North and South

Having now settled into my new flat, it's about time I started my blog for this year. Rather than write about work, I'm going to write about my experience down south, whether that be something I see or somewhere I go.

Living and working so close to the city centre means I have gotten to know my way around very well, very quickly. Bath is obviously much smaller than Manchester and at first glance are completely different cities. With Bristol so close and Bath being the only UNESCO city in the UK, calling Bath a "city" almost seems to be pushing it: it takes me half an hour to walk from one end to the other. On top of that, it simply doesn't fit into what people imagine a city to be. Manchester, sometimes called the capital of the North, is a buzzing metropolis with high office towers, grand civic buildings and a transport system that ties not just the city but the surrounding area together. In comparison, Bath is more like a large town.

At first glance they seem completely different but there are more similarities than you might think. And I mean more than just the Roman origins and the fact they are both cities.

I knew Bath was famous and city with a lot of tourism but I didn't quite realise how much. Manchester is definitely an international city, but so is Bath. There are people from all over the world here; visiting and working.

When I was in Manchester, I would tend to avoid the city centre at the weekend, especially when Christmas was drawing closer. Unfortunately, my job doesn't allow me this so if I want to go shopping, I have to battle not just the weekend shoppers like myself, but the weekend tourists. It is safe to say that Bath is just as busy as Manchester when it comes to the city centre. (I'm half hoping it'll quieten down now the schools are going back!)

On a similar note: shopping. Bath, like most cities, can be split up into different parts and the main three I can think of in the city centre are the Tourism, Shopping and Business areas. While due to its heritage status, much of the architecture in Bath looks the same, in and around the shops, you could so easily be in any city in the country. While the general feel and look of the city is preserved, this is one part of the city that is just as modern as the next.

When I found out I would be living in Bath, I knew it would be a completely different experience to that from living in Manchester but although I have most definitely down sized, I'm still living in a city and it's a pretty awesome one for it's own reasons. Bath, for me at the moment, has all the benefits of the big city without all the crap that comes with them. You just wouldn't expect it at first glance.