Where would you live?

[RayD]

Just to prove that really is sat on the terrace and not taken by climbing up a tree, I've just taken this picture.  Not even a lottery win would take me away from it.

Got clear skies again tonight and SGP all set up to carry on with the Pacman Nebula (finished M33 last night).

 

[barkis]

Wow! Ray, you lucky lucky man, although I hope I don't upset you with the word lucky. I'm sure you've worked hard,
or won the Lottery to have another home in this superb place .

 My Son and Daughter In Law have  another home in Spain too, and they and their close friends visit regularly.
My wife and I have not been, simply because I couldn't drag her onto a plane, and Driving, or Coach travel is out for me.
I went from Carlisle to Newquay on a Coach, an experience I don't ever want to repeat.
That View across to the Mountains is a fantastic sight.  Another WoW! .

[RayD]

On 16/09/2017 at 16:30, barkis said:

Wow! Ray, you lucky lucky man, although I hope I don't upset you with the word lucky. I'm sure you've worked hard,
or won the Lottery to have another home in this superb place .

 My Son and Daughter In Law have  another home in Spain too, and they and their close friends visit regularly.
My wife and I have not been, simply because I couldn't drag her onto a plane, and Driving, or Coach travel is out for me.
I went from Carlisle to Newquay on a Coach, an experience I don't ever want to repeat.
That View across to the Mountains is a fantastic sight.  Another WoW! .

No we really do appreciate just how very lucky we are as the house was in a family for generations, and it just happened that when we were looking it came up for sale on one of the days I was here looking.  Houses in this particular area really don't come up for sale very often, so we do feel very lucky indeed.  What is even luckier is it took nothing like a lottery win to get it, and in fact we still today wonder how we got it for the price we did (and it is totally legal which is a double bonus).

Yes I think you need to be a good flier as it is a long drive (1,350 miles).  Ferry from Portsmouth - Bilbao is great though, and makes a nice change.

[alacant]

22 minutes ago, RayD said:

I've just taken this picture

I simply cannot believe I have seen a Spanish astro site without either telescope, bottle of good Rioja/Ribera del Duero and a generous selection of tapas. Or at the very least, cool beer to hand. We'll be around in about an hour. C'mon. Don't let us down!

[RayD]

4 minutes ago, alacant said:

I simply cannot believe I have seen a Spanish astro site without either telescope, bottle of good Rioja/Ribera del Duero and a generous selection of tapas. Or at the very least, cool beer to hand. C'mon. Don't let us down!

Lol your wish is my command Sir.  No tapas, but the BBQ is on, and Victorias drink is apparently a very refreshing sparkling rose 

[alacant]

14 minutes ago, RayD said:

 No tapas, but the BBQ is on

LOL. Perfect. That's more like it. ¡Saludos!

[Dave S]

5 hours ago, RichM63 said:

Where I live right now. Slap bang in the middle of the countryside, no near neighbours, zero LP, only 2 tractors per day at most, loads of wildlife, bird song is the only noise pollution, not on any major flightpaths, and 10-15 mins from the cliffs and beaches, although we do have a yacht port down by the tidal river and the commuter train is a 100 year old Steam rig for 5 months of the year..

I can easily observe NESW if I wish to.

The only downside is a fairly slow Internet connection but they are replacing all the lines with Optical so even that will change soon.

Rich

This for me would be ideal.  I'm only a couple of miles from the countryside here in Derbyshire but my vista is limited because of obstructions.  I can live with the British weather as annoying as it is but if having to go to work is a requirement then out of town for me would be dreamland.

Dave...

[estwing]

3 hours ago, scarp15 said:

With a lottery win, I think that I could settle on Canada, perhaps become neighbours with Gerry in the North, Boreal Forest, take up a part time job doing whatever. My parents use to live in Kirkoswald, a small village in the Eden valley NE Cumbria, I seriously considered moving across there quite a few years ago before I got married, would still like to, close to both the North Pennines, the Lakes and magical dark skies.

 

I did myself...got all sorted just had to make the jump ...then I saw the recession coming and bailed 

[Anne S]

Anywhere it doesn't rain all the time!

Anne

[Anne S]

And Ollie's shed's already been booked!

[spaceboy]

On 9/16/2017 at 16:49, RayD said:

No we really do appreciate just how very lucky we are as the house was in a family for generations, and it just happened that when we were looking it came up for sale on one of the days I was here looking.  Houses in this particular area really don't come up for sale very often, so we do feel very lucky indeed.  What is even luckier is it took nothing like a lottery win to get it, and in fact we still today wonder how we got it for the price we did (and it is totally legal which is a double bonus).

Yes I think you need to be a good flier as it is a long drive (1,350 miles).  Ferry from Portsmouth - Bilbao is great though, and makes a nice change.

Good kamma Ray !!

[LukeSkywatcher]

For me it would be somewhere on the very western tip of the Algarve in Portugal. I love everything about Portugal (climate,people,food,history etc). Still, after yrs of self-learning, i  am trying to get to grips with the language (i get by). Had an apartment in the harbour area of Lisbon for yrs which i rented out to a local family.

Portugal feels like a second home to me.

Where i do live now is pretty much rural (technically semi-rural). Miles upon miles of dark open farmland is but a 5 min stroll from my house. I can eyeball M31 from my back garden on a good night.

[Frank the Troll]

Don't need to move, we are in the heart of Somerset, and down the end of a dirt track lane

[iapa]

3 hours ago, Frank the Troll said:

Don't need to move, we are in the heart of Somerset, and down the end of a dirt track lane

Thhhhhhpppppppsstttt

[Dave_D]

If i had the option... as far from the UK as possible

[Galen Gilmore]

I would move back to my birthplace. Sedona, Arizona.

Dry, Clear, warm skies all year long!

Plus the scenery in Arizona is amazing in general.

[iapa]

 

On 22/09/2017 at 18:21, Frank the Troll said:

Don't need to move, we are in the heart of Somerset, and down the end of a dirt track lane

On 22/09/2017 at 21:42, iapa said:

Thhhhhhpppppppsstttt

OK, to be fair, there's no scale - may only be 30m across

[Frank the Troll]

56 minutes ago, iapa said:

 

OK, to be fair, there's no scale - may only be 30m across

Just a tad more than that

Length of the garden bit is 350ft

Whole plot is 5 acres

[iapa]

19 hours ago, Frank the Troll said:

Just a tad more than that

Length of the garden bit is 350ft

Whole plot is 5 acres

in which case, I reiterate

ttthhhppppptttttt!!

 

I'm in about 0.15acres

[F15Rules]

Following my wife's serious illness in 2015/16, and her having to give up work, we decided to move from the crowded Midlands to the southern Lincolnshire Wolds area ahead of my retirement in a year or two (yes, there are hills in Lincolnshire?)..

I do still need to work for a while longer, but the peace and quiet of our new home, a small village of c350 population, and much darker skies than 12 miles from Leicester and surrounding towns, has transformed our quality of life -when I'm at home. When I have to travel for work, it's longer and harder to get to a lot of destinations but hopefully not for too much longer.

On a good night I can see the double cluster and M31 with the naked eye..the other night I could see M57 with my Tak 50mm finder scope, also M92 (the fainter globular cluster in Hercules), and the Milky way had real structure with the naked eye also.

The one disappointment when we moved here was a hideous sodium street light on the lane about 35 yards from our garden, which reflected off our kitchen windows and greenhouse. I was thinking of contacting the council to ask them if they would shield it for me. Then, one day about 3 weeks ago, a neighbour, who hates streetlights almost as much as I do, came to my door about 8.30 in the evening, and said "have you seen this?"

I went to the front door, to the lane that our house fronts on to, and my neighbour pointed in the direction of the sodium light. To my amazement the orange all invading glow had gone, and had been replace by a small and VERY directed, LED streetlight. Right above the light it looked very dark, where previously it had been an orange mess. As we are on a slightly higher spot than the light and my garden is elevated just a few feet, the new light is, I judge, about 80-85% less intrusive than the one it replaced. I am truly delighted, and all things considered, I feel I do now have my ideal location for my hobby..and I'm glad to say my lovely wife likes it here as much as I do?.

Dave

[RayD]

21 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Following my wife's serious illness in 2015/16, and her having to give up work, we decided to move from the crowded Midlands to the southern Lincolnshire Wolds area ahead of my retirement in a year or two (yes, there are hills in Lincolnshire?)..

I do still need to work for a while longer, but the peace and quiet of our new home, a small village of c350 population, and much darker skies than 12 miles from Leicester and surrounding towns, has transformed our quality of life -when I'm at home. When I have to travel for work, it's longer and harder to get to a lot of destinations but hopefully not for too much longer.

On a good night I can see the double cluster and M31 with the naked eye..the other night I could see M57 with my Tak 50mm finder scope, also M92 (the fainter globular cluster in Hercules), and the Milky way had real structure with the naked eye also.

The one disappointment when we moved here was a hideous sodium street light on the lane about 35 yards from our garden, which reflected off our kitchen windows and greenhouse. I was thinking of contacting the council to ask them if they would shield it for me. Then, one day about 3 weeks ago, a neighbour, who hates streetlights almost as much as I do, came to my door about 8.30 in the evening, and said "have you seen this?"

I went to the front door, to the lane that our house fronts on to, and my neighbour pointed in the direction of the sodium light. To my amazement the orange all invading glow had gone, and had been replace by a small and VERY directed, LED streetlight. Right above the light it looked very dark, where previously it had been an orange mess. As we are on a slightly higher spot than the light and my garden is elevated just a few feet, the new light is, I judge, about 80-85% less intrusive than the one it replaced. I am truly delighted, and all things considered, I feel I do now have my ideal location for my hobby..and I'm glad to say my lovely wife likes it here as much as I do?.

Dave

What a great feel good post.  Really glad it's all working out right for you both 

[kegstar]

Norfolk born & bred. Have tried to leave several times but always get drawn back.

So for me it would have to be a flint cottage somewhere along the north Norfolk coast.

Dark skies, scenery, wildlife, local beers & gin & get to keep my job.

Man of simple pleasures.

[F15Rules]

29 minutes ago, RayD said:

What a great feel good post.  Really glad it's all working out right for you both 

Thanks Ray☺

Last year was tough, my wife lost her sister to cancer on 15th December. My wife has to have annual checks for 5 years, the next one is in a fortnight.

These experiences put things in perspective, and I'm just grateful to have my wife still here, in a lovely home in a lovely location. I count my blessings every day..

Dave

[Astrobits]

It has to be near the equator.

The possibilities of 10+ hours of darkness EVERY night of the year and the Southern skies which are, in my opinion, much better than the Northern sky seals it. At the equator you don't loose much sky, just bits around the poles where there are few gems anyway so all the Northern gems are there as well as those even better Southern sky gems. The Centre of the Galaxy with all those Novae and all comets will be well placed for your perusal.

Work? Find a local job.

Nigel

[F15Rules]

On 16/09/2017 at 12:26, spaceboy said:

I thought it would add a sort of realism to the question. It would after all only take a small windfall for some people to be able to pack up and move to an ideal location but not necessarily without the need to continue to work.

When you take working out of it your talking big money lottery wins which is even less likely to happen.

Yes, that was my situation completely. We downsized a bit, but my wife always wanted a pretty cottage and we were lucky enough to find one we could afford.

I still work and may have to for another couple of years..but I've got my darker skies, she has her chocolate box cottage and so we are very fortunate. 

My horizon is not bad..in the attached wide angle shot my scopes are aligned roughly with Polaris so you can work out which direction is which. The southern horizon can be seen in the second picture, and is fairly unobstructed, certainly in comparison to our last house ☺.

Dave