It's funny to think that in the fall of 2011, in the sheer number of questions asked about where I'd settle for the duration of my working visa in the UK, Manchester was usually the first city name that came out of my mouth. Fellow travelers asked me in London; hostelmates asked me in Inverness; family of friends asked me in Argyll. "I'm not too sure yet, maybe Manchester."
Nothing in particular was drawing me there. In the hazy pictures in my mind, Manchester was a blur of red-coloured scarves of football supporters and big city lights- the fashionable younger sister of London. I heard the nightlife was good and that there was a big university there. That's what I knew about Manchester.
But I was taken different places.
Edinburgh drew me in with her towering spires and old world charm. The bustling Royal Mile with the rainbow of tartans dotting the shops down the street. I was surrounded by a fairy-tale. The history of thousands of years snaked its way from Holyrood Park all the way up to the cliff of Castle Rock. I had the chance to live that every single day. I had a magic-filled affair with Edinburgh. I will never forget how lucky I felt every day to walk up the Royal Mile.
And then Travel called me elsewhere.
I would have never have expected to end up in Bristol. When I look back on the time I spent there, everything is washed in sparkling sunshine and bright colours of street art. The Harbourside and local cider and Holsten lager is what sums it up for me. Sitting around during after hours at Mud Dock, drinking with my best friends. Barbeques in the back garden on St. Michael's Hill. Watching The IT Crowd in the tiny living room, three of us squished into a two-person couch. Bristol was for me what other people's university residence years were, but better since I was making money and didn't have to go to class.
My time in Stoke-On-Trent, admittedly, was not as shiny or enchanting as Bristol or Edinburgh. But I gained a couple of great friends, an experience I would not have had otherwise and I finally, after a year in a long-distance relationship, got to spend my time with Jamie.
And then we ended up in Manchester.
It's funny how things happen, isn't it?
Manchester is a great city. It's smaller than London, it has a great nightlife, the area we live in is like the best parts of Corydon, Clifton and Leith all thrown together. The Curry Mile is a 10 minute bus ride, City Centre only 20, and the most amazing Japanese restaurant only a 3 minute walk away.
Needless to say, I'm looking forward to spending my last summer in the UK in Manchester with Jamie.
Now, only to have one of these restaurants hire me...
Nothing in particular was drawing me there. In the hazy pictures in my mind, Manchester was a blur of red-coloured scarves of football supporters and big city lights- the fashionable younger sister of London. I heard the nightlife was good and that there was a big university there. That's what I knew about Manchester.
But I was taken different places.
Edinburgh drew me in with her towering spires and old world charm. The bustling Royal Mile with the rainbow of tartans dotting the shops down the street. I was surrounded by a fairy-tale. The history of thousands of years snaked its way from Holyrood Park all the way up to the cliff of Castle Rock. I had the chance to live that every single day. I had a magic-filled affair with Edinburgh. I will never forget how lucky I felt every day to walk up the Royal Mile.
And then Travel called me elsewhere.
I would have never have expected to end up in Bristol. When I look back on the time I spent there, everything is washed in sparkling sunshine and bright colours of street art. The Harbourside and local cider and Holsten lager is what sums it up for me. Sitting around during after hours at Mud Dock, drinking with my best friends. Barbeques in the back garden on St. Michael's Hill. Watching The IT Crowd in the tiny living room, three of us squished into a two-person couch. Bristol was for me what other people's university residence years were, but better since I was making money and didn't have to go to class.
My time in Stoke-On-Trent, admittedly, was not as shiny or enchanting as Bristol or Edinburgh. But I gained a couple of great friends, an experience I would not have had otherwise and I finally, after a year in a long-distance relationship, got to spend my time with Jamie.
And then we ended up in Manchester.
It's funny how things happen, isn't it?
Manchester is a great city. It's smaller than London, it has a great nightlife, the area we live in is like the best parts of Corydon, Clifton and Leith all thrown together. The Curry Mile is a 10 minute bus ride, City Centre only 20, and the most amazing Japanese restaurant only a 3 minute walk away.
Needless to say, I'm looking forward to spending my last summer in the UK in Manchester with Jamie.
Now, only to have one of these restaurants hire me...
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