Friday 16 October 2015

Nice house, shame about the location!... A Cautionary Tale.


                           Image search result for "welsh women's traditional dress"

When I left college, I bought a very reasonably priced house in Wales, just over the border from North Shropshire; an area I knew quite well. It was located in a tiny hamlet, tucked away
in the gentle folds of Powys sheep-rearing country.

At one time the house had been a pub; it was built of heavy granite, was very old, and quite large. The house also had a big orchard which came with planning permission for another house.

In between teaching duties I spent about a year restoring the old place, which involved installing its first ever bathroom and loo.

After 2 years I sold the house and orchard separately; let's just say I did very well out of it. A good two year's work.

The local man I'd originally bought it from was NOT happy. He told me he wouldn't have sold it to me if he'd known I was just going to make a quick profit. When I told him I was moving to France he became irate, and told me that he hated the French. He was an unpleasant and negative man, full stop.

Of the other few residents of this tiny hamlet, one shot our neighbour's dog (and nearly shot ours), one used to wet her hair every morning from a filthy water butt, and another had never ventured further than about 10 miles from her home. They were a very odd, and insular, bunch of interbred six fingered Welsh weirdos.  I disliked each and every one of them. For someone who'd come from the South, had spent several years living in London, and been through 5 years of Art College, they seemed like the worst type of primitive and unpredictable yokels. I was extremely pleased to leave.

Such small insular communities are probably quite rare nowadays, but it was a good lesson in having a really good look around before buying a house; anywhere. I must add that all other Welsh people I've ever met or known (outside of that dreadful hamlet) have been extremely friendly and pleasant.

The photo above does make the Welsh women look like a bunch of witches; which is exactly how I viewed those village residents. When I left the UK, and settled in my present village, the people couldn't have been nicer. What a change!



34 comments:

  1. A girl I worked with once got very excited at finding a six bedroomed house in Manchester for a bargain price...in Moss Side! I've looked on Rightmove. They're still cheap there. There might be a reason for this. I think I've done alright on the location, location, location front where I've moved to. The scenery is stunning and the locals are friendly to boot.

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    1. I once drove through Moss Side..... it was frightening enough just in passing. My wee hamlet wasn't scary; just very weird.

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  2. There must be a novel to come out of that hamlet. (Btw - no derogatory witch comments please, we're a peaceful bunch.)

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    1. I recently had a look at the place on Google Maps, and it looks very different now. Lots of new houses etc. It's probably changed.

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  3. I have only been to Wales once so can't really comment on the people. When buying a home it is always difficult not to let the heart rule the head and location does make such a difference to house prices.

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    1. The Welsh are usually very nice people.... I just made a bad location choice.

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  4. Those hamlets exist everywhere...

    Once moved to a tiny hamlet just a few miles from where I'd grown up. Even went to school with some of the folk there. Didn't matter, we were OUTSIDERS, and they did everything they could to make us feel unwelcome.

    I stayed two years just to spite 'em.

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    1. I'm afraid those villages are everywhere.... Outsiders are always viewed suspiciously.

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  5. The village where I bought the cottage is turning into this. The neighbours glare at me with hate. The builder did work for someone who moved away as soon as the work was finished for the same reason. I might sell and upset them a bit more.

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    1. That's a shame, it sounded so nice. Couldn't you let to a local?

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    2. I'll decide when it's all finished. Whatever I do I imagine someone stabbing me in the back. The village gives me the creeps.

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    3. Whatever I decide I know one thing, they will know before I do.

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  6. I have never lived in a village so have no experience of that type of community, and here in France it is the same. For this, I am glad. When we first came here I wished that we could have been in a more village type of environment, but now I am glad that we have a lot of space around us and that the nearest neighbours are a couple of fields away.


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    1. I fell on my feet in this village; lovely people.

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  7. People who move to West Cork are often referred as 'Blow-Ins'. I don't like the term. You can live where ever you want even if the locals don't like your accent.

    I have heard of people moving into new housing estates in England and nobody knows their next door neighbour.

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    1. I think I would have preferred not to have known any of my neighbours in this awful village.

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  8. Our village hasnt any posh houses in it bar one ( not ours) so Trelawnyd wouldnt have been an option

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    1. I was just talking to Lady M about the house; there are lots of things about it that we simply can't remember; we've probably shut all the memories out.

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  9. For 28 years I lived in a house that I did not like, but I loved the neighbors. People cared for each other and there was a wonderful sense of community. Every time I thought of moving, my children would object as living in a place with good friends was more important than a bigger house. I moved when my last child graduated and now live in my dream home. Here I see people drive into their garage and never come out. Other than people walking their dogs, people and their children are seldom out. I am so glad that I still have my long time friends from my former home. People matter more than bricks and mortar.

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    1. Luckily here we have the best of both worlds. A lovely old cottage, and lovely neighbours (except for one).

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  10. I wonder if there are still any villages like this Cro. One thing is for certain and applies to every village I have ever lived it - every village has its eccentric. It is easy to be the village exxectric - and I must say it holds a certain cachet.

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    1. This village had about a dozen eccentrics; I was the only concentric.

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  11. They probably saw you as a person of change, and some people really, really hate change. Glad you found a place to love and that welcomed you.

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    1. 'a person of change' is a nice way of putting it... I can imagine what they really thought of me!

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  12. Perhaps, some of it might have been your youth not wanting to be with the others. But, it is important to vet the neighbors, which I didn't do with my city house. My son, I fear, is making a nuisance of himself in his new neighborhood, watching for dogs using the bathroom in his yard. He actually asked a woman last week to pick up after her dog. I might give them the stink eye, but would never ask them to pick up after their pet, unless it was a mastiff.

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    1. I enjoy mixing with all ages, all types, and all social 'classes'. I think I simply spelt DANGER.

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  13. Well, you know what realtors always say: location, location, location. And now you know "location" isn't just about the PLACE. Then again, on the bright side, you made a nice profit, and were able to use the experience to write a blog post. :)

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    1. The profit was certainly the best bit, and it allowed me to buy a large farmhouse etc in France. There's always a plus point to everything!

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  14. This posts and the prior comments interested me very much. Although I've lived in my current NYC neighborhood for over 27 years, I'm wondering how much longer I can afford to rent my little apartment. Every time I begin to consider where I might wish to move, it's always with a bit of dreaminess...room for a studio, a garden, a dog, no need for a car, and ...welcoming neighbors. It's that last bit that seems the trickiest.

    It's grand that your move to France has provided what you sought.

    Best wishes.

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    1. Choosing neighbours being the most difficult bit.

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  15. Well, they look like happy witches anyway.

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