OMG

Yes, though a cob in the west country isn't ruled out

http://www.intentionalcommunities.org.uk/ is a good start. They vary wildly from a bunch of people sharing some land but living independently to some that share a large house and have a very shared existence. We're opting for a combination of both e.g. a totally private living space though with the occasional communal meal and a completely shared vision (and labour) for the management and working of the surrounding land. Most have a formal entry requirements and a the chance to try out for 6-12 months before you join as a full member at which point you're likely to need to buy in. Edit: this one is better: http://www.cohousing.org.uk/

Fair enough. I guess I'm in sales mode at the moment (for example convincing family that it's right for their grandchildren) so I'll admit I've been trying to dumb things down a bit and that spilled over here. Yes the point is to reduce impact and if we do go this route then I'm comfortable that we'd be doing that, considerably but in a manner that is recognisable to my current friends and family, hence the word normal.

Congrats Kurt, not sure I'd go but it sounds a good deal. I guess it depends on whether you've family or not. If not then it seems a no-brainer.

Your point being?

We are currently in the process of visiting a number of intentional communities and deciding which one is right for our family. With an IC one gets to work the land and growing your own food and livestock but there are additional benefits such as shared resources and cover when ill. We're looking at ones where whilst there are communal elements (such as large cooking/eating area) but where we'd still get our own flat/house. We're also not interested in the ones that have a particularly strong ideological agenda (other than lower impact living) as I'll still want to run a car, eat meat and be able to supplement my income externally. In short a 'normal' life with some lower impact enhancements. If joining an IC doesn't work out then the backup plan is a smallholding, though I'm sticking to the UK. They are not cheap so we may need to rent and try before we buy. I'm attending a course this weekend on running a smallholding which should give me a better idea of the realities of such an undertaking.

Edited for consistency

I bank with Abbey and have experienced similar, and it's not new. Well, I've tried a few times in the past to get £2-£3K for a car purchse and have been told that I needed to book in advance.

Back of the net! Love this thread, two new words I've picked up this week, Anecglotal and Debtalism For my own part I'm not musical, unless the descant recorder at school counts. Edit: Clarity

Some of that was definitely mine

We've got a number of online Citibank savings accounts linked together where we can shuffle around the £30K we've got there amongst EUR, CHF, GBP and USD I asked them yesterday: Their response seemed quite slippery: Is this standard fare or they being deliberately vague?

+1

Jake, I'm in a similar position though with lower numbers. Like some on here my Just In Case preparations include a bit of physical AU, a months salary as physical cash and some food & fuel for heating/cooking. Recently we've upped our prepped stakes by having a list of houses at house fund +25% that we'd be prepared to live in should it look like inflation was about to explode. As I say, just in case. The biggest worry is that if the inflation route were chosen - as it'd have to be an concious intervention to make that happen IMO - that there would suddenly be limits on electronic withdrawals to fund - say - a house purchase.

Eric Daddy Bear. The Other Place has a few good threads on this: Hyperinflation, Deflation you may recognise some of the posters. I'm in a similar position to you but currently have 20% of my pot sat not earning interest in BullionVault ready to buy if I make my mind up that's what I'm going to do. It's a tough call. All signs point to deflation but gold is creeping higher and there is mounting anecdotal evidence of physical shortages although I wonder whether that's just People Like Us speculating thus driving the price higher. Edit. grammar

You underestimate geek power. There are a lot of us and we won't allow this to happen, we'll vote with our feet if nothing else. Hat-tip to @D.C. for a good post.

Oh that's OK then, someone in the Internets said, must be true

Eloquently put. Two people I know IRL gave me their unsolicited opinions on the Icesave situation today, essentially: "Anyone with more than £50K in the bank deserves to lose it, period" I was really shocked.

I'd agree that the STR bird who lost £200K should have done some research but she certainly didn't deserve to lose it and I find the thinly veiled gloating rather distasteful. Edit. Just saw the report. £100K, so she's likely to have lost £50K and she had it in a bond so couldn't get to it anyway.

Where are they getting the money?

Dunno how I missed that one, it should be the first place people are directed if they're asking if it's time to buy.

Laugh? I nearly shat myself. Definitely the best of the downfall spin-offs so far, and from Crown I see... Nice one.

http://www.ingdirect.com/wethesavers/ Whilst I of course question their motives I can't argue with a lot of these points. #2? that's what's got us into this mess in the first place FFS.

N O I T A L F E D

http://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html I was really expecting a fall to high $700's today, not this. T minus 10 minutes until this thread is moved

Nice one tarby