In message , Helen Deborah
Vecht writes
Ian Jelf typed


In message , AstraVanMan
writes
Some bits of Hampstead / Highgate are nice and green, aren't they?
Yes.

Probably
quite expensive though.
Omit the word "probably".

Do you also fantasise and drool over the 'Homes' section of the 'Ham &
High' ? ;-)

No! I like Hampstead very much but wouldn't actually want to live
there (chance would be a fine thing!).

I know that I occupy a rather odd position on this newsgroup, living 130
miles from London but working there a lot but the situation really does
seem to suit me. There *are* places where I could live in London,
given the financial means but Hampstead isn't one of them. (The City
or Bankside certainly are, as are some riverside properties between Kew
and Hampton Court or one of those fabulous 1930s mansions just north of
Stanmore Station.)

But the value of my place here in the Midlands wouldn't even get me a
terraced house in Bethnal Green or the Elephant and Castle.

I'm getting married next year and my wife to be even asked me recently
whether I fancied going to London for a while (she was getting fed up
with her job and we were in a "new chapter" mood). But when we sat
down and weighed up the pros and cons, we felt that we couldn't get
ourselves the *quality* of life that we enjoy up here and - as I can get
to London with relative ease when I have to - the drop in standards and
disposable income wasn't worth having.

If only they'd extend the Jubilee Line to Birmingham! :-))
--
Ian Jelf, MITG, Birmingham, UK
Registered "Blue Badge" Tourist Guide for
London & the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk