I have just moved to York after five long years in Manchester. My partner Geoboy landed a job in Leeds and we decided that it would be much more fun to live in York, where the streets are stuffed to the gills with history, pubs, and historic pubs.
My time in Manchester was mixed. I liked it less and less as time wore on. Perhaps, having moved, it will become more clear to me which annoyances are peculiarly Mancunian and which are simply English. I have lived in big cities before, and while I met many fine people in Manchester, I also met an extraordinary number of assholes. I have never lived in a more unfriendly place in my entire life.
It was wearying. I struggled more and more with anxiety and depression (my constant companions at the best of times), and I became increasingly agoraphobic. Sometimes I would not leave the flat -- for anything -- for up to a week at a time. Other times I would only leave to go for an early morning run. (A side effect of agoraphobia you rarely hear mentioned: it makes you fat. While I was still exercising regularly, I was doing a lot less walking around. So I'm reasonably fit but a bit chubby at the moment.) I became more and more isolated. I stopped going to my writing group (and stopped writing), I didn't do anything with my running club, I didn't go into town.
In short, I wasn't having very much fun.
A move is a good opportunity to move on. And so far, York seems like a good place to do that. On this blog I'll be writing about what it's like to live in this ancient walled city.
Feel free to comment. If there's any place you'd like me to have a look at, let me know. I take requests. I am not a great photographer, so there probably won't be many pictures on this blog (unless I steal them from somewhere else). But again, I take requests, so if there's something you want to see, let me know in the comments. I aim to post at least once a week.
Agnes, by the way, was a ferrywoman on the Ouse in the Middle Ages. I don't what she charged. But I'll ferry you for free.
Yikes, I hope that you'll find York to be a lot different to Manchester!
ReplyDeleteThe weather should be better for a start, being in the rain shadow of the Pennines. Give that you married a Yorkshire man, you should already have a good idea how to crack that particular variety of nut too!
How do you feel about taking a look inside Clifford's Tower for me? I don't know how many times I've walked by that place, but never made it inside...
Wish I was there!
Natural-born Manc here, agreeing wholeheartedly with the asshole comment :( Though the only person who drove me to attempted murder was from Orange County...!
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