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Anyone moved house for astronomy?

MND

By MND
in The Astro Lounge

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James

James

Posted
Posted

I haven't moved house for astronomy reasons as such but the last move from Taunton to a village near Exeter I used street view etc to veto any house that had streetlights shining in the back garden. It drove my wife mad and I veto'd one or two nice houses, but in the end when she was looking she'd ask the estate agents about streetlights which raised a fair few eyebrows!!

I'd love to live somewhere more more clear skies but we're not prepared to move abroad at this time...

The other day there was a link to a gov't website regarding health outcomes - one of the maps showed the amount of sunshine around the UK. Have a look here: 

http://www.envhealthatlas.co.uk/eha/environmental/Sunshine/

Patrick Moores old stomping ground is right in the middle of a sunny spot!!

James

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DaveS

DaveS

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Estate agents must dread my appearence, as all I talk about is aspect and light pollution. They probably think me a right old fuss-pot! The one I saw on Wed said I was the only astronomer he'd met!

I guess I'll have to up my budget a notch, I've been slumming it a bit down around the £400k mark, which is only getting me terraced houses without parking, and with poor gardens. Push it up to £550k or so and see what pops up.

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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 That particular house was struck off the list not because of the garden or park, but because of the kitchen, which was pitifully small.

The house we finally chose has a very dark garden by suburban standards, the trees to the south are a bit taller than I would like, but at least it is fairly dark. I would like to retire to a dark area, so astronomy will govern my  choice then (and the size of the kitchen, cooking is the other hobby that takes up a lot of time)

You'd probably like our place then.....

Kitchen

Dscf2971.jpg

Garden

SummerMilkyWayDylife1.jpg

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

Posted
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You'd probably like our place then.....

Kitchen

Dscf2971.jpg

Garden

SummerMilkyWayDylife1.jpg

Good God, That kitchen appears to be about twice the size of the square footage of my new kitchen in my bungalow. My kitchen as is...........is pretty useless. I do love cooking. In the next 4-6 weeks, i'm gonna have the kitchen ripped out and get it replaced to suit me.

Last week when i moved in there wasnt even a fridge/freezer. I very quickly paid for a top of the range Liehbherr and it was here within a couple of days.

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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Cooking is very high on my list of interests- nothing I love more than entertaining guests with good food & drink. A good fridge/freezer is a must (we can get snowed in here for weeks on end) double sized Miele fridge freezer installed in case a bad winter!

Dscf2972.jpg

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DaveS

DaveS

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Looked at two houses yesterday, both very nice, though in need of some work. The one in the better location had a rather closed in garden, caused by neighbours' trees, the other, not quite as desirable (For me) location, but the garden has capability. although there are some big trees they are on what would be my side so I can prune or take them out. I would then have a very good view from east through to west.

I think I may ask for an evening viewing to check the local LP.

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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Looked at two houses yesterday, both very nice, though in need of some work. The one in the better location had a rather closed in garden, caused by neighbours' trees, the other, not quite as desirable (For me) location, but the garden has capability. although there are some big trees they are on what would be my side so I can prune or take them out. I would then have a very good view from east through to west.

I think I may ask for an evening viewing to check the local LP.

Site visit is a must. Would be nice to get somewhere backing on to one the parks- but I expect these fetch a bit of a premium?

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DaveS

DaveS

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Well, there's not a lot due south, the garden of the next house, the Piccadilly / Metropolitan line and a park. May be do-able, but it's in Harrow rather than Hillingdon which I prefer. It's also a bit further from the station.

Dunno. Will think about it and 'phone the agents tomorrow.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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All i have with me in the new house right now is my Bresser 10x50's. I decided to store my scopes in a friends garage until i get settled more here and have room made to store them myself. Its been raining nearly every day and night since i moved,so i'm not missing much although ive had some lovely views of Saturn high up in the south while laying in bed.

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DaveS

DaveS

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Well, I made an offer, so we'll see. A couple more houses turned up on Rightmove, with fairly long south-facing gardens, but on closer inspection too close to a floodlit football ground. Bother!

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JB80

JB80

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We just made an offer too but only discovered today that the email sent was blank. :shocked:

A bit peeved about that, we spent the last day and a half thinking the offer was being considered seriously. Hopefully there was no harm done.

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JB80

JB80

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It definitely can be, especially when you make silly errors like the above.

We have moved in the past and it's stressful enough, especially from Oz to Belgium and the Belgium to Spain but this is potentially the first time it will involve a home purchase and that adds a whole new dimension to be worried about.

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DaveS

DaveS

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Well I saw another (More suitable) house, made an offer, and it's been accepted! Also accepted an offer on my house from a no-chain cash buyer.

                                                                        YAY!

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RobertI

RobertI

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I have the most astronomy unfriendly house possible - a town house with no garden right in the middle of a small town just off the high street! Fab for pubs and restaurants but a disaster for astronomy and kids, neither of which were in the picture when I moved in! I have the budget for a move to somewhere darker witha a garden and plans are afoot, but it ain't easy finding somewhere that ticks all the boxes, astro or otherwise. Luckily I have a wife who is very supportive of my Astro passion. I recently purchased "setting up a small observatory" by David Arditti which is giving me plenty of inspiration and motivation. :smiley:

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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Last night was the first clear night since i moved. I only have 10x50 bins with me right now, but a quick look around the skies was great. They are not as dark as i first thought but close to. There is a bit of stray light to my south-east from the town itself, but its not really too bad as i'm higher up then the town and the LP therfor is quite low to the horizon.

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