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Friday, 1 April 2011

Manchester ≠ London

I've been living in Manchester for just over a year now.
I like it a lot.  In some ways it isn't that different from Dallas.  It's a large city with plenty of cultural offerings. 

I've noticed that Manchester just doesn't get much love though.

When people here find out that I'm from Dallas, they seem to have this reaction: "Why would you want to live in Manchester after you'd lived in Dallas?"  I never know how to respond to this.  They say it like Manchester is the crappiest place ever and Dallas is uber-glamorous.  I don't think either is true.  I usually say, "They're not so different." or "This guy makes it worth it." while pointing to Ross.

People from America have a different problem.  They say, "How's London?" They know I moved to England and they can't possibly conceive of there being another city in England, I guess.  Greater Manchester has a population of 2.6 million and is basically tied with the Birmingham area for size, making it second only to Greater London.

My favourite mistake, however, is young Gracie who wrote the following in the guest book at our wedding:

Personal photo

Ahhh... Life in Paris.  I'm sure it would have been grand! ;)



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