Choosing where to live can be a difficult decision to make, as it will have an effect on your entire life. So where actually is the ‘best’ place to live? It can be described as being close to amenities, have a low crime rate, a good education system, affordability, employment opportunities etc. So it is it important that you weigh up your options.
1) Hart, Hampshire
This is the UK’s most desirable place to live according to the Halifax’s Quality of Life Survey. It is situated in the South East. Hart is home to the healthiest residents in England, with a high life expectancy. It is set in tranquil surroundings with beautiful scenery.
2) Uttlesford, East of England
Uttlesford is located in Essex, and is said to have the best living standards within the region. The striking market town of Saffron Walden can be found here, which is home to a number of historic buildings. It is also well known for its rural appearance.
3) South Northamptonshire
This has been named the third most popular location to live in the UK. This is a very popular location to live in. It is well known for the Silverstone racing circuit. It is also famous for the British Grand Prix and the Moto GP. South Northamptonshire has two old market towns known as Brackley and Towcester, and has miles of beautiful countryside for you to enjoy.
4) Waverley, South East
Waverley is situated in Surrey. Popular towns such as Haslemere are located here. People who live in Waverley will benefit from a good quality of life in rural Britain. A good number of residents have a high income and excellent health. There is high employment and low crime rate. In Waverley, you will find plenty of wooded areas and countryside. It is also popular with individuals who enjoy visiting historic parks.
5) East Hertfordshire, South East
This is the fifth most popular place to live in the UK. It has thriving towns with charming villages and is located in the countryside. East Hertfordshire has a history which dates back to the Middle Stone Age. There are plenty of river valleys, open farmland, and woodland which all contributes to the picturesque landscape.
5. David Beckham and Victoria Adams
The happy couple: the couple remain together after 15 years of marriage
No celebrity weddings list countdown is complete without the “it” couple of the late 90’s. The wedding was seen by many as relatively understated (for celebrities), held at Luttrellstown Castle in Dublin and attended only by 29 relatives and close friends. The extravagance wasn’t spared in other aspects of the event, such as the £60,000 Vera Wang dress and the £160,000 antique jewellery. The couple have since become a worldwide brand. Clothing lines, fragrances, car designs and also the small matter of setting up a new football team in Miami. Their vows have stuck through a number of re-locations dictated by David’s football career with Madrid, Milan, LA, and Paris all being on the list.
TOTAL COST: £500,000
4. Madonna and Guy Ritchie
The Queen of Pop: Madonna’s marriage to grungy London film director, Guy Ritchie ended after 4 years.
The queen of pop made waves in the celebrity weddings world, marrying director and producer Guy Ritchie in 2000. Just like Posh and Becks, the choice of location was a castle but this time, Skibo in the Scottish Highlands. Madonna married Ritchie (10 years her junior) in front of star names such as George Clooney, Donatella Versace and Brad Pitt. The food and champagne bill alone came in at a massive £550,000 and the Stella McCartney gown costing around £50,000. The marriage didn’t end particularly well, with Ritchie claiming he felt like his marriage was one big soap opera.
TOTAL COST: £1.1 million
3. Liza Minelli and David Gest
Broadway Star: The Hollywood royalty is now on her fourth husband
The first all American affair on our list may come as a surprise, but when your best man is Michael Jackson and Maid of Honour Elizabeth Taylor the wedding becomes inherently extravagant. The Broadway star has been rocking red carpets all over the world for over 40 years. Her marriage to American Producer David Gest in 2002 was subject to huge media interest. The entertainment bill included international superstars. Stevie Wonder and Tony Bennet serenaded the guests who found the experience so incredible it was compared to the Grammy Awards. The couple lasted 16 months before splitting, meaning the $4.3 million spent averaged out at around £268,000 per month for the time they were together!
TOTAL COST : $4.3 Million
2. Prince William and Kate Middleton
The Royal Wave: The couple were the talk of the world in 2011
The priceless event was televised and reported in over 180 countries worldwide, making it the most viewed wedding in history. Kicking things off, Kate stayed in a £5,000 per night suite at the 5 Star Goring Hotel in the sought after area of Belgravia. Kate arrived in a Rolls Royce Phantom VI, but Prince William trumped that slightly with his specially designed 20 ft long Bentley. The extravagance was carried through the rest of the event with 300 ft red carpets, flowers from the Sandringham Estate and flyovers from the RAF. The reception, naturally, was held at Buckingham Palace and the Queen hosted 650 guests. Over 10,000 canapés were served at the wedding, washed down with £200 a bottle Pol Roger NC Brut champagne.
TOTAL COST: £20 Million+
1. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid as Maktoum and Sheikha Hind Bint Maktoum
Al Maktoum Yacht: The Maktoum yacht tells you everything you need to know about their extravagance
Well this is the wedding of all weddings and the extravagance is completely unmatched. The Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai married his first wife in 1979. The Sheikh decided no venue was suitable for the grandeur he had in mind, so his solution was to purpose build his very own hall to accommodate 20,000 guests. A five day national holiday was declared in order to commemorate the event. Mohammed bin Rashid rode on horseback to all of the local villages to provide food for the festivities. The marriage has stayed strong, even though the Sheikh married a new “junior” wife in 2004 (polygamy is legal in Dubai). The couple have been instrumental in the development of Dubai as one of the world’s strongest economies, with it now holding a number of world first’s and records.
TOTAL COST – $137 million
Love is in the air, and who knows, this might be the year when you have to plan a wedding! NCC offer a Level 3 Wedding Planner Diploma that covers everything you need to know about planning the perfect wedding.
Machu Picchu, Peru
View from above: the ruins remain from the Inca civilisation
This 15th Century Inca settlement is one of the world’s most iconic landmarks and is at the top of many people’s bucket lists.
Essentially UNESCO world heritage site has been a ghost town ever since it’s abandonment after the Spanish conquests of Peru in the late 1500’s. Although the Inca settlers were perishing from smallpox from contact with Europeans, the city itself was never discovered by the Spanish and so remained a ghost town for over 300 years being completely untouched until its discovery by Hiram Bingham III in 1911. Some historians suggest that German explorers discovered the site sometime in the 1800’s, but instead of declaring the discovery, chose to plunder the city of its valuables.
Plymouth, Montserrat
Abandoned and ruined: The islands branch of Barclays bank was destroyed by the falling ash
The British Overseas Territory of Montserrat has seen its capital become one of the world’s largest ghost towns. During 1997 the whole population of Plymouth, Montserrat was evacuated due to the impending eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, in the days that followed the city was enveloped by ash. Many of the buildings were destroyed or buried by over 4.6 ft of hot ash, this meant that any sort of rebuilding would be incredibly difficult and two thirds of the population emigrated abroad. The city has been empty since 1997 and there are now plans to develop a new capital at Little Bay on the other side of the island. The population is growing steadily and currently 89% of the population are aged under 65, promising a strong future for the Montserrat.
Sanzhi Pod City, Taiwan
Ruins of the Future: the futuristic pods have now been demolished after standing untouched for 30 years
The economic climate in the 1980’s was mildly unstable to say the least, this coupled with a number of deaths during construction meant that the structures were never finished. The development was originally commissioned as a holiday resort for US Military who were spending long periods of time posted in Taiwan. The “Ruins of the Future” have since become a popular destination for urban explorers, fascinated with the architecture and potential vision that developers held for this site in the 1970’s. Unfortunately the site was never inhabited, and fell into disrepair meaning demolition was the only option. The building stood for around 30 years before its inevitable bulldozing in 2008.
Pripyat, Ukraine
Left as it was: The bumper cars remain in the spot they were left over 25 years ago
Possibly the most famous of abandonments comes from the tragic story of Pripyat in the Ukraine. Known to many as the Chernobyl disaster, Pripyat was the neighbouring town that housed many of the power plants workers and their families. The disaster makes for a unique landscape, with the exclusion zone measuring 19 miles. Over the past 27 years, since it’s evacuation in 1986, Pripyat has only been accessed by a handful of scientists and government officials making for an incredible scene of nature reclaiming the land. Many scientists have taken insight from this disaster, creating an approximate timeline for a post-apocalyptic world which is essentially what the Chernobyl disaster created on a small scale. Many of the buildings are in ruins and the scenes of a Ferris wheel from the towns amusement park has become an iconic image. The aftermath of the disaster caused terminal illness for many of the residents. The future of the site is unknown, but a small group of former residents are campaigning to have the site turned into a “museum city”.
Kolmanskop, Namibia
Captains Quarters: The abode of former leader of the diamond mining company who lived in Kolmanskop
Diamonds are the creator of this fascinating ghost town located in the Namib Desert. After a railway worker discovered a diamond in 1908, his German supervisor alerted the German Authorities who immediately moved into the area and claimed it as “sperrgebiet”. The next 46 years were spent developing the area as more German nationals inhabited the site. The area was built in traditional German style, making for an intriguing visual experience that is still popular with tourists to this day. The area once boasted a theatre, hospital, ballroom, school, bowling alley and casino but all the amenities gradually disappeared as the resources dried up. The town was eventually deserted in 1958 and has been somewhat reclaimed by the sands of the desert.
The environment we live in is a complex network of human cause and effect actions. These areas of the world that have been affected in some way by our endeavour to expand and develop the way we live. The environment is sensitive to human development and has to be treated in such a way that respects this, if you would like to learn more about our environment there are Environmental Awareness QCF courses available for this.
@thewordoftheday “desideratum (/dɪˌsɪdəˈreɪtəm, -ˈrɑ-, -ˌzɪd-/) – n: something wanted or needed.”
This account isn’t necessarily just for the lexicographer’s among us (people who write dictionaries), and nor should anyone suffering from Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (phobia of long words…how ironic) be particularly worried. This account provides interesting and unusual words for you to improve your vocabulary. This account tweets every few days and does not bombard you with retweets from other “sister” accounts which is quite refreshing.
@mental_floss “In Nevada “none of the above” is an option on ballots”
The home of amazing facts, mental floss was established as a magazine in 2001 and now has a circulation of over 100,000 copies in 17 countries. The constantly updated twitter account provides amazing facts in bite-size chunks. Reliability is a huge factor when following “amazing facts” and mental floss is as reputable as they come. The learning potential is vast, you will have your local pub quiz teams fighting over you in no time at all.
@DeepakChopra “Deepak Chopras 5 ways to fight sugar cravings”
Deepak Chopra is an Indian-American author, known by many as the go to guy for anything holistic health and alternative medicine. Deepak has attracted criticism from certain sections of the scientific community for his methods and ideas, but there are a large amount of his followers that have experienced great success from following his alternative therapies. The tweets offered have some interesting content in anything from healthy eating tips to the roots of enlightenment and personal development.
@History_Pics “A floating McDonald’s was made for the Vancouver Expo of 1986”
This is the first account on our list that is exclusively made up of photographs. Above you can see the run down remains of the first ever “McBarge” which was showcased in Vancouver in 1986. This account has the ideal mix of nostalgia and interesting subject matter. The atmospheric nature of many of the photos posted within this account never fails to pull you directly through the lens of the photographer and into scene. The eclectic mix of subjects keeps you coming back for more. The educational aspect of this account comes in the form of documenting historic events in ways which many will have never seen before, one particular highlight is a German U-Boat 155 exhibited near the Tower Bridge in London after World War I, 1919.
@stephenfry “New run of Gadget Man starts tomorrow on C4 – sadly not with me in it , I just didn’t have time to pack a new series into my schedule”
Probably the person most synonymous with the Twitter brand and one of the pioneers of the social media platform, Fry has developed a large following on Twitter and is known for his witty nature and intelligence. The host of a television show QI (Quite Interesting), should tell you that there is plenty of tweets worthy of claiming some storage space in your brain. With the odd bit of celebrity glamour thrown in this account will appeal to a wide range of people and Stephen will no doubt have you gripped and waiting for the next tweet with baited breath.
If you would like to keep up to date with NCC Home Learning’s tweets, you can follow us @NCCHomeLearning. If you would like to gain knowledge, NCC offer over 350 comprehensive home learning courses.
Top 3: Industries to Start Your Business!
The tough economic times make the business environment a daunting place to be. There are, however, a number of industries that are seeing growth in spite of the tightening of consumer’s purse strings. This article investigates the development of industries in 2013 and gives you the ideal platform to research starting your very own business!
Small, Independent and High Street!
There has been a shift in attitude from many of the country’s consumers in recent times, the support and respect shown to independent high street businesses has led to a number of vacancies on the high street being occupied by individual businesses. With the growing fear that city centres are becoming identical, the support from councils and Government has grown to understand the importance of independent stores, with money being invested in improving the facilities and opportunities available to independent retailers. The number of units standing empty is at around 48,000, which equates to just over 15% of all units in the UK.
Pop-Up units have developed a presence in the UK, with London’s trendy East End setting the example in the way of shipping containers turned into spaces for short term retail opportunities. Box Park has a number of small, quirky outlets available for small businesses and short term lettings, as well as a couple of big names including global mega brand Nike.
Event/Wedding Planning
The industry full of glitz and glamour has seen a large number of new businesses sprouting up to supply their services in planning the perfect event or wedding. The low entry barriers and little investment needed to start a business like this means it is a low risk proposition. If you have the artistic flair to give Elton John a run for his money then this is the perfect business for you. The wedding industry currently stands at $50.6 billion worldwide and the Huffington Post estimates that the wedding planning market is set to see a 2.3% increase in size by 2018.
NCC Home Learning offer wedding and event planning courses, perfect for catapulting you into the events world!
Home Improvement
The housing market in the UK has been a hot topic for a number of years, and with the economic conditions making a house move nigh on impossible for many families, home improvements have become the solution. The need for skilled tradesmen in the UK is growing, with the percentage of youngsters going to university growing, practical skills have fallen in popularity. The plumbing industry has seen growth through the number of individuals looking to improve and update their kitchens and bathrooms to not only increase the value of their property but also increase their standard of living.
The housing market is now slowly beginning to grow and with the release of the Government’s “Help to Buy” scheme that growth is going to receive a huge boost. Housing demand is currently larger than supply, but in coming years the amount of new housing projects will ensure home improvement companies are kept very busy.
Starting a business can be a daunting proposition. Self-motivation and determination are required in abundance, but the rewards can be life changing. Leaving employment and starting a business in something you love is a risk that many people never quite take. The Business Start Up Course from NCC Home Learning offers a comprehensive basis of understanding, and will give you the opportunity to take control of your very own business! For more information on this course click here.