Rhys Bevan: Nomadic Behaviour

Hello and thanks for dropping by!

Being my first post, it only seems natural that I use this opportunity to introduce myself to you - although, I'm sure you'll get to learn a lot more about me in future posts.

My name is Rhys Bevan. Male. 22 years of age. I currently live in one of the only pleasant streets in a small, dirty town called Radcliffe, Manchester (North West England, United Kingdom - for any international readers that might not know where Manchester is!).

Radcliffe is...well, not a lot actually. It's little heard of beyond Manchester and, for those people who know of Radcliffe, when people find out that you live there the standard response is normally a sly step backwards whilst awkwardly smiling in a strained attempt not to look scared or disgusted or both. But, I pride myself on not being a typical resident of Radcliffe. Actually, most residents aren't stereotypical Radcliffe residents - they deserve a tad more credit than people give them. But, even so, Radcliffe (or 'Ratsniff'/'Dog Shit Valley') really isn't nice at all and it IS home to a large number of 'scallies', 'chavs', 'alcoholics', 'druggies' et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

10-15 minutes' driving to the North and you arrive in Bury - a larger town and more widely known throughout England. Self-proclaimed as being home to a 'world famous market' (you tell me, have you heard of the famous Bury Market?) and the Bury Black Pudding (made mostly, I believe, from pigs blood), Bury is the lead town in the district - governed locally by 'Bury Council' (known more formally as the Metropolitan Borough of Bury).

Bury is the town in which I spent a lot of my childhood, where I attended Secondary School, where I attended Sixth Form college and where I am now currently employed as a lawyer. I say this with great pain and some embarassment. On paper, I appear to have achieved a lot. But, when I look at it in terms of location...I have lived, been educated and worked within a very small perimeter and I am BURSTING with desperation to escape to new horizons...cue my obsession with world travel...

I LOVE to travel. I simply love to travel. There are very few places on Earth that I wouldn't want to visit at least once and it's my aim to visit every country in the world.

Being able to travel as much as I do is something that I am incredibly fortunate and grateful for and I really hope I continue to be able to do so. That's why, despite my woes and daily complaints, I mustn't lose sight of the following big, massive advantages for being in the position, work wise, that I am in at the moment:-

1. I currently have a job. It'd be impossible for anybody who's a living, breathing human being not to be aware of the GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS!!!!! So, having a job at all is pretty awesome right now. How long I have my job for...that's another question. I'll keep you updated on that.

2. I am on a fairly decent salary - this enables me to escape and see the world - something that would be so much more difficult if I was unemployed.

3. My employer has a great work life balance initiative which REALLY suits me and my lifestyle.

Thus, it's my intention to continue fully reaping the benefits of my current employment and my employer's work life balance initiative. Used wisely, it can enable me to continue living my lifestyle on the basis that "I work to live, not live to work".

I intend my blog to be a place where I can throw together my thoughts, keep a written record of my memories, my experiences and my adventures and showcase examples of my photography. The blog will be centred around travel. However, I also want to write a more personalised memoir and I hope you continue to join me throughout my journey.

That's all for now. I'll blog again soon.

RB