In the ten or so weeks since I last posted I have quit my job as a civil servant in Northern Ireland and moved to the bustling, cosmopolitan heart of Britain. Yes, you've guessed it........Leicester! Ok, so it may not have the glamour of London, the prestige of Bristol or the sun n' fun of Brighton, but I think it's GREAT and as an added bonus every man and his dog seems to have a relative in Northern Ireland. Very homely indeed.
"So, why Leicester?" - a question I have been asked a lot recently. In fact, I've been asking myself the same question for months, but substituting different city names all over England! The whole process of deciding where to move brought home a well known idiom in a very tangible way: You can't have your cake and eat it too. I searched and searched for the place I wanted to live: affordable, lots of job opportunities, good schools, not-too-big, not-too-small, multicultural, liberal, good transport links and so on. I also wanted to be close to my boyfriend, who I'd been with for six months at that point.
Of course, that place did not exist and I had to start the much more difficult process of prioritising my wish list. I learnt a lot about myself during that time of introspection as I grappled with whether I would be willing to live in a flat, work full time, send the kids to a school in special measures, spend most of my income on rent, live on benefits for a few months, commute to work, give up my dream career in international development or live 3 hours away from my boyfriend.
I reaffirmed my values through the choices I made. An affordable rented house with a garden allows freedom from large financial commitments, space to create a home for myself and the kids and a garden to enjoy the nature and the outdoors. The house may need a bit of work, and I do live next door to a live music venue, but the things that are important to me have been fulfilled. I can live with a bit of the Bobby Sunshine Revival Band on a Saturay night! The local school is in special measures, but a visit showed an enthusiastic new headteacher and a lot of changes taking place. The kids have settled in almost instantaneously, and we are all delighted with the school and the new friendships that are being formed. Some people would be horrified that I chose to send my children to a school in special measures but when I visited I saw a school where children are happy learning, as well as evidence of improvement in those areas where it was needed. While I value education, I also think school should be about so much more than just English and Maths tests.
In this way, choice after choice was made and I have forged my path to this moment in time. I am now 32 years old and continue to learn so much about life. But I still think it's always better to eat the cake than to have it.....
