Thankful Thursday - The City I Live In

Ten Reasons I'm Grateful for Bedford...

• Last year, Bedford was declared the most generous place in the UK. (BBC News, August 2014)
• There is a fantastic Attachment Parenting Group here. We have over 150 members and it's a really helpful and supportive group that I couldn't have done without over the last three years.
• My husband grew up here!
• It's not far from my parents.
• We don't have to drive far before we're in the countryside.
• Woburn Safari Park is really close. I have memories of going there as a child, and it's wonderful to be able to take my own children easily.
• The train only takes half an hour to get to London, so the Hubby can get to work quickly, and we can have easy day trips.
• There's a good network of Home Educating families, so we are going to be well supported if we stay around here.
• Bedford is really ethnically diverse. We have a large Italian population, and a great number of Polish people, as well as many other nationalities. This also means there are lots of shops selling interesting varieties of foods. Who needs Lidl's Polish week, when you can just pop to one of the Polish supermarkets in town? And there are shops selling great value rice, pulses and spices too.
• There are some beautiful areas nearby - the river and the embankment; little villages; Marston Vale; Harrold Odell Country Park. It's so good to have lovely green spaces to walk, play and feed ducks in.

What do you love about the area you live in?