It's gonna be my first time living in the UK. How is it?
Reply
today: nice
tomorrow: probably less nice
in reading: never nice
THEY HAVE WOLVES.
go walk with them for me plz.
the pro's:
fast train into london or west to bristol or cardiff.
the cons: everything else. sorry !
I have lots of relatives there.
It's not as interesting as Brussels anyway...
surely ther are things to do no?
I read it has a university with 16.000 students. A town with 16.000 students can not be boring. There's gotta be some good parties, pubs, other... ?
lol
Umm, the student life and the town are a bit separated as the uni is mainly on one campus.
As a former student, I found the student life there pretty shit, unless you enjoy hearing the same songs every week for eternity.
I've been twice
It was pretty crap both times.
The night life isn't great
unless you like cunts in pink hackett polo shirts constantly looking for fights. The Oakford is nice, if full of scenester prats, but ultimately I find that preferable to people who don't believe a night's complete without assaulting someone. There aren't all that many gigs, but then it's a 25 min train ride into London so that isn't such a big deal. You'll find almost no independent shops and there basically isn't a record store now (HMV doesn't really count).
On the other hand, I quite enjoy living here, it's a hell of a lot better than it was 10 years ago and there are loads of nice restaurants. It also appears that we now have 4 Starbucks within 400 ft of each other. Good times!
Also
where are you living? If it's Whitley then lolz @ you.
not sure yet where I'm gonna live
I have a flat over there waiting for me but have no idea where it is. Where/what is Whitley (never been to Reading) ? What time do the trains back from London end at night? How do you get back to reading after that ?
Taking notes of places to go so any suggestions are welcome!
Whitley's
the shit part of Reading - shootings, pikeys, stabbings, general crime and poverty and the smell of the nearby sewage works. It's well outside the centre of town though.
Last train back to Reading from London is something like 2 in the morning, I believe. That one takes well over an hour because it stops at every shit hole in between. The last fast train is 00:21. For gigs, you can usually make that one pretty easily.
Recommendations when you're out - the Oakford (although it's expensive), Zero Degrees (which brews its own beer, including a really good Mango one), Afro Bar and the After Dark. Avoid anywhere on Friar Street like the plague, especially Q Bar and Revolution; if you have long hair, wear skinny jeans or indeed anything other than Ben Sherman shirts and loafers, then chances are someone will try to fight you. the Fez has just reopened, but I don't know what that's like. There's a bunch of decent chain restaurants in the Oracle shopping mall. Shopping-wise, it's full-on chain stores; Topshop, H&M, blah, blah, blah. London's a lot better for that type of thing.
Gig-wise, South Street gets a few good shows (they've had Caribou, Twilight Sad, EITS, Four Tet in the past couple of years) but like I said, it's better to head into London.
Aside from Whitley, you probably want to be avoiding the Oxford Road, Prospect park, and some parts of Tilehurst after dark. Then again, maybe I'm being a pussy.
I probably sound pretty negative, but it's an OK place to live, if a little soulless.
though the sound is dubious- gigs there are usually really good fun.
I played one in there where we had a 'gunge pit'.
this all sounds pretty good to me
with the added effect of everything English being brand new to me. Thanks for the tips!
I live in Reading.
These are all actual slogans that Reading Borough Council have used to boost their tourism this year, and I can confirm that they are all 100% correct;
Ignore the haters! Reading is banging!!!
If you don't enjoy living in Reading, you're probably dead.
Reading- for all your tiling needs.
Whoever said Reading was shit for 362 days of the year must have come from Swindon.
what date are you moving there?
And, can I use your shower at Reading fes this year? I'll pay you
by the way, hi I'm marilyninthesky
moving in early august
Sure you can use my shower if you can get me a cheap ticket to the festival :-) I just saw it had sold out...
But there will be tickets for sale on le day :)
Just go there on the Wednesday, that's what I always do.
interesting ...
but do you have to be there during the day and queue for hours or something? Because I'm going to have to work...
Uhm
No, there's touts all around the place...not that I'm advertising ticket touts, but getting a ticket is very easy.
Hey how about you let me use your shower and in return I get you a ticket? You have to pay for it though- my generosity is limited ;)
sounds like a very good deal to me
let's keep in touch. I'll PM you once I'm in the UK. How much are weekend tickets going for ? I don't want to pay 400Euros or anything...
I think they're face value on the door
about £160ish?
probably £150
The nicest areas are probably Caversham and Caversham Heights.
It's not a terrible place, but it's just a bit grey and dull, like so many towns in the Thames Valley corridor.
shopping wise there are a few good indie outlets, that are about as reasonable as most bigger cities
it';s just there aren't more than 3 or 4
all places between bristol and london are rubbish
it's like they can't compete so they don't bother.
It's full of tossers.
...and, if reports are correct, we will have beavers to deal with as well.
england good
reading - poor
though it is conveniently near oxford and london, which is always good.
This thread hurts me
Reading is a fine place. There is no where near as much violence as what's been metioned (although admittedly it's been a bad couple of months). I think it's easy to lay into but I find the people pretty interresting and there are plenty of good place to go if you look
having lived in Reading for 15 years
i can firmly say that it's alright, if you know where to go, and live fairly central, there are quite a few things you can do
afterdark
has the new po na na's indie thursday nights, i went the other day and don't remember that much but they played pavement as i requested, though.
I fooking LOVE the afterdark
Its awesome.
Is the Matrix EVER going to reopen?
Which one is the Matrix?
I havn't heard anyone mention it in years.
Agreed on the AD though, even if it's a quiet night you can have some good jokes with Dave the doorman
The Matrix is opposite the afterdark
it hasn't been open since about 2005 maybe? I think its a suite of 'function rooms' now or something, but the glass collectors no longer get shot.
Ah
of course
I went to uni in Reading
in 2002 and hung around for a bit.
Umm, it's pretty bland, I don't think it has much of an identity- there's not really anything to mark it apart from similar towns in the South East. It's pretty expensive to live there and the traffic is genuinely appalling, but rail links are pretty good- you can get to most places from the station.
Clubwise avoid any student nights unless you like 'wacky' idiots. Other places to skip- Bar Risa, Q Club, Revolution, Brannigans. The indie night at the afterdark is alright, if sweaty. Pavlov's dog is cheap and a good place to start a night. The Oakford's expensive, has a good range of beer, though the music's usually pretty weedy.
Gigs you're best of going into London, you get the odd band here and there, maybe a couple of months at best. The local music scene has some good stuff but it will be buried within a large mound of turgid funk rock and indie-lite. South St and Face Bar are mostly for gigs- keep an eye out for Rising Sun Arts centre stuff too. The only bands who seem to play the uni are within the 'bargain bin' demographic (Wheatus, Reef, Bluetones). Guitarworks next to the post office is an ace guitar shop.
There's a record shop in the (Rolf) Harris arcade where you can buy new release albums for a fiver if you're lucky- they sell a lot of promo cds too.
If you squint the Broad St Mall looks a bit like the set of Aliens inside.
There's about 7 different Burger Kings in the city centre, and a krispy kreme by the riverside.
So in summary- meh.
I'd move there just for the sweaty indie club
I think that may have been the reason I left
gonna live in the center
Fobney Street, near the Oracle shopping and leasure center (according to google maps). Doesn't sound to Pikey to me, am I wrong?
today: nice
tomorrow: probably less nice
in reading: never nice
THEY HAVE WOLVES.
go walk with them for me plz.
the pro's:
fast train into london or west to bristol or cardiff.
the cons: everything else. sorry !
I have lots of relatives there.
It's not as interesting as Brussels anyway...
surely ther are things to do no?
I read it has a university with 16.000 students. A town with 16.000 students can not be boring. There's gotta be some good parties, pubs, other... ?
lol
Umm, the student life and the town are a bit separated as the uni is mainly on one campus.
As a former student, I found the student life there pretty shit, unless you enjoy hearing the same songs every week for eternity.
I've been twice
It was pretty crap both times.
The night life isn't great
unless you like cunts in pink hackett polo shirts constantly looking for fights. The Oakford is nice, if full of scenester prats, but ultimately I find that preferable to people who don't believe a night's complete without assaulting someone. There aren't all that many gigs, but then it's a 25 min train ride into London so that isn't such a big deal. You'll find almost no independent shops and there basically isn't a record store now (HMV doesn't really count).
On the other hand, I quite enjoy living here, it's a hell of a lot better than it was 10 years ago and there are loads of nice restaurants. It also appears that we now have 4 Starbucks within 400 ft of each other. Good times!
Also
where are you living? If it's Whitley then lolz @ you.
not sure yet where I'm gonna live
I have a flat over there waiting for me but have no idea where it is. Where/what is Whitley (never been to Reading) ? What time do the trains back from London end at night? How do you get back to reading after that ?
Taking notes of places to go so any suggestions are welcome!
Whitley's
the shit part of Reading - shootings, pikeys, stabbings, general crime and poverty and the smell of the nearby sewage works. It's well outside the centre of town though.
Last train back to Reading from London is something like 2 in the morning, I believe. That one takes well over an hour because it stops at every shit hole in between. The last fast train is 00:21. For gigs, you can usually make that one pretty easily.
Recommendations when you're out - the Oakford (although it's expensive), Zero Degrees (which brews its own beer, including a really good Mango one), Afro Bar and the After Dark. Avoid anywhere on Friar Street like the plague, especially Q Bar and Revolution; if you have long hair, wear skinny jeans or indeed anything other than Ben Sherman shirts and loafers, then chances are someone will try to fight you. the Fez has just reopened, but I don't know what that's like. There's a bunch of decent chain restaurants in the Oracle shopping mall. Shopping-wise, it's full-on chain stores; Topshop, H&M, blah, blah, blah. London's a lot better for that type of thing.
Gig-wise, South Street gets a few good shows (they've had Caribou, Twilight Sad, EITS, Four Tet in the past couple of years) but like I said, it's better to head into London.
Aside from Whitley, you probably want to be avoiding the Oxford Road, Prospect park, and some parts of Tilehurst after dark. Then again, maybe I'm being a pussy.
I probably sound pretty negative, but it's an OK place to live, if a little soulless.
this is in reading
and i hear good things about it, generally
http://www.risingsun-artscentre.co.uk/
It's not bad
though the sound is dubious- gigs there are usually really good fun.
I played one in there where we had a 'gunge pit'.
this all sounds pretty good to me
with the added effect of everything English being brand new to me. Thanks for the tips!
I live in Reading.
These are all actual slogans that Reading Borough Council have used to boost their tourism this year, and I can confirm that they are all 100% correct;
Ignore the haters! Reading is banging!!!
If you don't enjoy living in Reading, you're probably dead.
Reading- for all your tiling needs.
Whoever said Reading was shit for 362 days of the year must have come from Swindon.
what date are you moving there?
And, can I use your shower at Reading fes this year? I'll pay you
by the way, hi I'm marilyninthesky
moving in early august
Sure you can use my shower if you can get me a cheap ticket to the festival :-) I just saw it had sold out...
But there will be tickets for sale on le day :)
Just go there on the Wednesday, that's what I always do.
interesting ...
but do you have to be there during the day and queue for hours or something? Because I'm going to have to work...
Uhm
No, there's touts all around the place...not that I'm advertising ticket touts, but getting a ticket is very easy.
Hey how about you let me use your shower and in return I get you a ticket? You have to pay for it though- my generosity is limited ;)
sounds like a very good deal to me
let's keep in touch. I'll PM you once I'm in the UK. How much are weekend tickets going for ? I don't want to pay 400Euros or anything...
I think they're face value on the door
about £160ish?
probably £150
The nicest areas are probably Caversham and Caversham Heights.
It's not a terrible place, but it's just a bit grey and dull, like so many towns in the Thames Valley corridor.
shopping wise there are a few good indie outlets, that are about as reasonable as most bigger cities
it';s just there aren't more than 3 or 4
all places between bristol and london are rubbish
it's like they can't compete so they don't bother.
It's full of tossers.
...and, if reports are correct, we will have beavers to deal with as well.
england good
reading - poor
though it is conveniently near oxford and london, which is always good.
This thread hurts me
Reading is a fine place. There is no where near as much violence as what's been metioned (although admittedly it's been a bad couple of months). I think it's easy to lay into but I find the people pretty interresting and there are plenty of good place to go if you look
having lived in Reading for 15 years
i can firmly say that it's alright, if you know where to go, and live fairly central, there are quite a few things you can do
afterdark
has the new po na na's indie thursday nights, i went the other day and don't remember that much but they played pavement as i requested, though.
I fooking LOVE the afterdark
Its awesome.
Is the Matrix EVER going to reopen?
Which one is the Matrix?
I havn't heard anyone mention it in years.
Agreed on the AD though, even if it's a quiet night you can have some good jokes with Dave the doorman
The Matrix is opposite the afterdark
it hasn't been open since about 2005 maybe? I think its a suite of 'function rooms' now or something, but the glass collectors no longer get shot.
Ah
of course
I went to uni in Reading
in 2002 and hung around for a bit.
Umm, it's pretty bland, I don't think it has much of an identity- there's not really anything to mark it apart from similar towns in the South East. It's pretty expensive to live there and the traffic is genuinely appalling, but rail links are pretty good- you can get to most places from the station.
Clubwise avoid any student nights unless you like 'wacky' idiots. Other places to skip- Bar Risa, Q Club, Revolution, Brannigans. The indie night at the afterdark is alright, if sweaty. Pavlov's dog is cheap and a good place to start a night. The Oakford's expensive, has a good range of beer, though the music's usually pretty weedy.
Gigs you're best of going into London, you get the odd band here and there, maybe a couple of months at best. The local music scene has some good stuff but it will be buried within a large mound of turgid funk rock and indie-lite. South St and Face Bar are mostly for gigs- keep an eye out for Rising Sun Arts centre stuff too. The only bands who seem to play the uni are within the 'bargain bin' demographic (Wheatus, Reef, Bluetones). Guitarworks next to the post office is an ace guitar shop.
There's a record shop in the (Rolf) Harris arcade where you can buy new release albums for a fiver if you're lucky- they sell a lot of promo cds too.
If you squint the Broad St Mall looks a bit like the set of Aliens inside.
There's about 7 different Burger Kings in the city centre, and a krispy kreme by the riverside.
So in summary- meh.
I'd move there just for the sweaty indie club
I think that may have been the reason I left
gonna live in the center
Fobney Street, near the Oracle shopping and leasure center (according to google maps). Doesn't sound to Pikey to me, am I wrong?
Mandela Court
Easiest place to score weed EVER
Thats gotta be a plus
come on people!
i've had easier,
plus it's really really cack normally
Mandela Court
Boooyah!
Haha
Stay away!
Why
top draw...ha ha ha
Don't go
I did.
It was a living hell.
mandela's
has been shut down now, haha