Nice People Thread Part 9 - and so it continues

zagubov

I've never felt happy living more than 10 minutes from a station. I'm about 7 minutes from my nearest.

I used to live on a train network area so unreliable you didn't worry about whether you were a couple of minutes late as the train would often be even later.

The current line I live near is so reliable that if you're even a minute late forget it! The station's empty about 2 muinutes before the train arrives then in the last minute the platform floods with all the locals like a slightly uncoordinated flashmob.:cool:

silvercar

There is a smart phone app, so you can see if the train is running late.

Doozergirl

lostinrates wrote: »

150 k doesn't seem that bad. Roofers they need to speak to doozer's, who did part of my roof very inexpensively.

I'd add up how much we have spent so far but pastures would drive up here and chase me Around the county with a big stick yelling posh alert posh alert posh alert. And frankly I'm a little tired this morning.

Your house is genuinely the most broken of the broken. I'm sure you had a number in your head that wasn't very small when you purchased the wreckstoration. The cheese room was a sizeable and unconverted farm building; so you'd expect a cost akin to a rebuild.

I'm very surprised at a potential cost of £150k to be spent on a house where the potential buyer doesn't already expect that. I'd love to see the house and the surveyor's report! There's some bargaining to be done there. It's hard to spend that amount without the house being a)huge b)extended c)converted d)new build - in other words, massive and visibly screwed or not actually existing in it's future state.

Nothing like being chased with a stick to liven one up a bit if you're feelling tired!

SingleSue

zagubov wrote: »

I've never felt happy living more than 10 minutes from a station. I'm about 7 minutes from my nearest.

I used to live on a train network area so unreliable you didn't worry about whether you were a couple of minutes late as the train would often be even later.

The current line I live near is so reliable that if you're even a minute late forget it! The station's empty about 2 muinutes before the train arrives then in the last minute the platform floods with all the locals like a slightly uncoordinated flashmob.:cool:

We have a station approx 5 mins away, it's only a stop rather than a station (not manned, no shelter, no ticket machine etc) but it is blooming handy for us villagers to get into the next door town or the big town up the road.

LydiaJ

misskool wrote: »

18min walk = 5 min cycle? buy a cheapie and lock it at the station. 5 mins means you won't get sweaty either

This is what I was thinking. But then I am in the process of persuading myself I should be cycling to work myself (2.6 miles direct or 3.3 miles via DD's school, which is what I'd have to do.)

PasturesNew

LydiaJ wrote: »

This is what I was thinking. But then I am in the process of persuading myself I should be cycling to work myself (2.6 miles direct or 3.3 miles via DD's school, which is what I'd have to do.)

The school bus used to have a cut off of 3 miles. From age 11 kids would have to walk along unlit country roads without pavements for 3 miles to/from school each day. In most villages they'd measure to the house, not the bus stop - meaning half the kids that'd use the bus stop would get a bus pass, the others (with the same distance except a couple of yards) would have to walk, so they were just under the 3 mile limit because there was only one bus stop in the village and they lived the wrong side of it.

It's not undoable!

Doozergirl

michaels wrote: »

Who do NP use for phone/broadband.:(

I've just saved us a fortune by cancelling the lot. We don't use the landline at all, haven't for years and I resent paying for it. The grown ups have singing dancing phone contracts and we can tether the laptop/PC to a phone with no problems in connection.

I have something called tracking numbers for work. I pay 99p a month and 3p a minute for calls in. They are landline numbers that divert to where-ever I want them to - ie. the mobiles. Most people call the mobiles once they have them.

DS has given up his XBox so all the shebang internet for that is now pointless.

And the TV. We've tried not taking the tv and wifi for granted and figured out that life is fine without it.

If it doesn't work, I can go somewhere nice and new with cashback but still have saved a couple of months line rentals. Can't lose.

michaels

Doozergirl wrote: »

I've just saved us a fortune by cancelling the lot. We don't use the landline at all, haven't for years and I resent paying for it. The grown ups have singing dancing phone contracts and we can tether the laptop/PC to a phone with no problems in connection.

With all the steel in the extension our data signal is too weak here to be of use. Plus we watch most of our TV via BB (all subscription free) so do 100s of GB (TBs?) of data per month which I think would upset most 'unlimited' mobile data providers. But it is probably true that we only have the landline for my parents to call us, calls to 0845 and so that DW can use 18185 when her 5000 minutes per month on the mobile provide insufficient....and of course because you have to have one to have broadband.

Edit: Oh dear, as DW and the kids headed off to church at 9 this morning I said I would get up and cut the grass before the rain got here. After catching a few more winks and a leisurely bath and breakfast I was just about to go and get the lawn mower out and it has started raining

zagubov

Doozergirl wrote: »

I've just saved us a fortune by cancelling the lot. We don't use the landline at all, haven't for years and I resent paying for it. The grown ups have singing dancing phone contracts and we can tether the laptop/PC to a phone with no problems in connection.

I have something called tracking numbers for work. I pay 99p a month and 3p a minute for calls in. They are landline numbers that divert to where-ever I want them to - ie. the mobiles. Most people call the mobiles once they have them.

DS has given up his XBox so all the shebang internet for that is now pointless.

And the TV. We've tried not taking the tv and wifi for granted and figured out that life is fine without it.

If it doesn't work, I can go somewhere nice and new with cashback but still have saved a couple of months line rentals. Can't lose.

Got DD a capped contract, but otherwise we're all on PAYG. Talkmobile is as cheap as chips for a once-in-a-blue-moon user like me. Use the house wifi or The Cloud or whatever (if I'm out).

If there was an android app that finds hotspots I'd be keen on it.
A lot of good telly's on the web but watching programmes as a family on a lappy would be too much like trying to enjoy an art gallery by looking through its letterbox.;)

We looked into getting talktalk but the telly eats into the broadband speed and everyone we know who has it seem to be struggling to run multiple gadgets on it.

Virgin 3-in-1 package was okay but getting pricy. I contacted them to discuss leaving for talktalk and they put me on their cheapest tariff: free weekend landline calls (Sat/Sun) and a free Tivo box. V fast broadband wifi- (I remember we all tested our speeds a few threads back). Saved money and got a lot better service. Oh yeah and they gave us a better hub than the one we already owned.

chewmylegoff

PasturesNew wrote: »

Needed, or does that include their extensive wish list from watching too many house programs?

I'm not actually sure whether that's the total they'd have to spend to make the house not fall down or including internal cosmetic refurb, but either way it's money they don't have.