Is yours a 'good place to live'?
@owlwings (43897)
Cambridge, England
October 2, 2008 8:53am CST
I was recently sent a questionnaire by my Local Council which asked me to check up to five boxes saying which I considered to be the most important to making a place a good place to live. Here are the 20 options:
[b]1 Access To Nature
2 Activities For Teenagers
3 Affordable Decent Housing
4 Clean Streets
5 Community Activities
6 Cultural Facilities
7 Education Provision
8 Facilities For Young Children
9 Health Services
10 Job Prospects
11 The Level Of Crime
12 The Level Of Pollution
13 The Level Of Traffic Congestion
14 Parks And Open Spaces
15 Public Transport
16 Race Relations
17 Road And Pavement Repairs
18 Shopping Facilities
19 Sports And Leisure Facilities
20 Wage Levels And Local Cost Of Living [/b]
Some of them, it seems to me, are equivalent or nearly so. For example, if you have Parks and Open Spaces, then that is often 'Access to Nature' (though not necessarily); if you have 'Community Activities', then it is more than likely that they would include 'Activities for Teenagers'.
What would your 'Top Five' be in the area you live in now (and which ones do you think most urgently need improving where you live)?
Of course, different people will have different choices: if you are retired and don't have any young children, then 8 and 10 would, perhaps, be less of a priority for you than for someone who !
Can you think of (or have you seen) a better list that doesn't have as many apparent overlaps?
I'd also like to know whether you like questionnaires of this sort and how you usually approach them! My heart usually drops when I see a list like this and I feel that I should look at each of the 190 pairs and mark which one is best and then add up the score at the end! In fact, with this one, I have created an Excel spreadsheet which does just that! Am I a nerd or am I just too conscientious? 
1 person likes this
3 responses
@nannacroc (4049)
•
2 Oct 08
Too concientious Mr Owlwings. We had something similar and I didn't really other to answer it. I just wrote at the bottom that the government had identified our area as needing extra help and for once I thought they were right.
@nannacroc (4049)
•
3 Oct 08
Not a condemnation, we need people like you as well as the lackadaisical like me for a good balance.
1 person likes this
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
3 Oct 08
My husband usually throws those kids of questionnaires away, but I usually dutifully answer them to the best of my ability. I do not agree that activities for teenagers should fall under community activities. Teenagers are a breed apart. If you don't believe me, just ask them. I don't know anyone who would list all of those items as important to them. Nor do I know anyone who would list none of them as important. As a retiree with no teenage grandchildren living here, activities for teenagers would be important to me only if it might keep them off the streets. A way of indicating degree of importance for each item would be helpful, but as I indicated previously, there is still the 'if factor'. Some of the things listed, like race relations and clean streets, surprised me because they are not a problem in our city. They are important. I'd hate to live in a city with dirty streets and constant gang fights. That's why we live in a small city instead of a big one.
@pumpkinjam (8876)
• United Kingdom
3 Oct 08
You are a very conscientious nerd, Mr. Owlwings!
I also had that very same questionaire about my local council. Well, councils to be precise as it referred to both the borough (district) and county council. I had the problem that almost every area needs improving here and I had trouble choosing just five important things. To be fair, we have had improved facilities for young children in the past couple of years and it really seems to be helping the community but we still have dangerous roads, very few activities for teenagers, almost no job prospects and wages versus cost of living is a losing battle I think. As for parks and open spaces, we have them but they are not very well kept and sports and leisure facilities do exist but very few people from the town can actually afford to go, especially since everywhere which used to have free use for under 5's is now only for under 3's.
Sorry, I'm ranting. I was rather daunted by the form and I was quite tempted to write something unpleasant in the box at the end but I didn't! I don't mind questionnaires but I did notice that it's was done in a very "council" sort of way, asking about things they want you to talk about in a way they want you to talk about it. I honestly don't see a lot of point in the questionnaires, they are obviously ignored. Unless, of course, the majority of people don't think anything needs improving.
