h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We arrived in Reading in 1979. A civil engineer friend of mine had recently been involved in driving an inner ring road through the centre, fine old buildings were being knocked down in the name of the car, the council were proposing to sell off the Alfred Waterhouse Town Hall for redevelopment as offices, the library was pokey, the town had turned its back on its two rivers, shopping was mostly poor, there were almost no hotels, few restaurants, and only the Hexagon for concerts. Old industry had died, though computing was coming in. A major attraction or Reading was getting out of it- the surrounding countryside offered good walking and cycling, and Brakespear pubs.

Wake up to Reading today. An accumulation of improvements has transformed the place, but not many have noticed. Walk through the town along the Thames or the Kennet, and visit the much improved parks and open spaces. Go to a concert or a poetry reading or watch football or rugby or whatever takes your fancy- there's plenty of choice. Visit the fine library or the fine museum or sports centre. Shop in John Lewis (always a strength, but much improved) or two other department stores, and "Smelly Alley" is still there and the open air market is improving. If you don't like the new Oracle shopping centre (I do) compare it with "the Butts" or with out-of-town centres that are killing off other towns and be grateful. Have a meal in one of the many good restaurants (particularly around Caversham), or choose from the enormous variety of pubs for a drink or a snack, and from several good hotels for your night's sleep. Leave the town via the much-improved railway station; if you must get out of Reading, London and Bristol are only half an hour away.

More remains to be done. Thanks to Oxfordshire we still don't have the much-needed third Reading bridge. It would be good (as I think is intended) if it were easier to get to the Thames riverside from the town centre. Much improved local government would be strengthened by re-drawing the boundaries of Reading to match the boundaries that are obvious on the ground. And so on.

When an article appeared in the Times a while back comparing Reading with Oxford and preferring Reading (does anyone have a reference for this?), the judgement was treated as odd. OK, the Oxford colleges are splendid (pity about the destruction of Reading Abbey). But as a place to live Reading no longer deserves to be regarded as a bad joke. It's good, and it's getting better.

I wholeheartedly agree. For some reason, Reading has been given a bad reputation and undeservedly so. When my parents first learnt that I was moving to Reading they feared for my life. My grandparents refuse to visit. People offer condolences when I tell them where I live. I tell them to come and visit and find out for themselves what Reading is all about. I think that they will be very surprised.

People should stop being led by other people's dated views. They should visit Reading and make their own minds up.

Many reading residents seem to share this 'Its better than it was' line 7 years in Reading has taught me that if it is then it must have been completly and utterly sewage then. Because I really hate it now.
Then Unitary council appears to be the most corrupt and venal in the country. their recent decisions, the closure of inner town schools, the destruction of the traditional shopping areas such as Friar street, the demolition of the towns centre two cinemas and the oldest pub in the town the Boars Head, are wholly in the interests of big corporate interests, and bugger the views of the residents.
Add to all this the dirt, the drugs, the violence that 'a 24 hour culture' seems to mean.And tehn remember that we are paying some of the highest housing prices in the country for the honour of living here. Sod this I'm getting out of this heap.