Douglas Sh@hole!

[Zarley]

2 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

Anyone looked at the population demographics in relation to this?

I know we have an 'aging population', but is one of the reasons the nightlife was better back in the day; that there were comparatively more young people?

What I don't understand is if we allegedly have fewer young people than "back-in-the-day", then why are so many of our schools full to bursting? Why are we either adding on to existing schools or building bigger ones?

If we have so many school-aged children, does it not follow that we have a fair amount of 20-30 somethings? 

Am I missing something? 

[The Phantom]

5 minutes ago, Zarley said:

What I don't understand is if we allegedly have fewer young people than "back-in-the-day", then why are so many of our schools full to bursting? Why are we either adding on to existing schools or building bigger ones?

If we have so many school-aged children, does it not follow that we have a fair amount of 20-30 somethings? 

Am I missing something? 

No idea, I'm hoping someone with a bit of spare time and curiosity will look at the figures for the last 40 years or so and tell me 😅

[Roger Mexico]

35 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

No idea, I'm hoping someone with a bit of spare time and curiosity will look at the figures for the last 40 years or so and tell me 😅

There's no great mystery.  This diagram based on the 2016 Census explains most of it:

You'll see the bulge in the population for those aged between 45 and 69.  This represents those born between 1971 and 1947 and this is the famous baby-boom.  These people would have been between 15 and 39 in 1986 say.  There were simply a lot more more young people around - especially when you consider that there will have been quite a few deaths in the older age groups since the 80s so the group would have been even more numerous at the time.

Also university expansion had started but not reached anything like its maximum so more people would have stayed on the Island after 21.  There was a much bigger tourist industry - this was important not just in terms of actual tourists adding to the nightlife, but also for seasonal workers from the UK and Ireland.  In those days these tended to be "live-in" with accommodation and food paid-for, so while their wages may not have been high that could spend it all on enjoying themselves.   The same applied to many of the locals living at home of course, paying only nominal amounts if that.

But even if they were living on their own, rent and house prices were much cheaper in real terms than they are today (this is a whole other subject) so people had more disposable income in real terms.

[Non-Believer]

5 hours ago, 2bees said:

Or you’re older and wiser

Definitely no wiser 😂

[WTF]

2 hours ago, The Phantom said:

Anyone looked at the population demographics in relation to this?

I know we have an 'aging population', but is one of the reasons the nightlife was better back in the day; that there were comparatively more young people?

back then there were no mobile phones, no internet,  only 3 or 4 tv stations , no sky tv so the only films were at the cinemas so if you wanted to interact with anyone or get entertained  you had to go out

[Ramseyboi]

3 hours ago, Zarley said:

What I don't understand is if we allegedly have fewer young people than "back-in-the-day", then why are so many of our schools full to bursting? Why are we either adding on to existing schools or building bigger ones?

If we have so many school-aged children, does it not follow that we have a fair amount of 20-30 somethings? 

Am I missing something? 

There is no mystery.

All but one of my mates from sixth form stayed on island or returned after uni.

Now look at the same figures for people in their 20s.  In the groups my kids mix in less than half of their mates from sixth form live here at 23-25.

Plus the clubs and bars were full of the youngsters from Ireland etc who came here for the summer to work the hotels - which aren’t there any more.

 

[Zarley]

8 minutes ago, Ramseyboi said:

There is no mystery.

All but one of my mates from sixth form stayed on island or returned after uni.

Now look at the same figures for people in their 20s.  In the groups my kids mix in less than half of their mates from sixth form live here at 23-25.

Plus the clubs and bars were full of the youngsters from Ireland etc who came here for the summer to work the hotels - which aren’t there any more.

 

The same was true of friends in my daughter and SiL's circles of friends - when they were in their 20s. Now they're in their early 30s and they've all returned to settle down and raise families. A few have brought spouses/partners who weren't raised on the island. They've all had at least two children, apart from one who got started a bit later than the others but plans on having a second in due course. And of course a some didn't leave the island at all, and those tend to have more than two children. 

The fellas in these families usually get together once a month or so for a night out. The women get together at each other's houses for a few glasses of wine with the same frequency. They also get together as families at each other's houses for food and drink. They don't go to the pub with the same frequency as my generation did because 1) it's too expensive and 2) they can't be bothered dealing with the drunken yobs who do still frequent pubs, while spending a small fortune for the privilege.   

Looking around my neighbourhood, there are quite a few young families with 3-5 children parented by people who didn't to go uni and never left the island. Few of them are pub-goers, they go round to each other's houses to drink instead.

Of course, it is true that we've lost the summer season transient workers in the past decade or two. Take Peel for example. 30 years ago there were always plenty of young Irish women who would come over in summer to work in the fishyards, mainly in the kipper yards. As herring is no longer landed here, that source of work has dwindled. The shellfish yards now mainly employ resident Eastern Europeans as the locals no longer want to do it. You very rarely encounter Eastern Europeans in the pubs.

[pongo]

7 hours ago, Ramseyboi said:

All but one of my mates from sixth form stayed on island or returned after uni.

This surprises me. The vast majority of people in our 6th form in the 80s left the island. Some returning decades later.

It's important to get away and I still feel rather sorry for those who didn't.

Most people I know are very much better off than our parents were. I do not believe for one moment that the price of beer is why people no longer go to pubs or crappy late night venues.

[Roger Mexico]

6 hours ago, Zarley said:

The same was true of friends in my daughter and SiL's circles of friends - when they were in their 20s. Now they're in their early 30s and they've all returned to settle down and raise families. A few have brought spouses/partners who weren't raised on the island. They've all had at least two children, apart from one who got started a bit later than the others but plans on having a second in due course. And of course a some didn't leave the island at all, and those tend to have more than two children. 

This is what gets frequently forgotten among all the moaning by election candidates (and there's a lot of it) about graduates not returning to the Island.  If you've gone away to study for a profession or make a career, you're going to want to practice and develop in different environments, not scurry back home at the first opportunity.  So a  lot of people will work away for five to ten years and then return when they want to start a family or the right work opportunity arises or they want to buy their first house.

This is a good thing and ought to welcomed because those people are developing their experience and bringing it back to the Island.  But, despite the fact that all these politicians and civil servants must know of many such returnees from within their own circles, they seem horrified by the idea that they're not coming straight back from university.  

[AlanShimmin]

12 hours ago, Zarley said:

What I don't understand is if we allegedly have fewer young people than "back-in-the-day", then why are so many of our schools full to bursting?

Kids today are just fatter. 

[quilp]

17 minutes ago, AlanShimmin said:

Kids today are just fatter...

Makes them harder to kidnap though. 

[Zarley]

1 hour ago, quilp said:

Makes them harder to kidnap though. 

And they take longer to cook.

[snowman]

Here's a seaside town moving forward - NOT Douglas. It's Morecambe

 

https://www.edenproject.com/new-edens/eden-project-north-uk

[Boris Johnson]

Imagine getting that past the NIMBYS - as in new residents/ local old timers, insularly bred, one eye in the middle if the forehead types, and with even more difficultly' the  "Boat In The Morning" "Proud Manxman",  brigade over here?

This is the failing of the place and why it will turn into a wasteland in the next 10 years.

As long as you can elect a half wit* on a couple of thousand votes that has no political experience or a political party behind them it will end in a shit storm.

* See at least half of the current MHK "Politicians" 

Prove me wrong or at least argue why this is not the case...........................................

[AlanShimmin]

14 minutes ago, Boris Johnson said:

Imagine getting that past the NIMBYS - as in new residents/ local old timers, insularly bred, one eye in the middle if the forehead types, and with even more difficultly' the  "Boat In The Morning" "Proud Manxman",  brigade over here?

This is the failing of the place and why it will turn into a wasteland in the next 10 years.

As long as you can elect a half wit* on a couple of thousand votes that has no political experience or a political party behind them it will end in a shit storm.

* See at least half of the current MHK "Politicians" 

Prove me wrong or at least argue why this is not the case...........................................

You've hit the nail on the head. 

Just like the group who tried to oppose the redevelopment of the old Griddles building because there were some 'historic' cobbles in the basement. 

Lots investment has been lost over the years because investors simple can't be arsed swimming in the sea of treacle that is the planning process as soon as the history groups become involved. Also see the rat infested warehouse that became 'registered'.