I’ve been thinking about my ‘ideal town’ and what it would contain to make it an ideal place for me to live in.

This is what I’ve come up with:

1. I’d like a ‘Square’ in my town … a green area where we could meet and chat, have a cup of tea/coffee and just watch the activity going on around us.
2. A nice coffee shop would be welcome …. a place that would produce a reasonably priced full Irish breakfast.
3. A cinema would be great …. with two or three screens …. it wouldn’t have to be too big …. because my ‘ideal town’ has a small but neighbourly population. Not nosey mind you!
4. A ‘green’ system of transport around the town would be nice …. bicycles, some kind of tram system ….. something unobtrusive and unpolluting.
5. A book shop with comfortable reading chairs …. perfect!
6. A magazine shop with my favourite magazines always in stock!
7. The neighbourhood garage …. the one man show …. one ramp, a few mechanics, cheap petrol/diesel at the pumps, served not self-service, a partial or full valet service at a crazily reasonable price.
8. The streets on my town would be wide enough to have a green area in the middle …. lots of nice columnar trees with a few conical ones thrown in for variety.
9. No litter anywhere.
10. The backs of all the shops etc. would be as clean as the front.
11. No telephone or E.S.B. poles anywhere. All cables underground.
12. Access to underground cables would be easy …. lift a cover …. voila … fixed!
13. No digging up of roads needed ….. and they would all be blemish free …. no pot holes.
14. The graveyard would be a place of respect …. well kept …. lots of nooks and crannies …but well laid out. All headstones kept clean, kerbing maintained, grass cut neatly, shrubbery a joy to behold, not a briar, thorn or nettle in sight!
15. Those who have chosen to be cremated would have a plaque to commerorate their memory in a central location in the graveyard. No hill or soggy ground for the dead of my ‘ideal town’.
16. Traffic would definitely have to be bypassed! No through traffic allowed.
17. Our Primary School would have character to it, it would be an example to all as to how environmentally friendly buildning techniques can be effectively used. All teachers would teach th ‘Irish Primary Curriculum’. Free education would be just that …. FREE! Lunches would be provided.
18. Secondary Education would be top class. It would follow on from Primary Education … collaboration not conflict. Exams would be continual assessment not one final big set of tests. I’d include more time for the pupils to get career guidance, development of life skills, personal development, road safety skills, good community development skills etc.
19. A brilliantly massive D.I.Y. shop with cheap prices …. no rip off 4Homes or Woodies or the likes for me!
20. PC Universe ….. the best IT and PC and laptop and …. and etc.shop that a town could have would be appreciated. I wouldn’t want it or the D.I.Y. shop to dominate the area ….. lots in them but not massive buildings …………thank you!
21. An ‘open air market’ area would add vibrancy to the town ….. organic foods, unusual goods, all the fun of the fair!
22. A Chinese Take Away ….. but more upmarket ….
23. No McDonalds, Burger King or Super Macs …. thank you!
24. A clean take away with locally produced fish, chips, chicken etc. would make it into my ideal town.
25. A music shop …. with all my favourite types of genres of music ….. no loud music blaring in the shop ….. try before you buy or ‘make your own music CD’ …. the options being available.
26. A barber …. to wash and cut my hair. A shave and a facial massage would be great too.
27. A massage parlour to give me a decent massage …. (something I’ve never had).
28. A properly equipped Medical Centre ….. doctor, dentist, nutritionist, chiropodist, specialists, surgeons ………. all FREE .
29. My town would be a cancer free zone also.
30. No crime or inhumanity would be allowed in my ‘ideal town’.
31. Law enforcement would be a minimal requirement.
32. Political corruption would not be tolerated.
33. Religious bigotry not allowed.
34. Religious fanaticism wouldn’t be acceptable either.
35. All the people in my ‘ideal town’ would have a home to live in …. be it a house, an apartment, ….. whatever …. somewhere nice to live.
36. Older people would be valued for the contribution they have made to society. I would record their achievements for posterity. They would never be forgotten.
37. I’d have lots of friends in my ‘ideal town’.
38. I’d be semi-retired ….. I’d work there days a week, relax for the rest of the time …. or do some volunteer work where I could see a difference being made.
39. In my ideal town we wouldn’t have a Lotto machine ….. we’d have no need to win the lotto …. ‘cos we’d all be content.
40. It would rain at night and be sunny during the day.
41. We’d have a beach nearby to visit during the summer.
42. The town would shut down for a week at Christmas …. we’d be well stocked with provisions …. and there would be a blanket of snow on the ground!
43. Internet access would be free for all and faster than a speeding bullet.
44. No water charges, no rates, no tax, no telephone bills, no electricty bills, no tv license, no annual servicing bills, no SKY tv direct debits, no mortgages, no personal loans, no credit cards …….
45. We’d have a river flowing through our town ….. ideal for boating, canoeing, swimming, fishing, snorkeling etc. The water would be crystal clear because it wouldn’t be polluted.
46. Beautiful architecture ….. and monuments ….. statues etc. ………………. show casing the talented people in our town.
47. A museum …. detailing our town and our past.
48. A university ….. to expand our minds would be a bonus ….. all FREE …..
49. Great clothes shops …… again reasonable prices ….. (me … I just want a good supply of jeans, t-shirts and a top or two with an appropriate number of undergarments and I’m set).
50. A Bank Holiday weekend every month or every second month would be desirable and Easter holidays would be set for the first two weeks of April in my ‘ideal town’.

I could keep going ….. but you get the idea.

So what would you include in your ‘ideal town’?

If you're new here, you may like to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!