RT's RL Update

[id3nt1ty]

Huh, for some reason my subscription isn't working for this topic.

Thanks for the congratulations

In addition to its health benefits, it's crazy how positive cardio or even lifting are for one's mood.

Yeah, Abom - I find even a good brisk walk can help boost my mood.

I'm not sure moving to England is a great idea either, but that's where the family are and that's the reason we're moving. Even if we weren't in the Brexit mess, moving back Down South wouldn't be the greatest idea because of the house prices here. But we want to be closer to family, so we're planning on moving to Gloucestershire somewhere. My wife vetoed Stourbridge, which I would also have been keen on.

I'm looking forward to working from home, and getting to spend more time with my daughter. I'm also looking forward to the occasional business trip so I can actually have a full night's sleep again.

[Raveen]

I can really appreciate wanting to be closer to family. Any chance of free childcare?

[id3nt1ty]

From family? A very high chance.

[notjarvis]

From family? A very high chance.

Haha. I read that as Rav. asking you for some childcare for his kids

[id3nt1ty]

So did I, that's why I qualified my answer

[Raveen]

Don't ask don't get

[Gandalf]

Bought a "new" car this weekend (second hand). Going from a small hatchback to a large 7 seater MPV is quite a change (not posting model names as this is a public thread now). Feels a bit like driving a cruise liner in terms of comfort and difficulty to drive. I barely used the pedals on the motorway, I just changed the speed on the cruise control up and down every now and then. Easy driving! It's great to open the boot and see how much space there is (the main reason we bought it).

On the down side, parking is a lot harder. I stopped at a motorway service station and examined my parking, I was inside all the lines but only just, there' very little margin for error (or for doors to open!). It takes up ~ 90% of the allotted space, the old car was nearer 75%. I may have to end my habit of always reverse-parking.

In other news, 8 weeks until Christmas

[Raveen]

I have a Kia Carens which is a small 7 seater. It's a spectacularly unexciting car to drive (like I understand most Kias to be) but you can fit a lot of sprogs in it. Sounds like you've gone for something a bit bigger because I find the Carens to be smaller in footprint than my old Mk 4 Mondeo (which was a really nice car to drive).

[Gandalf]

I've looked up the numbers... my new car is approx 20cm wider, 20cm taller and 60cm longer than my old car. I think it's more that your old car was bigger than my old car.

[id3nt1ty]

I have a 2002 Honda Jazz (registration number PM02 HDK), which has only five seats. Taking even one sprog down to Cornwall was quite challenging so I can appreciate the desire to get a bigger car. Doesn't have cruise control though, and would have been a big feature I looked for in a new car if I was staying in Scotland. I'd love to be able to set the speed once and then cruise all the way down to Manchester before having to think about it again.

Reverse parking FTW.

[Raveen]

Cruise control is essential to me now. I use it all the time, not just on the motorways, you'll not catch me speeding in a built up area

[Gandalf]

id3 - you can manage with 2 kids in a small car, like a Jazz... ours was a similar size... it requires patience, excellent packing skills, an understanding of what is essential and what is not, and for some things to be available at the far end (travel cot, high chair etc). Oh, and for your kid's favourite toys to not huge

We've been umming about it for years, what pushed us over the edge was our next planned holiday, where the rental charges for the high chair & travel cot were more than we paid for our own (!!!). It'll be nice not to have to spend ages playing boot tetris when we go on holiday (albeit it does give a great sense of satisfaction), and there's always people asking for help with transport in our church, so the extra seats will get used, even if we don't go on to have more kids.

I know someone who has 1 kid, is most likely not going to have any more, no regular tasks that involve ferrying people around, and a 7-seater car... that I don't really understand... just get an estate or something like that surely. MPV's are not the most reliable things around, nor are they cheap to insure.

[id3nt1ty]

Yeah, I imagine two kids is very similar to one. We kept the front passenger seat relatively empty, and the parent not driving traveled in the back - something we probably wouldn't do with two kids anyway.

[Raveen]

We found that there's a lot of cars that don't fit 3 car seats across the back. The Mondeo was bigger than the Carens but couldn't fit the three car seats in.

It was great for one kid and would have been fine for two. Loads of boot space and cheap to buy.

I currently get my car through a salary sacrifice scheme so it's very good value. If I move jobs I'll have to buy something and I don't think I'd get another Carens. I'd consider a Ford C max grand which is a similar size and layout but might be a bit more fun to drive.

[Gandalf]

We found that there's a lot of cars that don't fit 3 car seats across the back.

Exactly what we found too. So many cars that can fit 3 car seats are 7-seaters or 5-seater slightly-smaller versions of 7-seaters. So we figure, may as well pay a little bit more to have the flexibility of 2 extra seats, plus a little more storage space. And as previously stated, even if we don't have a 3rd, it'll still get used.