I blame Inspector Morse.
He made it all look too quaint, but in reality it has the highest murder rate in the country.
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Went there Wednesday
Not what I expected - just an expensive Cardiff
Was expecting small and rural with quaint shops and artisan bakeries. Instead chain stores and It was packed
Not for me
I blame Inspector Morse.
He made it all look too quaint, but in reality it has the highest murder rate in the country.
Tis the case in most towns and cities in the UK. Santander, WHSmith and all the other brands occupying properties with enormous plate glass windows at street level. You often have to look up to take in the architecture. I posted a message on here a couple of years ago saying that I though Cardiff city centre had become more soulless but I was harangued for it. Still, I can cope
I know a guy who used to play for one of the big BBC orchestras. They got expenses where ever thy went and hey all loved a beer, when you see the orchestra on TV they are likely all half pissed.
But in Oxford they never drank even on expenses. They called it the Rip-off Capital of Britain, and having had to work there at Magdalene College for several weeks I agree with them.
you pay extra just for being in Oxford, big deal!!
Why are so many people called Don in Oxford?
Oxford is a strange place
All the nice buildings , some posh suburbs but some less than squeaky clean areas
Oxford East is one of the only labour seats in the south east of England outside of London
Cowley , Blackbird Leys , Wood farm, all traditional working class districts
I never used to go into Oxford City Centre at night , the locals ran the place
The student area , cowley road was OK
Outside of the University area Oxford can be a surprisingly rough old place and quite industrial.
Cambridge on the other hand is quite stunning and has, in the main, been sympathetically developed. The only problem is that those from the surrounding areas are a strange lot to the point of making people from the Forest of Dean look reasonable.
I love Oxford. I lived there for four years a student. The Cornmarket and Westgate Centre are like any city's shopping streets but there is plenty more. If you want artisan type stuff, go to the Covered Market or to Summertown in North Oxford, 15 minutes walk or 5-minute bus-ride from the centre. Walk from the centre down the High, past Magdalen College, over Magdalen Bridge, and you're in Cowley Road, a multicultural working-class area with lots of cheap restaurants, and cheapish pubs with happy-hour deals etc. Accommodation (permanent and hotel-wise) is expensive but you can live there quite cheaply if you know the right places (and the right people - there's a good community spirit).
Yes, really great down-to-earth area.Good mix of locals and students but an area which tends to repel the more unsavoury students. A huge number of twats in the student community but some very notable exceptions.I lived further down the Cowley Road, virtually in Cowley.
Many friends still in Cowley Road, so I always get a free place to crash when I visit.
There's not much happening in Summertown, unless you mean the town end, just a shitload of expensive houses and Peter Hitchens, enough to put anyone off Walking the canal is nice, and just south of Headington is Shotover country park, loads of wildlife etc. I was back and forth Oxford for 2 years. It's alright, first time i heard the phrase'Townie or Gownie' The A420 in to Oxford is great if you want to play road kill bingo, never have i seen so many dead Rabbits, Deer, Pheasants, Badgers etc. Probably shot by the locals
Like any town in the U.K. the high street and main town looks exactly the same.
But if you do a bit of research before you go there are plenty of great restaurants and bars/pubs just a bit off the beaten track.