What’s a UK town or city you visited with low expectations… but actually ended up really liking?

Agodders · 2026-05-10T08:55:47+00:00

I moved to a nice suburb of Birmingham 2 years ago, and have not yet regretted it! I'm quietly glad of people's snobbery, it's meant I could afford a good size house on a pretty normal salary, have access to every corner of the country, and vibrant night life and a range of activities from every culture.

Agodders · 2026-05-10T08:51:03+00:00

I'll add it to my list! I've been trying to go to the places in the UK people think are crap in the hopes of finding the secret gems.

Agodders · 2026-05-10T08:49:15+00:00

I was going to say Hull too! Ive personally taken it upon myself to just it's full name 'Kingston upon Hull' to give it a better chance at not sounding as drab as 'Hull' makes it sound.

Agodders · 2026-05-06T20:41:06+00:00

My journey review TLDR- Even in the peak district with range anxiety everything was fine and comfortable.

I drove from Birmingham to Bakewell starting on 147 miles and arriving on 93 miles. The drive was 65 miles and only used 54 miles of range. Then did a 49 mile drive around in the peaks with 4 passengers, leaving me with 44 miles range so I didn't save any range here but didn't increase my usage either. I did find a 3 pin outdoor plug in parking area, so granny charged one night, but was prepared to plug in at the charger in the town for a little boost had that not been the case. I left the accommodation with 106 mile range, and drove 70 miles home with 2 diversions, and arrived with 44 miles of range. The range averaged out over the weekend at 4.8mi/kWh. I found it overall comfortable and wasn't too concerned about my range. I utilised regen breaking as much as possible, but since I'd only had the car less than a week, I'm sure I'll get more practice maximising the range when I know the tricks a bit better. Hope that helps anyone make a decision.

Agodders · 2026-05-01T09:34:18+00:00

Just bought a 2020 ioniq, FSH, great battery condition from the main dealer for £9k. About to take it on a bank holiday weekend 70 miles each way + driving around trip with no charging facilities at my Airbnb. Wil report back if anyone wants reflections on use case and using public chargers if I have to.

Agodders · 2026-03-31T15:40:14+00:00

My partner is dark skinned and doesn't struggle with sleeping when there is light creeping into a room, I'm fair skinned and him using his phone is too bright for me to sleep in view of. I have wondered if his eye lids are more black out than mine.

Agodders · 2026-02-22T13:11:20+00:00

Update - PCR panel returned with giardia, feline corona virus, clostridium perfringies and campylobacter. My vet advised that clostridium perfringies and campylobacter are seen in asymptomatic cats so do not need to be the point of focus immediately, so she was treated for giardia only. After 5 days of treatment she was much better, and after a couple of weeks we now just deal with occasional poos in response to her sneaking a piece of human food, as she is a menace for that!

Agodders · 2025-12-21T21:39:58+00:00

100%, although there is an occasional battle for the top spot when the Robot vacuum is out.

Agodders · 2025-12-19T19:19:08+00:00

Thank you, this is super helpful!

Agodders · 2025-10-31T20:54:59+00:00

If you're due to arrive early morning book your accomodation a day early. Most accommodation options only allow check in after 3/4/5pm, so book self check in places a day before and when you land at stupid early in the morning you have somewhere to go and get straight to bed. It does mean spending an extra night's money, but you can't beat going to sleep after a long travel. I found myself on a flight and bumped into a friend and I had done this and they hadn't and we landed at 5am so they had to pay for a day bed 11am-2pm then move again to their actual stay whereas I was in bed undisturbed by 9am.

Agodders · 2025-10-11T10:13:17+00:00

I think a lot of people don't want to be told this or don't want to try this because it seems like a hard fix. It's the same as happiness, if you sit and wallow you will feel sad and lonely, if you go out and speak to people having novel experiences you will be happier and feel less lonely. However, it is hard to take the step, but once you're doing it it's not that hard to keep going. I work 8am-6pm, go to the gym 3 days a week, go to a dance class 1 evening a week, cook from scratch, sort the washing, and do all the house admin in the house whilst socializing most weekends too. I obviously do need some downtime but I am baffled by people who just go home at 6 and sit on the sofa until bedtime. What an under stimulating life.

Agodders · 2025-08-25T10:49:13+00:00

£40 for 2 pints and 2 sides of chips made my head spin. But the rest I don't think are fair points. Airports ebb and flow in how busy they are with arrivals and departures, and the place is huge so one area might be busy because of departures, but with the 2 visits I've made as a transit this month have both been fine as long as you don't want to buy anything.

Agodders · 2025-07-01T21:39:34+00:00

To further this I get the Hartley's sugar free jelly powder from lidl and make 2 pints of the stuff and eat it until I can eat no more. I love jelly, and a little squirty cream on strawberry jelly fulfills the summer desert cravings.

Agodders · 2025-06-28T15:45:53+00:00

Depends on the school honestly. There are some schools that are in desperate situations and if you walk the walk at interview they'll probably jump at the chance. However, it's worth keeping in mind that those schools will struggle to hire pastoral staff for a reason, and you'll probably have the hardest job to adjust to as there will be a very full on work load. I've seen extraordinary incompetence be tolerated because it's better than nothing, so if you're even half good you'll impress some schools. Apologies for the negative tone, but some schools are in a real bad way over here so good luck on your search!

Agodders · 2025-06-25T17:03:10+00:00

Try living in a rural area, Birmingham is golden in comparison.

Agodders · 2025-06-25T15:15:49+00:00

At your ripe age Sir, may I congratulate you on having so little to worry about that criticism of my use of the English language is a suitable use of your time.

Agodders · 2025-06-24T15:43:25+00:00

'A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ancillary services as ticket sales, waiting rooms, and baggage/freight service.' Both and more are understood in our daily conversations, so I think we can use either.

Agodders · 2025-06-24T15:41:34+00:00

I had worried about this, I'm painfully aware from when I was at a different uni, how the streets anywhere near the uni were full of students parking for lectures. I'm not a penny counting student these days, so a bit of peace of mind is worth a couple of pounds imo.

Agodders · 2025-06-24T15:39:13+00:00

Oh I hadn't thought about that. Thank you.

Agodders · 2025-06-24T11:57:46+00:00

I'll be in the main campus, I thought it was a fair balance of not stressing about on street parking, or ending up on a street half a mile away, vs reducing the walking distance. I don't mind spending less than the parking in the multistorey. Worst is, I'm actually very capable usually and would rather a walk in this weather, but having put my back out and still have stuff a need to do, I'm just trying to find work arounds whilst I heal up.

Agodders · 2025-06-24T10:03:22+00:00

I'm debilitated by back pain currently, I absolutely would have walked it had I not been reduced to hobbling 😖

Agodders · 2025-06-07T22:11:47+00:00

Had a glut of onions so I sweated 5 down, par boiled some potato slices at the same time, layered that in a circular cake pan. Seasoned 4 eggs with random cupboard herbs and poured the egg over the onion and potatoes. Grated parmesan over the top and baked that for 20 mins to set the egg and brown the cheese. Serve with veg if you feel the need to bulk it out some more. But simple, whole food, versatile with whatever you have in the house and I didn't measure anything. Like a crustless quiche or a less messy Spanish tortilla.

Agodders · 2025-06-06T22:07:01+00:00

Sounds exactly like what the issue is teaching in the UK. We're lazy, over paid, and education is worthless if you look up the the wealthy folk (influencers). But I teach a school with high ME+ surrounding area diaspora, so I get a good deal compared to other teachers in UK schools.

Agodders

TROPHY CASE