Being British Act VI

[Mistletoe]

Erm well, since I live in America, I have absolutely no idea where anything is in England or anwhere in Europe for that matter because I'm directionally challenged, and I need a city or area or... something, that is inhabited by Muggles of course. Anyway, what I'm looking for is a place that has lots of remote area around where a magical family could put their home. Weird post... I know, kind of silly too, but any suggestions?

[SiriuslyMental]

Mmm, I'd suggest somewhere Northish. Moorland maybe? It's more secluded than, say, London or Birmingham, and you could find some random moor to stick a family on. I doubt anyone'd bother them. Moors are a bit depressing.

[TyrannoLaurus]

My reccommendation, just because I know the area reasonably well, would be Northumberland or county Durham. Both counties are in the North East region of England, and have both a very industrial and commercial city with Newcastle (and the angel of the north!), a quaint and historic city with Durham (with an amazing cathedral). There's also Sunderland (which Gary knows) and then even further north you have Berwick and Alnwick that are also very nice towns. The reason I would say Northumberland is because it has copious amounts of countryside -- very beautiful countryside (good for horse riding!) -- and a very good coastline. A lot of people go up to Northumberland for a quiet life, though they get the best of both worlds with cities so nearby, and I think it'd be very easy for a wizarding family to rent out an abandoned farmhouse or barn, do some hocus pocus in rennovation, and live there quite undisturbed!

Mmm, I'd suggest somewhere Northish. Moorland maybe? It's more secluded than, say, London or Birmingham, and you could find some random moor to stick a family on. I doubt anyone'd bother them. Moors are a bit depressing.

Moors are depressing? Have you ever been to the North York Moors? Have you ever read Wuthering Heights? They're not depressing! I would certainly reccommend using one of our moorland sites because they're very typically British. The landscape is overwhelming and so you've got some greast scope for writing description. Local to the North York Moors you've also got places like Whitby - a very popular tourist attraction and coastal town that does amazing fish and chips (apparently) and obviously the gorgous city of York.


I hope this helps. You are going to need to do further research into all of this if you want to create a realistic account of the setting of the place you choose, but feel free to ask more questions!

[Mistletoe]

*blanches*

Well, that was far beyond anything that I was hoping for, thanks for that so much, TyrannoLaurus! I'm going to go with Northumberland-- I like all of this country you speak of

[TyrannoLaurus]

I guess that's because they're always depicted as creepy, dark and windy. But then there's the flip side - when the sun comes out and you've still got that breeze, and all you can see for miles is hills upon hills with wild heather and free-roaming wildlife! I think of freedom, the Romantics, and the raw passion of nature. But then, you are speaking to someone who is having to engross herself deeply into two Bronte novels in order to write an essay in four weeks.

I'm glad I was some help to you, Mistletoe. I know it sounds basic, but type in Northumberland to Google and read Wikipedias page. Also, have a look at the house market -- it gives you a sense of the local areas, the more rural villages and also what the houses are like. It's probably quite expensive to buy a cottege in Northumberland (but then, it's quite expensive to buy a terraced house in Barnsley!) but I'm sure your wizarding family will overcome that.

[Heather25x]

I would say somewhere in Yorkshire. It's a very nice place with secluded coutryside where you might get somewhere like The Burrow, where there are big hills where a wizard family could live in privacy without any Muggles

[garyf]

*blanches*

Well, that was far beyond anything that I was hoping for, thanks for that so much, TyrannoLaurus! I'm going to go with Northumberland-- I like all of this country you speak of

If you need any help with info on Northumberland, PM or email me. I live about 4 miles from Northumberland and know it well. They have a very unusual dialect in some parts of Northumberland as well. Particularly in south east Northumberland. Out in the west you have Hexham and Ponteland where the fashionably wealthy like to live.

[witch6]

Hey!

I was wondering how common are Joint families in Britain? Do you find anybody who lives in one there? What I know about England is from the books i have read and have never read of anyone living in one over there.

Also, can anyone please suggest some commercial areas in London? Well, my OC's father is a muggle and is a businessman, not super rich though well to do, but I have imagined his business to be something related to medicines. Also, can you please suggest a residential area in London for an upper middle-class family? Well, my OC has shifted to London, so can please suggest a few things I should keep in mind while writing? anything that you think is important.

Thanks in advance!

[apollo13]

By joint families, d'you mean two families living together? No, that's not common at all. In fact, I've never even heard of it.

Islington's a pretty good place to live - I used to live there. - althought it depends on the time period.

~Evie

[Heather25x]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by a joint-family. Maybe you could elaborate?

I would say, for a commercial area, maybe for your OC's father to walk through or just to work near or something, you could use Trafalgar Square? Or any other square lol.

Things to keep in mind: You won't find a quiet road. There are no pigeons in Trafalgar Square anymore lol. It's not the type of place you would take something vauable around with you. So if your character is walking around with a laptop it is likely to get stolen