To think people shouldn't moan about events happening in London

[ParadiseCity]

I'm really annoyed - I work really hard on a certain project, I go above and beyond and it all works very well. Then people further away start moaning that 'why is it always in London'. Because that is the place the majority of people can get transport to. Obviously. I have explained until I am blue in the face and now they are moaning again, on social media. I really want to reply #I'vefuckingtoldyouthisalreadystopfuckingmoaning.

None of the people currently giving up their time for free are also going to travel as well, they are all London based, so helping my thing is easy for them. I can't help where the capital city is can I! Fucks sake.

Because that is the place the majority of people can get transport to.

Are you listening, Southern Rail?

I've found the other way in a couple of things I'm involved with which have annual meet ups.. It's never in London. However we had twice in Ireland within 5 years (which means about half the normal people don't go) for one of the things, and the other alternates between the midlands and Scotland, which as probably about 60% of people are south of the midlands on that particular interest.

I did find it irritating the second time it was in Ireland (it's never been anywhere near us) the Irish contingent was being very vocal about it being too long between being there, when it's definitely less than 1/5 of the members are from there, probably less than 10%.

Are you listening, Southern Rail

If you need SR to get to london, you can't have an event because no one can get to you!!

Our organisation is nationwide and we organise quite a lot of events in Birmingham as it's as accessible as London to most of the country and closer for half of it. If 99% of possible attendees (not people who are attending) are from London then UANBU - but in which case who's complaining?

YANBU. I used to go to a twice yearly event that was usually in London as it was somewhere that everyone could access. After much grumbling the organiser arranged for it to be near her own home on the Cambridgeshire/Essex border, making it more central to the attendees homes. Problem was that there wasn't a nearby train station so most people had to organise accommodation for the night before and get a taxi from that accommodation in the morning. Lots of moaning (from the usual suspects) again so organiser said it would be in London going forward.

Then people further away start moaning that 'why is it always in London'. Because that is the place the majority of people can get transport to.

That's a circular argument. The infrastructure is in London ... so London gets the gig ... so London gets better infrastructure ... ad infinitum.
Endless self-justification of hogging resources that should be shared throughout the country.

I get this for a thing I volunteer at. The people who put the thing on - for free - live and work in London. I always say go ahead, organise your thing where you are and I will help promote it, but this thing will still go ahead in London because that's where I am.

There's lots of downsides to living in London - the expense, can't afford a garden so no pets, the pollution, the noise, more expense, etc etc. But the vast availability of brilliant things to do, organised by fellow Londoners, is the upside.

I was talking about the south-east thing with a friend yesterday. Why don't large bodies, including gov't/civil service locate departments in under-populated areas? Small rural towns are having services such as obstetrics, gynae and paediatrics removed, requiring people to travel more than 100 miles to access them. It's hardly going to encourage new people in to those areas, which is great pity as the standard of living is otherwise better than in the major cities. Friend reckoned that gov't departments had tried moving unsuccessfully as both members of couples can't get a job. Otoh, the cost of living is so much lower that two well-paid jobs per household are not always necessary. Though I know that's not the only consideration.

Moaning on social media is unacceptable - it's so boring IMO and reflects badly on the poster. A few of my fb friends use their pages to complain - I just ignore any moany posts.

Why don't large bodies, including gov't/civil service locate departments in under-populated areas?

Didn't the BBC try with Salford?

Yes. I think so.

There must be as many people living within relatively easy reach of Manchester/Sheffield/Leeds/Birmingham as London.

With new technology you'd think whole 'discrete' govt departments could move - eg environmental stuff could move to Cumbria -might get proper flood defences then.

There must be as many people living within relatively easy reach of Manchester/Sheffield/Leeds/Birmingham as London

You would think but actually the connections between them are shit. The Pennines get in the way. That is part of the whole 'northern powerhouse' idea to improve northern connectivity.

And Leeds - Birmingham is a nightmare!

The BBC didn't just try, they did it. It's been done before too - the Post Office moved its admin departments in Chesterfield in the early 1960s, Department of Employment (now BIS) is in Sheffield - but will be moved back to London in 2018 despite this trebling its running costs.

It's outrageous that the northern powerhouse thing has not been fast racked - to use an unfortunate pun.

Did anyone watch LLL the other evening? I know, I know, it's a guily 'pleasure'. £650K for a 2 bedroom flat - which is apparently good for when they start a family as it has a balcony! The world's gone mad. I recommend moving to the Highlands I kind of do recommend that actually

Department of Employment (now BIS) is in Sheffield - but will be moved back to London in 2018
Oh no, what is the reason behind that? Bad news for Sheffield :-(

BBC thriving in Salford - Mcr v much a digital city.

trouble is none of the other places outside london are that geared up infrastructure or facilities wise so it becomes chicken and egg situation.

Sheff Brum and Mcr all have traffic issues for e.g.

I think it must be because business premises, rates, travel costs, housing, wages etc are so much cheaper in London. Or something.

Compared to London, or pretty much any large city actually, I can assure you that Sheffield does not have traffic issues.

I live outside of Cardiff and work in the City Centre. My workplace is introducing a new computer package and everyone in the office needs to be trained. Instead of one person travelling to Cardiff from HQ in London, it is expected that all 18 of us staff traipse up to London, at a cost of around £150 per person, to get trained.

Things do exist outside of London and it's not always the easiest place to travel to, or get around.

Sheff Brum and Mcr all have traffic issues for e.g

Not compared to london they don't!

Sheffield and Leeds do not have a particular traffic issue that I noticed, spending 16 years living or working in those cities.

I used to go to an annual national conference for my industry, organised by people from London - it was generally held in the south, mostly London - sometimes Brighton, occasionally Birmingham.

One year it was held in Edinburgh - it had to start half a day late and finish early because of the 'excessive travelling' from London.
No thought any other year from everyone bloody else travelling from all over the country!

I've been on the other side of this, sort of - my employer hosts all of a certain kind of event in London, although a sizeable minority of us work elsewhere. It's understandable though, as it's cheaper to get all the non-Londoners to London than pull everyone together somewhere else. So I deal with the travelling.

There are things you can do without changing the location to make events easier for people who need to travel there, though. Stuff like: give decent notice of dates/times, allow dial-in where possible, start a bit later than 9 if 9.30/10/later are equally feasible, and have fair travel/accommodation policies. My organisation hasn't always been great at appreciating this, and there is a lot more complaining from people outside London in general when they/we feel not just inconvenienced but also totally forgotten about.

People will gripe about unreasonable things, but people will also gripe more just in general if they feel that you're not hearing them. Throwing a bit of compromise in their direction rather than writing them off as whiny foot-stampers could help smooth things over if this is an ongoing issue.

One of my London-based colleagues once had to travel to Manchester for a couple of days and moaned about it on Facebook the entire time. Oh the trains! Oh the weather! Oh the dark and bleak city! When, oh when, could he get back to 'civilization'?

I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly fell over.