Prospective retirement

[Steve_uk]

Margate was very run down but has improved significantly in recent years.  Apparently all the research shows one of the best ways to improve an area is to open a gallery:

https://www.visitthanet.co.uk/attractions/tke-studios-101806/

Broadstairs has nice parts including the beach.

I haven't visited for some time.

Whitstable just round the corner is my fave place in the area.

Are you still deciding where to settle for your retirement?

Yes, Cambridgecutie. I haven't made any decision yet. I don't particularly like modern art, my preference being Leonardo da Vinci's religious paintings or those of the Pre-Raphaelites.

[Cambridgecutie]

Yes, Cambridgecutie. I haven't made any decision yet. I don't particularly like modern art, my preference being Leonardo da Vinci's religious paintings or those of the Pre-Raphaelites.

Well I am not a fan of Tracey Emin (she is connected to the gallery in Margate) but as I said all the research shows a gallery can rejuvenate a run-down area which Margate was pre gallery.

[Steve_uk]

Good evening y'all.. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsmanchester/why-greater-manchester-is-becoming-close-friends-with-texas/ar-AA1ALMxD?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=c73323db4ee04b888577570181a0a803&ei=9

Flights from £422 return. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ODn-YuCM0pY?feature=share

[Steve_uk]

Probably the best city in the country, warm weather all year round, easy to get residency: https://youtu.be/Zn9ALby3_rg

[Steve_uk]

Retiring comfortably may be a misnomer, but you have to take the rough with the smooth in considering a quasi-Third World country as retirement destination: https://youtu.be/FZe3uq_Mzg4

[Steve_uk]

"It sounds like wisdom, but it's just recycled pain."  If you hang around long enough, it becomes your story too.. https://youtu.be/jRYwFDqsPmI

[Curiosity]

"It sounds like wisdom, but it's just recycled pain."  If you hang around long enough, it becomes your story too.. https://youtu.be/jRYwFDqsPmI

If you weren't depressed before watching that, then you certainly will be after. 

[Steve_uk]

If you weren't depressed before watching that, then you certainly will be after. 

I know Curiosity. Thailand was never on my radar anyway, smacking too much of Gary Glitter and that ilk. But what more can one expect from a godless society?

[Curiosity]

I know Curiosity. Thailand was never on my radar anyway, smacking too much of Gary Glitter and that ilk. But what more can one expect from a godless society?

Think I'll stick with my rose-tinted view of Thailand by listening to Lehar's 'Land of Smiles' overture and watching 'The King and I' with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr whenever I get the urge to emigrate there.

[Hardy Boy]

I know Curiosity. Thailand was never on my radar anyway, smacking too much of Gary Glitter and that ilk. But what more can one expect from a godless society?

I think many are turning away from the belief in God in this Country Steve,  As of January 2025, approximately 35 percent of people in Great Britain said that they believed in a God / Gods, compared with 32 percent who had no belief, so that leaves another 33% not sure?

Religion is on the decline in the UK because people in the UK are becoming more sophisticated. People in the UK are more educated and think for themselves. So they no longer uncritically accept what religious leaders preach as true.

This is true, years back people didn’t even have newspapers, but now there is so much information available you don’t have to rely on some elders preaching as factual.

I’ve been twice to Thailand with my wife, not a place I would like to live,  but found the culture and way of life fascinating. 

[ILB]

My plan this year is to toward the end of the year spend some time and take a long drive up to Wick and Thurso, perhaps the shetlands.

Never been more north than Glencoe, Oban or Fort William!

[Steve_uk]

I think many are turning away from the belief in God in this Country Steve,  As of January 2025, approximately 35 percent of people in Great Britain said that they believed in a God / Gods, compared with 32 percent who had no belief, so that leaves another 33% not sure?

Religion is on the decline in the UK because people in the UK are becoming more sophisticated. People in the UK are more educated and think for themselves. So they no longer uncritically accept what religious leaders preach as true.

This is true, years back people didn’t even have newspapers, but now there is so much information available you don’t have to rely on some elders preaching as factual.

I’ve been twice to Thailand with my wife, not a place I would like to live,  but found the culture and way of life fascinating.

I had no intention of casting aspersions on everyone who visits Thailand. But as a single man one is often approached by unsavoury characters, women on the lookout, you name it, I've had it.

Sometimes we are tested, as Jesus himself was tested in the wilderness. I'm optimistic. Congregations are increasing, especially amongst the young.  Churches are full at special events: weddings, funerals, baptisms, Easter and Christmas. It says to my mind the spirit of Christianity is still alive.

[Hardy Boy]

I had no intention of casting aspersions on everyone who visits Thailand. But as a single man one is often approached by unsavoury characters, women on the lookout, you name it, I've had it.

Sometimes we are tested, as Jesus himself was tested in the wilderness. I'm optimistic. Congregations are increasing, especially amongst the young.  Churches are full at special events: weddings, funerals, baptisms, Easter and Christmas. It says to my mind the spirit of Christianity is still alive.

Me and my wife had two Thia girls working for us Steve at one stage, listen to their stories and the hardship they endured at the hands of unsavoury characters.

[Steve_uk]

There might be a little corner of Colombia where I could reside incognito, reading the classics which have heretofore escaped me: https://youtu.be/mgkkp9JhKls

[Steve_uk]

My plan this year is to toward the end of the year spend some time and take a long drive up to Wick and Thurso, perhaps the shetlands.

Never been more north than Glencoe, Oban or Fort William!

Very rainy on the West Coast. I recall my mother telling me she and my grandparents visited Glasgow for the 1938 Empire Exhibition. They stayed in Oban and it rained the whole week. The only entertainment was the cinema. As they were leaving it stopped raining and the sun came out.