The British Lifestyle

[*End Is Forever*]

I hope that's a rhetorical question.

[MikeH]

Of course, intended to imply that if he behaved like that I can't see why anyone would want to be friends with him for very long.

[JohnIII]

Originally posted by MOBIUS
I remember about six years ago I worked up in Leamington Spa for a while - I really enjoyed the freedom of being able to walk to work in fifteen minutes, and just the ease of travel in general. The town is small enough to get around on foot easily but large enough to find everything that you need...

Don't forget the World an European Green Bowls Championships.

The best thing abut Leamington is not only that I live near there, but the sheer amount of parks. They are currently remodelling Jephson Gardens, and it looks like it's going to be good .

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Rich. Get in touch with an employment agency and get your unemployed arse a job. It'll do you good.

[DanS]

Agreed. Even if you need to flip burgers, there's no shame in an honest day's wage. Are there a lot of temp jobs in the UK?

[Immortal Wombat]

Become a hermit. Grow your own food. Buy a pedal-powered PC.

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Boddington's


A couple of Rich's problems stem from him being quite averse to risk, y'see..

Well my idea of risk isn't putting money into a gambler. I don't like unnecessary risk, because as a rule, you will lose out. Look at your gambling career. Have you even broken even? A mugs game. Walking out on a PhD is a phenomenal risk, something that looks like a real dirty stain on my CV but I just have to work it to my advantage. I do want a change, as Lincoln said, he is quite right. I certainly want to get out of Hull. The advantage of staying in Hull previously was that it was cheap, but property prices have undergone an explosion, putting them at about the same price as Manchester, and still going up faster.

Also like Mike said, I am quite discerning. I have stated time and time again, there is no way I could stand being a penpusher all day, really would make me want to slit my wrists. And I want a job where I can actually do what I am supposed to do. I was ill-supported in my PhD, I constantly felt like I was fumbling around in the dark, guessing and making it up as I went along, and with an unapproachable supervisor and poor facilities, things weren't getting any better. For too long I buried my head in the sand over it, but in the end, the stress, my depleted motivation and interest brought me into the spotlight. Also note at this point, I was at my wits end. Things came to quite a head. Perhaps in hindsight I could have handled it better if I'd have approached someone earlier, but I doubt it, most of the problems would not and could not be resolved satisfactorily. And I am not the only person who felt like that. When going out for a drink with people from my department after the departure, there was quite a sense of respect for doing it, after all, they had to endure the same crap. But the fact was, I was unhappy, and my life felt like it was going nowhere. Stagnation is something I cannot stand. So believe it or not, I do take risks. But they have to be calculated.

Aberystwyth combines the best of British and Greek lifestyles

The Hellenic Republic of Wales eh?

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Ron Jeremy
Rich. Get in touch with an employment agency and get your unemployed arse a job. It'll do you good.

Yeah, I shall try blitzkrieging the agencies (if only I could do it literally ), the problem is for them that my skills are a little 'generic' so I have tried to go with lab agencies more than anything (and some bog-standard recruitment agencies) but none of them have paid off. The perplexing thing is, that not only do I possess good qualifications but experience too, so I should be snapped up. But in practice it doesn't seem to be working out like this, which is worrying, and frightening.

But yeah, living at home is driving me nuts. It's not my mother though, I'd take her with me given the chance, well maybe not, but believe me, she certainly wouldn't be the reason I moved out, but a thing of dignity. I am used to being told what I can do, my career potential, all that lot. People make it out to be so easy and it just isn't. And then there is envy, something I hate, but envy of how well some of my friends seem to be doing in this regard. It's a nasty trap, but one that is hard to avoid. I feel stuck in limbo and it isn't pleasant.

[red_jon]

Hmm, for a guy just starting in life and about to go to uni this doesn't exactly fill me with hope

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Boddington's
Aberystwyth combines the best of British and Greek lifestyles.

Sorry Bod, but that is the most bizzare quote i've ever encountered!!!!!!

[red_jon]

Three of my friends are going to uni in Aberystwyth in September - they're rabid liberals, maybe I should give 'em a picture of Bodders

[Solly]

Iain,

Thanks for reminding me about my adolescent past! Everyone makes mistakes and has a few things to be embarassed about. And no, I won't be posting yours.

Rich,

The advantage of staying in Hull previously was that it was cheap, but property prices have undergone an explosion, putting them at about the same price as Manchester, and still going up faster.

There are places where house prices are still quite reasonable for your budget, although these will probably be in an area where well-paying jobs are scarce, or where you have to travel some distance to reach jobs like that.

Two solutions would be to rent in an area where house prices are higher (indeed, a lot of the "explosion" in house prices is due to people buying houses in order to rent them out; due to this increase in supply of rentable houses/flats, the price of renting is falling in many areas) or accept a jobs that pays lower than you could obtain, but at the satisfaction that a great bulk of it isn't going straight into the bank's hands.

not only do I possess good qualifications but experience too, so I should be snapped up. But in practice it doesn't seem to be working out like this, which is worrying, and frightening.

You seem to be getting a fair few interviews. Maybe it's your interview technique that needs practising/working on. I really do think Siro has a point though; if you can have some great rebuttal to their critical question about why you did not finish your PhD, then I think this will make a massive difference. It'd probably be the difference between getting a job and not getting one.

[Solly]

red jon,

Three of my friends are going to uni in Aberystwyth in September - they're rabid liberals, maybe I should give 'em a picture of Bodders

Better yet, give me their pictures.

[Provost Harrison]

Zorba the Taffy

Well this is true, most of the jobs at my level I can afford to rent somewhere quite comfortable in not too bad an area, as I said, Manchester isn't particularly expensive (unless you live in a silly area, but the same goes for any city). I wouldn't buy yet because, quite frankly, I don't think that present property prices are sustainable, and looking at the amount of residential construction in Manchester, there could be a bit of a glut.

Don't worry, I have figured out the PhD rebuttal quite effectively, but I think a lot of it comes down to a matter of the sectors of work I select, in an academic environment it is going to look somewhat bad, however in a private environment, they are going to have a much higher degree of empathy for the situation (most of the problems I suffered from in the academic environment wouldn't even exist in a well funded private laboratory).

It's a matter of patience, something which I lack to a degree in this context. I am quite frustrated and just want to get on with life, but I am sure that something will come up.

[Solly]

I don't think that present property prices are sustainable

Well most indicators show that they probably are - however, if interest rates were to rise rapidly (which I personally don't think will happen), then there most certainly will be problems.

I have figured out the PhD rebuttal quite effectively

What do you tell them about why you quit?

I am quite frustrated and just want to get on with life, but I am sure that something will come up.