Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

SingleSue

Pyxis wrote: »

I must admit that it wasn't that long ago that I discovered that on some lines you could get on a train from oop north somewhere and travel to London, then cross London without leaving the train.

(I can't remember which line it was, but maybe the bedpan one).

What an improvement on travelling into a mainline London station then having to struggle with luggage across London on the tube, or get a taxi, to another mainline station in order to travel out the other side.

We still have to do the struggle of getting off and then making our way across via tube, taxi or bus....and boy do we moan about it!

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

In 1970 my parents moved from a council house to buying one.

25 years later they retired/moved away from the area.

With hindsight, their alternative lives could've been:

- buy the council house, stay there forever, sell 40 years later and sell for £320k
- buy the private house, stay there forever, sell 40 years later and sell for £290k

Unfortunately, the route they went down ended up to sell for £190k.

If they'd stayed in the council house and just bought it, we'd have been "£130k better off" 40 years later.

I know the feeling!
When I moved from a London suburb to my present home 30-odd years ago, the price differential between that house and my present one wasn't a huge amount., about £3000 (30years ago). Now, though, it is a massive £130k.

However, inflation erodes some of that, plus I got more house for my money, plus, although the area I moved from was very nice indeed, my quality of life improved with the move, for various reasons.

Besides which, unless you are seriously downsizing, or looking to inherit, any big increase in value is academic!

Pastures, were your parents happy with both their moves? Did the moves improve their lives? If yes, and I guess it was yes, given the time they spent in the properties, then I suppose that's worth every penny of the price differential.

LydiaJ

ivyleaf wrote: »

Well, that's true, but I'm at the stage where I should theoretically prefer it a bit cooler, but I don't

So am I, and I don't either.

michaels wrote: »

NSFW but very funny imho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zrLq6zW3UI

PN I have no idea if you mind the suggestions or not but know sometimes I am looking for empathy rather than answers.

On my training course as a widows' befriender, we were told to empathise first. Once the person is feeling heard and understood, we can offer suggestions, but always along the lines of "I wonder if X would work for you?" or "I found Y helped me" or "Would you consider Z, perhaps?" and never ever "You should..." anything.

SingleSue wrote: »

James has got through to round 3 in one of his graduate scheme applications....this is for a major software company that if successful, would see him in America this time next year.

So far, he is one of 3 put through the next round.

:j:j:j:beer::beer::beer::T:T:T
Well done James, and good luck in the next round.

GDB2222

The mutt is lying under my desk breathing really rather fast and looking unhappy. On the other hand, she made it up the two flights of stairs to the top floor okay.

I have a dental appointment in an hour, but I'll take her to the vet after that. But, what if the vet thinks it's serious? We are quite attached to her.

Pyxis

Pastures, that was a bummer, moving nearer work, then finding work moves nearer where you used to be!

What about their last move, on retirement? Was that good for them?

PasturesNew

GDB2222 wrote: »

We are quite attached to her.

This is the thing with mutts.... no mutt will ever live longer than human life spans... so it's part of what you accept the day you meet them.

.... and, what if the mutt's OK, but the dentist might spot something and refer you to the Hospital .... and the mutt might still outlive you!

PasturesNew

People and decisions/choices are complex.... and, often, you can only work out if something was best/not 20-40 years afterwards... not when you're living it, but after you've lived through the outcome.

If you ever have to make a decision, listen to the advice of people who have lived through and out the other side of that ... not those currently doing it, or those who dream of doing it.

Pyxis

GDB2222 wrote: »

The mutt is lying under my desk breathing really rather fast and looking unhappy. On the other hand, she made it up the two flights of stairs to the top floor okay.

I have a dental appointment in an hour, but I'll take her to the vet after that. But, what if the vet thinks it's serious? We are quite attached to her.

I know.

Don't worry, though, as the sooner something is addressed, the greater the likelihood of it being dealt with.

If she's only just started breathing fast, the chances are that whatever it is can be dealt with quickly.

ivyleaf

SingleSue wrote: »

We still have to do the struggle of getting off and then making our way across via tube, taxi or bus....and boy do we moan about it!

Same here, but we keep being told how great it will be once Crossrail reaches our borough - only it won't make an atom of difference to us, as the station it's coming to isn't ours, and is awkward to get to from where we are and it will actually still be less hassle, or at any rate no more hassle, to go via central London..
We don't have the Tube here either, just buses and commuter trains.

Brilliant news from James, Sue :T Wishing him the very best


We've been starting to think lately about moving at some point; we've been here 33.5 years and our neighbours on one side (the side that's not attached to us) have been here even longer. They are now 91 and 82 and housebound. Their daughter still lives at home, but I would think that when her parents die or have to go into care homes she may well want to move to somewhere like a flat. We are very fond of all three of them. If they're not here any more, I don't think we will want to be here either really, but we are a bit stuck, as it's a shared ownership house and needs a lot of repairs atm, which we can't afford. We don't have a mortgage any more, and the rent is very reasonable.

So if we moved, we'd have to rent. We looked at Eastbourne area as we really like it, but rents are very high, not surprisingly. But as has been said, often an area like that is far from ideal when you get older, and you don't always realise.

OH grew up on the coast though, and I was born there (not the same place, but on the coast) though I've moved around a lot, but we both miss the sea.

PasturesNew

Surprise, mystery and family history: http://www.fox5ny.com/news/253568117-story

A couple found a glass topped casket in their garden, containing the body of a preserved child.... so they set out to find who she was. They identified her.

The houses had been built on an old burial ground and all the graves were relocated, but she'd been left behind. She'd been buried in 1876.