On my first night in Brighton I quickly decided that I would not settle here. Not too sure what it was exactly. Certainly the city is a bit too small, despite apparently having the second largest tech industry in the UK. Of course, “city” means something entirely different in the Queen’s English. A “city” is a place with a cathedral, not a population over 60,000 as in American English. What really got to me what that someone said Brighton was like a resort for Londoners. They come down here every weekend dressed in costumes for bachelor (stag) parties. This does not affect the landscape too bad, except for the excessive amount of accommodations in the area. Hostel prices do double on weekends, instead of the normal 50% increase. Other services, like food, do not seem to be affected. I was easily convinced of the London relationship because there were two people from London at the hostel. I went out with them until 6:AM, so they were obviously here to party.
The time here did introduce to another problem: It is difficult for me to come to terms with the idea of living in a tourist destination. This preference is interesting because I am very much involved in a huge traveler’s community, CouchSurfing. However, that does not equate to loving cities with travelers. Rather, it is creating opportunities to support them on their journey and may or may not include seeking them out at all. Obviously, Los Angeles had that tourism element. I never really “lived” there, but the people passing through blended in quite nicely with the locals. Everyone was from somewhere else and no one spoke English very well. Minneapolis, on the other hand, did not have any sightseers at all. Contrariwise, Europe is literally one huge travel destination. Anywhere I go will likely have a significant amount of travelers. My first choice relocation destination Bristol is the main city next to Stonehenge in Bath, a huge United Kingdom (UK) tourist center. Looks like I will simply have to comes to terms with living in a sought after place.
Overall I did enjoy Brighton, but am just not excited to live here.
