What happens to towns when the main employer goes under?

Davesnave

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've often wondered about getting a camper van and a garage ... only one hour ago I was looking at turtle trailers and pondering the maths:
http://www.teardroptrailerssouthwest.co.uk/page6.html

There's an ad on ebay where somebody's flogging them at £4k too.

Yeah, but there's winter........:eek:

Mary_Hartnell

Davesnave wrote: »

For the less adventurous, there's Wales.

During my travels there, I met two people who'd had relatives living undetected for years in their outbuildings. I also saw a mobile home cunningly disguised as a barn if viewed from the air. Indeed, if one examines aerial photos of the remoter parts, there seem to be quite a number of mobile homes in strange places unrelated to the tourist industry.

Of course, if you go through the 'usual channels,' you get the same old @=*~%
http://www.lammas.org.uk/ecovillage/news.htm

On balance though, I think ther climate in Oz has more going for it, particularly if you are going 'off grid' in all its senses.

I've not had time to read all this link. What is the background of these people?
"White settlers of the trustafarian hippy type" ? Have they read up on The Land Settlement Association? Have they thought out the consequences for their children?

That said growing up in a hippy bus even has got to be better than in an inner city tower block.

vivatifosi

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've often wondered about getting a camper van and a garage ... only one hour ago I was looking at turtle trailers and pondering the maths:
http://www.teardroptrailerssouthwest.co.uk/page6.html

There's an ad on ebay where somebody's flogging them at £4k too.

Did you watch the Gadget Show yesterday Pastures? They showed it on there. My DH wants one too now. That's after years of telling me how much caravans suck.

lostinrates

vivatifosi wrote: »

Did you watch the Gadget Show yesterday Pastures? They showed it on there. My DH wants one too now. That's after years of telling me how much caravans suck.

Gosh, I'd much rather a Reading van or a bowtop, even mounted on a van back, with a little wood burner myself. http://gypsywaggons.co.uk/varforsale.htm Much prettier

We've been keeping half an eye out for living options if/when we self build. We were going to go with a static but we fancy something a bit more rustic and reckon we can tough out one winter in quite spartan conditions so long as DH keeps renting for somewhere to iron shirts and hang his suits/smarter clothes and kkep them clean. That said...if we do that I expect to be whinging a lot in the months of Jan and feb!

vivatifosi

lostinrates wrote: »

Gosh, I'd much rather a Reading van or a bowtop, even mounted on a van back, with a little wood burner myself. http://gypsywaggons.co.uk/varforsale.htm Much prettier

We've been keeping half an eye out for living options if/when we self build. We were going to go with a static but we fancy something a bit more rustic and reckon we can tough out one winter in quite spartan conditions so long as DH keeps renting for somewhere to iron shirts and hang his suits/smarter clothes and kkep them clean. That said...if we do that I expect to be whinging a lot in the months of Jan and feb!

That amused me greatly. Having been told by dervish that I can't be partially of gypsy stock because I don't live in a caravan, presumably that will make you one!

lostinrates

vivatifosi wrote: »

That amused me greatly. Having been told by dervish that I can't be partially of gypsy stock because I don't live in a caravan, presumably that will make you one!

LOL, I thought that too. They are beautiful, aren't they? Sadly, too dear for us: we want the cash for the propery really.

Davesnave

Mary_Hartnell wrote: »

I've not had time to read all this link. What is the background of these people?
"White settlers of the trustafarian hippy type" ? Have they read up on The Land Settlement Association? Have they thought out the consequences for their children?

That said growing up in a hippy bus even has got to be better than in an inner city tower block.

I've no idea about who they are really. I came across them when considering a farmhouse that backs on to their proposed site. Although they looked harmless enough, I decided that as there was only one of me and rather a lot of them, I'd give it a miss. There wasn't much land attached to the farm anyway.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'consequences for their children.' From my limited observations in the area, kids seem to grow up fine in Pembrokeshire; rather better than most places, if crime figures are any indicator of rectitude. Also, we all ought to be thinking more about living in more ecologically sound ways, if our kids are to have a future.

boredandconfused

MMLS wrote: »

My family lived in Corby around that time - another town devastated by the closure of the steel works. The only place that saw a massive growth in jobs was the local DHSS and UBO (as they were then called).

Same for Worksop, dubbed the Heroin capital of Europe :eek: - to the extent a documentary was made examining the link between closure of the many surrounding pits and the rise of Heroin abuse, and was also debated in the House of Parliament thanks to our MP John Mann. Luckily we now have quite a few large companies who have relocated here and created thousands of jobs, Wilkinsons, B & Q, Tesco etc but it's still not a thriving market town as it once was.

Mary_Hartnell

Davesnave wrote: »

I'm not sure what you mean by 'consequences for their children.' From my limited observations in the area, kids seem to grow up fine in Pembrokeshire; rather better than most places, if crime figures are any indicator of rectitude. Also, we all ought to be thinking more about living in more ecologically sound ways, if our kids are to have a future.

I agree BUT can you see the world's population (circa 6.7 billion) agreeing with you? Most of them want a car, TV, ghetto blaster, fridge, washing machine, holiday,
meat to eat etc etc.........Who are we to tell them they cannot have these things.
It is all very depressing.
Pembrokeshire is rather out on a limb and teenage kids will suffer from the "its 165 mile round trip" to somewhere teenagers think ticks all the boxes for their life style,
that Pastures mentioned above.

lostinrates

Mary_Hartnell wrote: »

I agree BUT can you see the world's population (circa 6.7 billion) agreeing with you? Most of them want a car, TV, ghetto blaster, fridge, washing machine, holiday,
meat to eat etc etc.........Who are we to tell them they cannot have these things.
It is all very depressing.
Pembrokeshire is rather out on a limb and teenage kids will suffer from the "its 165 mile round trip" to somewhere teenagers think ticks all the boxes for their life style,
that Pastures mentioned above.

Alternatively, perhaps geography might end up being the making of them as they seek less vacuous sources of fulfillment in their youth, and perhps might see education as their route out if they do want all thoses things.

I know someone locally who lives in two old rust buckets of buses. I don't know them well, and nor do I seek to, but they have a daughter who is so sweet and hard working, and who spends lots of time outdoors. The main drawback as far as I can see for this family is they live alone in their buses: so the daughter is often playing alone. Later it might well be socially harder.