Luton...

[donkmeister]

I would also steer you to Milton Keynes. If Stevenage were a Ford Focus base model then MK is a Ford Galaxy with the Ghia package... similar feel, not a classy choice, but bigger and with more stuff. The theatre there is surprisingly good - shows tour after their London run and the MK theatre gets a lot of the good ones. Also has comfy seats. You can also go bot-tipping in MK. Apparently.

The architecture in the centre however is shockingly bad... "Soviet" would be my description.

[Vasco]

redrabbit29 said:

I was a Police Officer for 16 years. Around 10 of these based in Slough which has its own bleak reputation (it's pretty violent and hostile but that's from a cop perspective)

Anyway around 2010 I spent 2-3 days in Luton on a big joint operation.

What I saw made Slough look like Florence or Paris on a warm summer's evening. Luton was a horrendous cesspit, horrible, dirty, intimidating and just a terrible place to be

I also spent a night there before an early flight. Walked about 10 minutes into town to eat and it was terrible then too

Think yourself lucky, you never had to police Bradford.

[jimmytheone]

MK also has lots of lovely roundabouts

[motco]

jimmytheone said:

MK also has lots of lovely roundabouts

Thanks to the local-only signs and the unique road names, there's no way out. I have never seen the huge wobbly beach ball that chases people that try to leave...

[redrabbit29]

My mental ex GF was from Milton Keynes so I have an extra special reason to not like the place. She always used to say "I'm going up the city" which did my head in.

I went out there a few times and what was strange was it felt like we were on a big industrial estate. We were crossing big open roads to get to another pub on the other side. Also it's the only place I've been in the UK where you never feel like you're in the centre of it

[jimmytheone]

motco said:

Thanks to the local-only signs and the unique road names, there's no way out. I have never seen the huge wobbly beach ball that chases people that try to leave...

i was only there to visit Decathlon, good job i had nav on else id still be there dodging the beach ball

[Spindoctor]

I thought the OP is working in Hertford. Its a hell of a daily commute from MK, assuming you can find your way out.

[markiii]

i wouldn;t want to be doing it from Luton either right ballache

[Spindoctor]

Totally right. If you're going to put yourself through such a grim journey, you'd have to be living somewhere really special. Special in a good way.

[Wonderman]

Mojooo said:

I can already feel the love for Luton coming....

I am in Stevenage at the moment until the end of the month. It is a bit quiet here so I am thinking of trying out Luton (even possibly just for a month in an AirBnB/serviced apartment).

My general reasoning is that Stevenage has a population of about 90,000 and is dead. Luton and surrounding areas is closer to 280,000 so it must have a bit more going on facilities wise (not necessarily just pubs/restaurants/theatres) but just activities like sports venues etc


Is a large part affected by airport noise?

If Stevenage is dead, Luton is night of the living dead.

[donkmeister]

redrabbit29 said:

My mental ex GF was from Milton Keynes so I have an extra special reason to not like the place. She always used to say "I'm going up the city" which did my head in.

I swear the only reason they made MK a city was because it was easier to give it city status than it was to stop the locals insisting on saying "city" when they meant "town"

[Mojooo]

Possibility my job may be moving to Stevenage within 6 months. I haven't written off Stevenage totally.

I am only going in one or two times a week so am prepared to travel up to 45 mins

TBH the journey form Stevenage to Hertford was always easy and about 25mins max.

I am veering towards trying Watford next but I may do a few weeks in Luton for the hell of it.

[redrabbit29]

donkmeister said:

I swear the only reason they made MK a city was because it was easier to give it city status than it was to stop the locals insisting on saying "city" when they meant "town"

That thought crossed my mind too. What surprised me was the sheer scale at which they referred to themselves by "city"

News articles: "The city council have..."
"City radio"
Adverts saying "In the city centre from this tuesday"

They also beat my home town of Reading - who have now tried 4 and failed times

[andrew]

motco said:

jimmytheone said:

MK also has lots of lovely roundabouts

Thanks to the local-only signs and the unique road names, there's no way out. I have never seen the huge wobbly beach ball that chases people that try to leave...

i always love it when a grid system of 11 vertical roads named V1 to V11, and eleven horizontal roads named H1 to H11 somehow confuses invaders

[and31]

andrew said:

i always love it when a grid system of 11 vertical roads named V1 to V11, and eleven horizontal roads named H1 to H11 somehow confuses invaders

It’s because it all looks the same

[bimsb6]

[quote=RichFN2
I don't hate Luton as much as other people but I would never live there, most of the town is just residential areas with the occasional corner shop,kebab shop etc.

[/quote]
Occasional corner shop , kebab shop ? They are everywhere along with the massive number of fried rat shops where the owners launder there drug money , i was born in luton but live in the countyside and try not to venture back there .

[motco]

andrew said:

motco said:

jimmytheone said:

MK also has lots of lovely roundabouts

Thanks to the local-only signs and the unique road names, there's no way out. I have never seen the huge wobbly beach ball that chases people that try to leave...

i always love it when a grid system of 11 vertical roads named V1 to V11, and eleven horizontal roads named H1 to H11 somehow confuses invaders

Well the concrete cows haven't escaped yet have they!

[and31]

OP your are fking mad to even consider living in Luton.
Hitchin is a ten minute drive away,mainline train station that can get you to Hertford for work,King’s Cross is 35 mins away,and Cambridge is about 45 mins I think.
live in Hitchin and go to Luton for a night out if you must ..
Luton doesn’t have one single redeeming feature.

[markiii]

couldn't agree more. I assume Luton was nice once, the area around the park has lots of massive houses, so I assume at one point people with money lived there.

As the demographics have changed its become a cesspit

Edited by markiii on Thursday 18th May 18:15

Edited by markiii on Thursday 18th May 18:15

[sociopath]

Mojooo said:

Possibility my job may be moving to Stevenage within 6 months. I haven't written off Stevenage totally.

I am only going in one or two times a week so am prepared to travel up to 45 mins

TBH the journey form Stevenage to Hertford was always easy and about 25mins max.

I am veering towards trying Watford next but I may do a few weeks in Luton for the hell of it.

I lived in the st hole end of Watford in the 80s
It was paradise compared with the Luton I worked in in the 2000s.

My BiL was a senior civil servant at Luton until fairly recently until hounded out by the mafia on the council when he turned whistle blower on the endemic corruption.