with being near the tube (in fact i don't think it is a Londoners fascination, but a fasinaction for those who haved moved to London recently from other places)The tube isn't that great and unless you zooming between a few stops in Zone 1 is not faster than national rail, or some some cases, a bus. they go right round the houses.

Zooropa ....I used to love going to JB's in Dudley before it moved to near the zoo.

Ahh the good old days...5 cans of Special Vat and dancing on a sticky floor to The Smiths, such happy times.

Maybe I was thinking of Sheffield ? ?

I live in Sheffield. I suppose people may consider Sheffield to be a grim, depressing industrial city. All closed down factories, steel and the Full Monty!

Those people would be wrong. Sheffield is a wonderful, vibrant, multi-cultural city. It is also the greenest City in Europe.

Sheffield has undergone massive redevelopment over the last few years and the majority of the city centre is stunning. The station and entry to the city has been totally redeveloped, there are loads of fountains and fab public spaces. We also have the Winter Garden, Europe's largest glass house (I think) and we currently have our version of the London Eye (only smaller).

There are tons of bars and restaurants, 2 Universities so lots of student activity and one of the biggest bonuses.....it is right on the edge of the Peak District. From my house it takes me 10 mins to get into the city centre and 15 mins the other way to get into the Peak District. We have the best of both worlds.

I love living here and can't imagine living anywhere else. Sheffield is fab ?

Now this might be a controversial one but ... Crawley (otherwise known as Creepy Crawley in the airline industry)

Good shops (really good shops), regular trains in to London, easy to get to South coast, easy drive and you are in countryside, not far to travel to Gatwick / Heathrow. It really was quite a good place ot live.

We live in a village on the outskirts of Chelmsford which when we say where it is, every one says 'oh xxxxx is a lovely village, very pretty etc' which part of it is, there is a lovely village green, with duck pond, some very old houses and a lovely old church.... except Chelmsford Borough Council had a crap idea of building a hideous house style council estate on the back of it and unfortunately its the bit we live in - ours is one of the few lovely old houses left on the estate, the council houses just look odd mixed in with the older houses left, not sure what the planning officer was thinking at the time

There is a gang of teenagers who live just round the corner - their house backs onto our garden, and they are outside (mostly outside our house) smoking drinking, racing around on mini motorbikes, swearing, kicking up and throwing all the stones off our drive till about midnight, a few weeks ago when it was really warm and we had all the windows open a couple of them were trying to have races on mini quad bikes right out side and one of them wouldnt start properly but they kept trying till a neighbour shouted at them.. There are a lot of chaved up souped up cars which look really silly, one in particular in one of the houses across the road looks plain ridiculous

What we have seen of chelmsford so far is ok, we havent been here that long and I like the shopping there.... Our village is mostly lovely, the duck pond had some very cute ducklings in not so long ago and we are right by Hylands Park which has given us some lovely sunday afternoon walks (with ice cream) though we suspect that the weekend of the V festival our village is going to be a nightmare so we are glad we are going to be away... The essex we have seen so far isnt like Hs misconceptions of it from before we moved - except the group of chavs on our estate - H keeps going on about not seeing any white stilettos which Im sure is going to get him punched at somepoint (either by me or someone else)

I like living where we do (apart from the kids) and we like the village location - close enough to Chelmsford when needed but far enough out to avoid it the rest of the time

I live in Cardiff and have done all my life. There does seem to be misconceptions about Wales in that we are all living in little farmhouses surrounded by sheep and are a bit dim!

Cardiff is a brilliant place. There are lots of lovely restaurants and brilliant nightlife and theatre. I can be at the beach within half an hour with the Gower and Brecon Beacons within an hour. Also as Cardiff is a small city I can reach the centre of town within twenty minutes and also have countryside at the top of my road.

I agree about the shops but we really didnt like Crawley, we used to live in East Grinstead which was much much much nicer than Crawley, there was far too much concrete involved

WOW - I also went to Willingdon but 85-90. I remember the airshow yes. Also the Radio one roadshow!!!!

I love shoes - yep, it's not a pretty town I'll give you that. EG is lovely.

Ooh, we're neighbours (ish) - I'm near Turnpike Lane/Wood Green. I'm not sure what people's conceptions of it are - I think that most people outside of northeast London probably aren't aware of the area. The Guardian did a Let's Move To.... feature on Hornsey and stressed that you needed to be on the right side of the railway tracks to avoid being 'condemned' to Wood Green, so I think it's very much the poor relation of Crouch End/Muswell Hill.

I wouldn't say that I particularly like our immediate area, there aren't a lot of decent restaurants/bars etc nearby, although there are two cinemas in walking distance which is good, and I love the Turkish veg shops/bakeries on Green Lanes. But it's easy to get to Finsbury/Clissold Park which are great as KN says, and Alexandra Palace. Plus the nicer areas mentioned above are only a bus ride away, but our flat costs about half the amount that it would do if it was a mile further west ?

I live in York, my parents moved back here from Oldham when I was a baby.

I have to say that I am very lucky where I live, although I moan that the city is really geared for tourists with the Minster, Bar Walls, Railway Museum, nothing ever really happens. There is no murders, stabbings or attacks on a regular basis unlike the bigger cites close to us. If anything like that does happen then it is a novelty for the local paper.

We have lots of wine bars and restaurants, the shopping isn't bad in the city and the retail outlets outside the city.

York is a beautiful place, the only problem is its just not built for traffic and takes forever to get to places by car or bus. We are 10mins from Leeds and 2hrs from London by train and 1hr from Sheffield by car. Its not all bad "up north" ?

I live in Manchester and we don't all speak like Terry Christian or the Gallagher brothers from Oasis. Nor we we all own terraced houses which are magically bigger on the inside than they look on the outside. Coronation Street has a lot to answer for.