[Herbster]

Well Said:

Big Up Plymouth! (But not too loudly, as everyone will want to move there!)
Have to agree on the tax issues; Government taxes' us with impunity & we never make a murmur in this country. We're from S Devon, but to be honest it's priced us out, (which is why we're up N & applying to emigrate!) some towns there, have over 50% 2nd home-owners, so people like ourselves cannot afford to even rent let alone buy; infrastructure is rubbish, roads clogged with traffic, crumbling from want of investment, repair & upgrading to at least 20th century standards, making life a nightmare for everyone,(not least business trying to service customers & clients, as their vehicles can be stuck in traffic jams & narrow lanes for half the day.)
And as you say, if you can afford to live there, life can be blighted by wanton acts of vandalism & criminality, whether perpetrated by local jobs or the imported variety, yet our criminal justice system seems impotent to prevent it!
Have you ever been in Torquay, Plymouth or Newquay on weekend nights, they are not pleasant places to be, with teens & jobs of all ages crawling around on the pavements & fighting in the streets, peeing in shop-fronts & rolling around in their own vomit, which just happens to be in someone else's front garden. When I returned from the States in the mid-90's to this, I could NOT believe it (probably 25% of kids in the niteclubs were under age & paralytic), & to be honest, in spite of what the Government says, it has gradually gotten worse, and this general lack of respect, together with any possibility of getting on the property ladder here, is what is driving us to Oz.
I suspect that any Big City, wherever/whenever, has problems - I've lived in London & Chicago, so I know this, which is why we prefer to live as far from those environments as poss, but even so, Life can be very good in cities for those seeking an immediate, exciting lifestyle, so I suggest that wherever & whenever you have vast numbers of people living in relatively small areas one can expect pockets of trouble (perhaps with the exception of Dubai, where a massive mix of ethnic minorities overwhelm the indigenous population by around 80 - 1, I think, & crime is a virtual NO-NO!) Yet country residents are not immune from crime either, with theft of farm equipment, garden plants/furniture, animal rustling, & my families' business was ram-raided over the May bank holiday & the safe taken...
I'm sure Gags' speaks from his personal experience, as do I, & I take on board his observations, as I hope to learn & avoid some of the problems he encountered, just as others have only positive things to say. I don't think it is helpful to snipe & attack each other, any more than it is to make overblown-generalizations based on media hype rather than personal experience. I'm sure what we are all looking for is a decent quality of life, whether we can find it here or Abroad, and the benefit of PIO, is that people in the know are willing to share their personal experiences for the benefit of others, good or bad, positive or negative; it's a learning & sharing forum from which we all can benefit.

Now can some one tell us what it's like in Hobart, or Victor Harbour, SA....

Thank you,

Herbster - A Bear Come in From the Sunshine - yea, it really is sunny Up North! X