I live on the Isle of Man - AMA

[jayiom]

Sunday boredom - ask away!

[Ylfa]

Hello! Is it a nice place to visit for a holiday?

[DoubleYouOhEmAyEn]

Is it really a hotbed of narrow mindedness bordering on racism, as one of my colleagues would have me believe? Or, as I suspect, not so much?

[jayiom]

@Ylfa I'd say so! Good beaches, nature, camping facilities, transport to get around and a few things to do with kids!
Not great shopping or nightlife though in my opinion so depending what you want out of it!

[StrictlyAFemaleFemale]

When I wad a girl guide there was a manx badge in the badgebook. Were you by any chance a girl guide and did you get the badge?

Do you know Jeremy Clarkson?

[jayiom]

@DoubleYouOhEmAyEn not as bad as people say but definitely has a point! A lot of people here can be narrow-minded and set in their ways with opinions. I imagine it is down to only experiencing such a small island for so long with little culture otherwise - typically the older generation seen like this

[jayiom]

@StrictlyAFemaleFemale never a girl guide!

I don't know Jeremy Clarkson, but my grandpa used to tell me every time we went on a walk down the south of the island that he owned a specific lighthouse there, which impressed me every time I saw it

[Thornethorn]

Are lots of people very wealthy?

Isn't it terribly dull?

Why don't you live where it's not necessary to get a ferry to go anywhere?

[jayiom]

@Thornethorn would say most people here are the opposite of wealthy (especially right now). There is a big spectrum of wealth/social class here.

Definitely gets dull sometimes - if I didn't have kids, I probably wouldn't have stayed here (would've moved to UK). However, it is generally good to raise children (in my personal opinion).

We can also get flights

[Ylfa]

@jayiom

@Ylfa I'd say so! Good beaches, nature, camping facilities, transport to get around and a few things to do with kids!
Not great shopping or nightlife though in my opinion so depending what you want out of it!

I’d like to camp with my dog, I’m a grandma so maybe also with a grandcub. I probably have ancestral ties to the island, looked up my dad’s last name and found this! Are there any historical sites, creepy myths/folklore and that sort of thing?

[mnahmnah]

Do I you ever feel cut-off or trapped?

[jayiom]

@Ylfa camping is great here.

Yes, there's historical sites around the island - castles, museums and other heritage sites that showcase a lot of island history.

There's myths/folklore prominent to witness through these places too and find out about - I'm not too clued up about that stuff though!
The Moddey Dhoo is most of my knowledge about this, and I know our boat (Manannan) is named after a myth 

@mnahmnah yes slightly sometimes. The ease of travel can be restricting, as are the career/education opportunities etc compared to the UK.

[Endlesslypatient82]

The oddest place I have ever been!

Have you lived anywhere else oP? Our friends moved there from London (the female had been born and grew up there), and they both said that it was so very “odd”!

[Endlesslypatient82]

How do locals view the TT race?

[jayiom]

@Endlesslypatient82 never lived anywhere else - born here. I've also never really travelled much so whatever is 'odd' here is probably so normal to me

[jayiom]

@Endlesslypatient82 most love it - I know a few that hate it.

TT ultimately is such a different atmosphere than locals are used to - busyness, tourists everywhere, much better nightlife etc and most embrace that!

[MoreTeaLessCoffee]

Is it true there are no speed limits? How do you feel driving if so, do people drive really fast?!

[Papergirl1968]

No questions but I've been lucky enough to visit the IoM twice and loved it. That immediate feeling of "coming home" that I've also experienced in Wales and Ireland.
A beautiful and fascinating place.

[jayiom]

@MoreTeaLessCoffee there's speed limits in most places! However, we don't have a 'national speed limit' so there's a few places with the national speed limit sign, which for us means no limit.

They are usually pretty straight and wide countryside roads so driving on them is okay! Most people go around 60mph on them. Some go around 80/90mph overtaking everyone but it's not that common and people usually drive pretty safely!

[Wouldloveanother]

What do you do for fun or at the weekends?

[jayiom]

@Papergirl1968 it is lovely - I'm so used to it now, but I've always said that I'd have loved to have been raised in a busy city or somewhere more urban to feel the full effect of vacationing somewhere like here.
Especially if you stay in the right places (more countryside), it's just such a different, quiet, rural place.

[Ylfa]

Love your Moddey Dhoo, sounds like our east Anglian Black Shuck. That settles it then, I’ll come for a visit and see if I can track down any long lost relatives or their resting places. What’s it like in autumn?

[jayiom]

@Wouldloveanother in summer as now - camping weekends, beach days, dog walks, BBQs, kayaking.
Usually a few events on too for various things that a lot of people go to!

[jayiom]

@Ylfa usually still lovely in autumn, just can get a bit more rainier. Our campsites tend to shut 30 September too.

[Ylfa]

Thanks. You’re good for tourism! Does it have to be a campsite or could we go in stealth mode - our camper van just looks like a car with a kayak on its head.

[jayiom]

@Ylfa yes! Think the rules are no 'wild camping' (so tents outside of registered campsites), but no rules against campervans parking wherever permitted (ends of promenades near beaches usually common spots!)