A trip back to the South East reminds me what the North East is all about

I've just come back from a trip down South over Christmas and some parts of living in the North East have really come home when I spent 10 days away. I have lived in various parts of England and spent a lot of my time living in the South East. I don't know whether it is as I have got older or whether the place has changed but the way of life in and near London really got to me during a ten day stay.

Traffic

I have written before about traffic in the North East and the way that people drive before but the difference becomes even more startling the longer I live here. The drivers in the South East are only interested in getting on their way, whether this means driving in the wrong lane, cutting you up or almost causing a crash makes no difference. As long as they can shave a few seconds off their journey then you are inconsequential.

So people spend so much of their time in the wrong lane because they think it will get them there faster. I saw people cross four lanes of traffic from the wrong lane to the one they wanted because they saw the chance to cut under 2 or 3 cars.Added to the traffic was the fact that it was Christmas and everyone faced this time of festive cheer with a cutthroat attitude of "I'm getting there before you." It was heaven!

The main problem that causes all of the other issues on the roads in the South East is the amount of traffic. In the North East I can drive 20 miles in 20 minutes on a regular basis, no matter what the road or the time of day. In the South East you struggle to do this on a motorway (especially the M25) and this creates a tension in every driver on the road. People know it is going to be hell so the prepare for the worst in their mind. Drivers turn into racers.

People

I have actually seen the people in the South East go in the opposite direction of the traffic. There are fewer people walking and it reminds me in many ways of visits to the United States where people use their car to travel short distances,. The first time I went to Las Vegas I walked along The Strip and the only others I saw walking were Brits.You can walk for a few miles in the South East and not see people until you arrive at a coffee shop or a pub. It's becoming a lost art and it only adds to the problems on the road.

I walked from where I was staying to the local town one day, around a mile and a half and saw nobody outside of their vehicles or homes. I made the similar journey on the way back from the train station one night and again was the only one that didn't choose a taxi.

It will improve health and traffic in one go!

Prices

I am known in my family for the way that I analyse the price of something before making a purchase. I like to have value for money and often I would rather do without than pay what I consider to be over the odds.

Again this may be because it was close to Christmas, but it felt as though the price of absolutely everything in the South East was over the odds and far away. It cost me less for me and the kids to watch a Premier League match when we got home than it did to watch a League 1 match in the South East. The various Santa's Grottoes that I saw were charging between £10 and £15 for a few brief moments with the big man himself. Even after using the discount given by the meerkat off the telly I had to pay nearly £30 for 4 of us (2 adults and 2 kids) to watch the new Star Wars film..

It feels as though everyone wants their cut of your income. It is hard work trying to find value in the South East so I generally went with the flow and knew that I would have to tighten my belt when I got back home in January. So expect to see blogs in the near future to show you how to have a great time in the North East without spending any money!