The Good Things On The Iom

[hboy]

...When I graduated I checked out the poss of living in the UK ...

Hardly a positive thread when you started by stereotyping a wide group of people (Manx/Other) as 'a load of whinging halfwits' - what else can you expect?

 

The "When I graduated post says it all". When you graduated you checked out the possibility of living in the UK but what with the non existent taxes and only a bunch of half-educated "depressing" hicks to compete against in the employment market you thought the IOM was a safe bet.

[Declan]

Strange thread.

 

You'd think from the title this would be a nice thread about all the good things on the Island, but no. From the agressive tone of the first post onwards people have been more keen on putting down the other side of the arguement.

 

Are IOM Combat and his allies really saying we can't saying something good about our home without putting down the neighbouring Islands?

[Phoenix]

I've read through Most of this thread and I have to say that the WORST thing about this Island is people constantly at each others throats about how good or bad it is! WTF people Grow up.

 

Probably not the best start to a let's hear what's good about the Island thread but after reading all this it really bears it home.

 

I am in fact a comeover and I friggin LOVE this place! I'm not going to bore you all by listing reasons why because frankly I reckon I'd be here a Loooonggg time and even then I'd forget some points. I left my family, relatives, friends, work mates etc etc etc to come and live here and have NEVER regretted it for a second and quite frankly I doubt I ever will. Yes there are loads of things we could all moan about but isn't that the case wherever you live???

 

I've gotta agree with the locals and if people feel so strongly about the place then they should just bugger off and go back home and leave the rest of us in peace to enjoy, in the words of the Manx National Anthem,

what can only be described as, and I have to agree, as a GEM of GOD's Earth!

 

I've been around a bit and seen a few places that not many get to see and I can honestly say that I have never been anywhere that feels more like home than this little Island.

 

Feel free to start a barrage of abuse because quite frankly I couldn't care what anyone else thinks. These are my thoughts, like em or shove em where the sun don't shine B)

[hboy]

Are IOM Combat and his allies really saying we can't saying something good about our home without putting down the neighbouring Islands?

 

Perhaps they should as at least the tax money raised by the "moaning halfwitts" paid for his grant - and that is a really, really nice thing about living in the IOM. Little student debt.

[Invigilator]

You are all still having a go at each other. You have a wonderful place to live in, more good than bad. I am very jealous and wish we were able to live in the island. You have a great way of life and everything you need, make the most of it.

[Phoenix]

You are all still having a go at each other. You have a wonderful place to live in, more good than bad. I am very jealous and wish we were able to live in the island. You have a great way of life and everything you need, make the most of it.

 

EXACTLY !!

[Declan]

You are all still having a go at each other. You have a wonderful place to live in, more good than bad. I am very jealous and wish we were able to live in the island. You have a great way of life and everything you need, make the most of it.

 

Fuck off, Dickhead.

 

There has been an awful lot of bollocks in this thread, from both sides, but this is the only post that has actually annoyed me. So people are arguing - they either live here or are former residents who've moved away. They've a right to an opinion.

 

So you come over here for a few weeks for your holidays. Big deal. How do you know if we have a great way of life or not? Even if we do, we shouldn't just smile and put up if it if we think it can be better.

 

You remind me of those nerks that write to the paper every year to say what a wonderful holiday they've had and how lucky we are. But the underlying subtext is patronising the little islanders. What the hell has it got to do with them what happens here just because they deign to visit once in a blue moon.

 

What gets me is people listen to these creatures. Comeovers have a valid point to make, they've chosen to live here, so do expat Manxies because they've lived here, but tourists should give us their money and leave quietly.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

D. Cretney,

South Douglas.

[Gladys]

Wow Declan, I thought you were really laying into him, then I read the sign off; did make me laugh!

[VinnieK]

Strange thread.

 

You'd think from the title this would be a nice thread about all the good things on the Island, but no. From the agressive tone of the first post onwards people have been more keen on putting down the other side of the arguement.

 

Are IOM Combat and his allies really saying we can't saying something good about our home without putting down the neighbouring Islands?

 

Precisely what I thought. Even if Scholar's first post was misplaced, the reaction it elicited was wholly disproportionate to any offence it may have provoked. Instead of continuing the thread with an aim to describing the merits of the Island, regardless of any contrary personal opinions, it's turned into nothing more than yet another deranged faux-nationalist scrum.

[Tempus Fugit]

Getting back to the title subject, I would like to look at it as what I miss or what I don't like when I am not here.

 

As a native, (without the bone through my nose !), when I am away I mainly miss the sea and the hills.

 

When I first went to England on holidays I was amazed at the dingy shopping streets with almost every shop with big dayglo 'sale' posters in the windows (making the place look awful) trying to outdo their naighbours rather than just offering their goods on their own merits to get custom.

 

I can find bigger hills, bigger moorland, bigger glens and bigger beaches elsewhere, but it takes a lot more time and petrol to get between them although the manx miles are longer

 

I think previous comments about 'manxies' may be a little hard to quantify as real 'manxies' are well outnumbered by Irish, English, Polish, South Africans, and hoards of others from numerous other places. Have they all been infected with the 'whinging' virus too ?.

 

What I don't like is the waste of government time and effort by seemingly just looking at what legislation happens elsewhere and re-inventing here as if it was their own work and merely rubber-stamping it.

Hardly anything radical is introduced here for local conditions (since they did away with the postcard censoring committee !)

What I wouldn't like to see however is being lumped in with UK party politics and political decisions and mismanagement of services elsewhere. Tynwald does provide a filter and buffer from outside influences but could do a lot more.

 

What I also don't understand is why people from thousands of miles away want to come to a tiny isolated rock in a windswept damp part of the world when there are numerous places around the big blue marble which must have a greater attraction than here.

 

I suppose it's inertia and family ties which stops a lot of native manxies from wandering the globe, but I think a lot who do go globe-trotting do end up here again eventually.

 

It is, however, nice to escape from time to time, you do get frustrated at events you would like to go to which would be just a hour's trip down a motorway from around the UK but are a three-day trip to do from here. The sooner there's a tunnel or bridge the better, but without EU or oil money will never happen.

 

There used to be questions from summer visitors like "what do you find to do in the winter ?", the answer to which was to do all the social and sport activities which ceased for the summer as everyone was too busy, such as social club meetings, badminton matches, rifle shooting, car rallies, darts and snooker matches and hundreds more things. Many of the sports activities have reduced to a fraction of their former level of participation despite the current affluence and population.

 

I find it sad that these days you have to take so many security measures (like locking doors when you are at home) and be potentially suspicious of strangers and wonder how much crime is 'native' and how much is 'imported' but it would be unlikely to be analysed in such a way.

 

That's my 'two penneth' for what it's worth, if you don't like it, tough !

( flames to the bit bucket )

[teapot]

The island is better for reasons of crime and pollution. If money is really important to you then I guess the island trumps in that category as well. The island is too small, depressing and constantly being around Manxies all the time makes you appreciate the multi-cultural UK society a lot more.

 

 

http://www.steam-packet.com/SteamPacket/timetable

 

I believe there is one in the morning

Oh dear...........if we're going to have one, let's try and have a reasoned debate shall we!! I'm Manx, born here, parents Manx, grandparents Manx, love the Island but it's not perfect. Scholar - you obviously haven't been mixing with the right Manxies!!

[teapot]

Ok folks, as frankly Im getting sick of a load of whinging halfwits constantly moaning about how bad everything is on the Island I thought I'd try a thread about what people like over here.

I would not have taken exception to your post if had you kept it to the good things about the island of which of course there are many, however, I disagree with your assertion that anyone unhappy here is a ‘whinging halfwit’.

 

Don't forget that some of these 'whinging halfwits' are those that are fighting tooth and nail to make sure the island retains its benefits and uniqueness. If it wasn’t for some of these ‘whingers’ we’d already be paying the same level of tax as they do in the UK, have complete freedom of movement between the island and the mainland, automatically have imported many more of the fears you feel so protected from, and have little culture left to speak of.

 

Of course people from the UK prefer the Isle of Man, as the island has many of the benefits they once had and allowed to be destroyed. IMHO it is because we do not have enough 'whingers' and debate, that we are ending up automatically adopting the ‘half-witted’ legislation and the opinions of the ‘half-witted’ lobby groups that have made the UK the place it is today.

 

As for those ‘whingers’ that complain about facilities and the lack of opportunities, a great deal of money gets wasted on this island, which could be better spent addressing the needs of the young and those entering the world of work. The consistent failure to address these issues has caused many a Manx born person to move away from the island to seek a quality of life they cannot find here - though often to return later in life. These people tend to be the brightest, the most able and most entrepreneurial, who at their peak could have done a great deal of good for the island had they the opportunity to develop themselves here.

 

As a dependency the island has a fragile existence within the UK, thinly differentiated by its culture and the legislation currently in place required to protect that culture. The Manx people need to be on their guard at all times to ensure the island does not become just 'another county' of England. If people are complacent enough to think culture is unaffected by legislation and race, they have another think coming, and demonstrate a lack of understanding of the consequences of democracy and the market economy that follows it. Such complacency is currently allowing the islands culture and uniqueness to be destroyed at an accelerated rate. Complacency also breeds false perceptions, and statistically, from the United Nations 1996 Demographic Yearbook published in 1998, people on the island had a greater chance of being murdered or committing suicide than in the UK.

 

Long live the ‘whingers’ I say, and as far as I am concerned, the phrase ‘there is a boat in the morning’ applies equally to any complacent Manxman.

 

Very well said!! Totally agree.

[EthnicTom]

I love this island, it may not have much to do for teenagers but its such a lovely place to live. Whenever i go on a holiday to somewhere i always look forward to coming back here and seeing those familiar hills

 

I don't know...Theres just something about it...

[Theskeat]

Well it aint the taxis, £8-00 from Onchan to the boat yesterday

[Snaipyr]

I love Manx gaelic. When I was at school we were corrected for using Manx words and for having strong Manx accents. Many people have worked hard to preserve and promote the language and it's now in a reasonably healthy state. I also love the Manx dialect and wish the same could be done for preserving and promoting that!