soulhalshall
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Post by soulhalshall on Sept 16, 2020 8:30:45 GMT
Great topic and some excellent picks. Two questions for 2 of you; soulhalsal, what do you do that has allowed you to live in such a variety of places? I was a teacher and running away from UK. Left Cambridge in 2012 for a year between Amiens and Paris, then two years at a school on the Montenegrin coast then almost five years in Athens. My wife is from County Cork and she ended up feeling she wanted our children closer to their grandparents we moved here.
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cambcam
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Post by cambcam on Sept 16, 2020 9:19:16 GMT
Obviously Cambridge isn't allowed in the rules but it is a genuinely amazing place to live. Maybe we get a bit blaisè to it or whatever but its truly stunning. I've done the tourist thing recently on dates with one or two with guys from outside the area and it helped me appreciate it through the eyes of an outsider. Andrew You talk about getting blasé about Cambridge - you are right, it’s very easy to do. Cambridge is a fabulous place and there is hardly anywhere to compare. Pre-Covid life evolved to mean I/we were spending about 40% of the time away from Cambridge with the opportunity to increase that if desired, but it’s when you spend time away you really appreciate just how special this place is. Sure larger cities have a bigger buzz, and smaller places can seem less pressured, but for a place of this size there’s nowhere else to touch it and you can’t wait to get back. That said, as fabulous as the city is, the County of Cambridgeshire is lost on me. Cambridge itself is a fantastic oasis, but if you love the outdoors the county falls desperately short. I guess that’s a craving that has to be met elsewhere. One last thing about Cambridge and what you take for granted - the weather. When you spend time away you appreciate just how warm and dry (relatively speaking of course) the weather is here. You don’t have to travel too far for temperatures to drop 4 or 5 degrees and in a country with a fairly cool climate anyway those 4 or 5 degrees can make a big difference. Relentless rain can be very demoralising and we are very fortunate here in that sense too. Who knows what the future holds but will in all likelihood spend an increasing amount of time away, but wouldn’t ever not have a base here. Cambridge is far too special for that.
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Post by Russ Greaves on Sept 16, 2020 14:06:17 GMT
Rome, Barcelona & Budapest.
But I could just as easily name another three and be happy with my choices!
For a long while I had this ill-conceived idea that you had to travel further afield than Europe to really see the world. I think I figured a £9.99 Ryanair flight could never take you anywhere worth going. I’m so glad I corrected my thinking.
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TallPaddy
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Post by TallPaddy on Sept 16, 2020 14:42:03 GMT
Great topic and some excellent picks. Two questions for 2 of you; soulhalsal, what do you do that has allowed you to live in such a variety of places? I was a teacher and running away from UK. Left Cambridge in 2012 for a year between Amiens and Paris, then two years at a school on the Montenegrin coast then almost five years in Athens. My wife is from County Cork and she ended up feeling she wanted our children closer to their grandparents we moved here. Wow just realised how nosy that sounds. Apologies. Would move to county Cork in a shot but already out of my leauge for somewhere on the sw coast. There's a place on the colla Rd in schull that I think might be the best house in the world. My first summer without a trip to Ireland for years. A bit rubbish.
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soulhalshall
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Post by soulhalshall on Sept 16, 2020 16:31:35 GMT
I was a teacher and running away from UK. Left Cambridge in 2012 for a year between Amiens and Paris, then two years at a school on the Montenegrin coast then almost five years in Athens. My wife is from County Cork and she ended up feeling she wanted our children closer to their grandparents we moved here. Wow just realised how nosy that sounds. Apologies. Would move to county Cork in a shot but already out of my leauge for somewhere on the sw coast. There's a place on the colla Rd in schull that I think might be the best house in the world. My first summer without a trip to Ireland for years. A bit rubbish. No need to apologise, I'm hardly reluctant to divulge information! We live on Shanagarry within view of the sea and love it here but we are some way from being able to own a house around here, in demand with good reason.
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Post by scooterboy on Sept 17, 2020 19:50:22 GMT
If we are classing the UK as geographically being Europe I found Sheffield to be a great city.My daughter spent 4 years at the uni of and in that time we explored the city. It has many open spaces such as various parks and the Botanical Gardens, there is a scenic walk from the city to Forge Dam which is a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours. It has a lot of Victorian and Edwardian architecture and Kelham island is worth a visit. I’m not a great one for shopping but her indoors seemed happy with the shops I found checking out the pubs more interesting 😉. Throw in the history of the city and the music scene which obviously gave us the likes of Pulp, Artic Monkeys and Richard Hawley I think Sheffield ain’t half bad
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Denton
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Post by Denton on Sept 17, 2020 20:49:47 GMT
Gdansk - last minute decision to go based on a return flight being £14 and a 5 star hotel being £40 for 3 nights, seemed a no brainer and its a proper old little city with a few towns a short train ride away. Get the feeling its a beach vacation for the russians in the summer but lovely little winter city, Uber also works out disgustingly cheap out there
Prague - Went for a stag & went with the other half. So much stuff to do but lots of football saw a game at Slavia Prague for £7 and on the stag went to a 11am KO in their 3rd division cost me 80p to get in. Also has my favorite beer garden overlooking the entire city which sells very cheap local beer
Edinburgh - only went there two weeks ago as a lockdown staycation, don't think it gets the credit it deserves because it makes Cambridge look like a toilet. I suspect if the weather was better it would be a European hotspot but it pissed it down the entire time I was there and that was August.
Shout outs to Venice, Berlin & Athens Commiserations to Budapest, Milan & Turin
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cambcam
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Post by cambcam on Sept 18, 2020 12:08:04 GMT
Edinburgh - only went there two weeks ago as a lockdown staycation, don't think it gets the credit it deserves because it makes Cambridge look like a toilet. I suspect if the weather was better it would be a European hotspot but it pissed it down the entire time I was there and that was August. Great shout about Edinburgh. Stockbridge is one of the nicest districts of any city, anywhere. If the weather was decent there would be nowhere better to live. Bit harsh on the comparisons with Cambridge though. The University and most things that are a by-product of it here are magnificent, but admitted the actual area is relatively small with the rest of the city standard urban sprawl. Edinburgh and Stockbridge in particular reminds me of the best of Cambridge but on a much larger scale. Pretty sure you wouldn’t have to dig too deeply to see the other side of Edinburgh too, but I guess that’s the same everywhere.
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shubs
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Post by shubs on Sept 18, 2020 19:12:18 GMT
Big shout out for Madrid. I spent 2 years working there many years ago. Absolutely fantastic bars and restaurants, unbelievable climate and really friendly, laid back people. Some beautiful parks and pools too. Proper 3 course menus at the swimming pools with beer and wine on tap. Not a hint of Bovril and Wagon Wheels!
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Post by St Neots U on Sept 19, 2020 18:39:37 GMT
Copenhagen, Tallinn (before cheap stag flights), Budapest.
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soulhalshall
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Post by soulhalshall on Sept 19, 2020 20:16:09 GMT
I had half forgotten about Tallinn, a gorgeous city centre. I went when England played there in 2006 and is was even lovely with England fans all over it.
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Post by ambernuts on Sept 20, 2020 13:51:14 GMT
Budapest, easy. Barcelona and Vienna are not far behind.
Apologies if I missed it, but no mention for Lisbon? Surprised by this as I've not heard a bad word said about it, I was due to visit there and Bilbao in earlier this year and for obvious reasons it didn't happen.
Tallinn, Gdansk and Cologne have been noted, many thanks.
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Post by champair79 on Sept 21, 2020 14:50:28 GMT
I find the Portuguese people lovely. Lisbon is definitely up there (as are the other cities in Portugal).
In no particular order (West to East maybe...) - Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Toulouse, Lyon (for the food!), Rome (try and avoid the tourist traps), Munich, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest. Honourable mentions to Istanbul (it has plenty of downsides but it’s a great mix of Europe and Asia) and any of the Scandinavian cities (certainly not cheap though!).
Closer to home, you can have a great time in Glasgow (yes, Glasgow...!), Edinburgh, Manchester, Belfast and Cardiff. However, I do miss Cambridge. I often wish I could move back there.
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soulhalshall
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Post by soulhalshall on Sept 21, 2020 19:13:47 GMT
Does depend a lot on when you go, how long for, with whom, your expectations doesn't it. I went to Budapest with a pal and for whatever reason we got into a funk and had an awful time. Neither of us are very carefree and decisive which didn't help. If you are not carefree and decisive I find it helps to go either alone or with someone with whom you can relieve that tension coitally.
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Post by kentishu on Sept 21, 2020 21:11:14 GMT
Some great responses, and makes me realise that there are many European cities that I don't really know.
Some suggestions for places that haven't been mentioned yet would be Reykjavik, and a couple of the smaller cities in Romania (Brasov and Cluj). All three have a fantastic easy going vibe, with lots going on both day and night.
On the other hand, I was disappointed with Prague, which I found unfriendly and surprisingly expensive, and I also think it's hard to like Berlin, too many ghosts still haunting the place.
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