锘? The first such duo is Warsaw and Lodz who share a mirror image with London and Birmingham respectively. Where London boomed in the seventies and eighties Birmingham struggled
adidas zx flux colombia , its industrial heart out-competed by a global economy. Old factories lay dormant and the property market stagnated ... until lofts became fashionable and London became just too expensive for many individuals and businesses. In comparison Warsaw boomed from the late nineties onwards and its property prices soared. Banks, businesses, law firms and consultancies are all making this city their epicentre for central European operations. Since the millennium the airport has been one non-stop building site as it tries to keep up with rising demand. In the meantime Lodz went into recession and saw large scale decline to its identity as a manufacturing base. But, like Birmingham, things have started to change. Warsaw is becoming expensive and Lodz is only 100 kilometres away yet its real estate is half the price of the capital. And like Birmingham transforming 19th century industrial buildings has become viable. A derelict brewery has become a shopping centre, a disused cotton factory converted into apartments. Perhaps one of the reasons for the similarity between Lodz and Birmingham is down to the people. Both are proud of their home town, both are keen to show visitors "the real city", both have lived through hard times in living memory. Lodz is still cheap
adidas zx 700 colombia , but probably not for much longer. The next pair has to be Krakow and Katowice, uncanny in their relation with Edinburgh and Glasgow. Edinburgh has always been easy for tourists to understand, the architecture instantly likeable and its well-to-do image centuries old. Glasgow on the other hand was the ugly sister. A powerhouse of the industrial revolution with the pollution and poverty that went with it. Today Glasgow has more art galleries and museums per square mile than any other metropolis in Britain. It has been European City of Culture and European City of Architecture. Its music and theatre scene is breathtaking. While Edinburgh is historic, Glasgow is diverse. Krakow, like Edinburgh, is instantly tourist friendly with its vast old town. It is understandable why real estate prices catapulted here. According to the Royal Society of Chartered Surveyors they actually rose faster in Krakow than any other European city between 2005 and 2006. Today there are plenty of trendy bars and shops but, to steal a Scottish phrase, "all different but the same". Krakow is a historical city and while this has brought much wealth it could now become a restraint. All too often there is a mentality in the air that anything new should fit the old. There is a quiet resting on laurels
adidas stan smith colombia , Why do you need to try when your town centre is stunning? So true for Krakow and so true for Edinburgh. Head west up the motorway from Edinburgh and you will find Glasgow, do the same from Krakow and you will find Katowice. As with Glasgow the manufacturing base in Katowice disappeared, albeit in the nineties. The demise of the pollution producing commerce bought poverty but since the turn of the millennium it has been quietly reinventing itself. Unlike Krakow, and just like Glasgow, it has no stereotyping chains. It can be anything it wants, it can be more diverse and more interesting than Krakow. Once again it is clear that the people often make a town. In Glasgow you are first a Glaswegian, then you are Scottish and then (perhaps) you are British. In Katowice first you are 'from the Slaskie', then you are Polish. 1
adidas adicolor originales ,400 miles apart two populations share the same fierce pride over their identity and the same historic routes as urban areas of heavy industry not far from somewhere much prettier. On a final note of similarity most British people still think Glasgow is not worth a visit, and most Poles would say the same of Katowice. Old images run deep in every country. The last two pairs are London and Norwich and their counterparts Warsaw and Lublin. Norwich is a sleepy, rural city with a glorious old town and a buzzing student population 115 miles from London. Lublin is a carbon copy 101 miles from Warsaw. Property price rises in Norwich were not caused so much by the indigenous population but by rich retirees to begin with and then later because, due to better trains, the city fell within the commuter belt of London. A better lifestyle, more countryside, a beautiful centre and a slower pace of life all attracted people out of the capital to the Norfolk Broads and so it could be for Lublin. But Lublin could go even further. The coming of a new international airport and the government's plans to use EU funds as a lever for promoting this area as a tourist destination means it holds far more Eastern promise over the next decade. Three cities - Lodz, Katowice and Lublin. They are the Birmingham
adidas superstar doradas mujer , the Glasgow and the Norwich of the past. In ten years time it will all be rather obvious but today the history of a few British towns actually provides the elusive crystal ball so many property investors hanker after. ------------ Average Property Price Rises - 2002 to 2007 Birmingham 95% Glasgow 127% Norwich 88% Source: UK Land Registry and Registers of Scotland ----------- omments are oConsidering.
