The Isle of Man- 10 reasons why I love it!

I have lived on the Isle of Man for over 30 years now and I love it here, there is no better place (well when the sun is shining anyway!) Now we are in spring I really start to look forward to the summer and the outdoors.

Here are my 10 reasons why I love it. In no particular order!

1. The coastline – its amazing, brilliant beaches, stunning cliffs

2. The countryside – the gorse, the heather the mixture of hills and valleys and the flat – fantastic

3. The hills – the views are spectacular and from Snaefell (the islands highest peak) you can see The Seven Kingdoms of Man on a clear day. England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, The Isle of Man, The Earth and Heaven. Cool eh?

4. Low Tax! – Brilliant. No capital gains tax, wealth tax, stamp duty and a top rate income tax of 18%ish (I think.)

5. The TT races – its one of the worlds ultimate challenges and has to be seen to be be believed. High speed motorbike racing over 37 and 3/4 miles of the islands public roads. Long may it last forever and sod all the kill joys who want to ban it! I hope they choke on their cornflakes or fall down the stairs! Yeah try and ban cornflakes and stairs you boring lot!

6. The local produce – the meat, vegetables and especially the seafood are second to none. I love the Isle of Man Queen Scallops or Manx Queenies as they are called locally. I am partial to the Manx Loaghton Lamb sausages on occasions, oh and the cheese as well! Yum.

7. The footpaths – there are loads of great walks ranging from coastal cliffs to inland valleys over a wide range of terrain.

8. The people – yes like everywhere you go there are a few tossers that on occasions let the side down, but overall the local residents are a very friendly and hospitable bunch.

9. The sea – speaking from the heart now, I dont think I could ever live far away from the sea. There is just something so great about being surrounded by it. I love the calm summer days when its like a mill pond but I also love it when its rough and the waves are breaking and crashing over the coastal rocks!

10. The general way and quality of life. We have a good schools, hospitals, sports facilities for the local people, low pollution and traffic conjestion. There is also a different pace of life with the local saying going ‘Traa Dy Liooar’ yessir, basically meaning there is ‘time enough’ fella.

There are many more as well, but thats my top ten for now, might share some others with you soon. Can’t wait to get the bbq fired up!