Reading Berkshire

I'm originally from Reading but moved away years ago (grew up there and hated the place, many of my friends seemed to get stuck there almost like there's a magnet that drags you back!). My family still live there so I do visit quite often. It's changed a lot since I left, the council always chasing "city status".

I really don't know what it's like for holistic therapies. I recently tried to find a therapist for my brother and was amazed at the low number of therapists in the area (I won't say which therapy due to the content of the next part of this sentence) and was also amazed at how, based on their websites, training, their explanation of their therapy etc I felt that I wouldn't suggest any of them to my brother! - Maybe there's a gap in the market there?!

With regard to employment in general, Reading has been a fairly high employment area fairly consistently since the 1970s when Foster Wheeler moved there and then Prudential (who I think have now either downsized or gone) along with lots of other insurance companies, banks etc. In fact, historically Reading has always been quite a commercial town, just 40 miles from London with rail and river links companies such as the old Huntley and Palmers biscuit factory (later Nabisco and now gone) and Simpsons (later Courages and now Fosters) brewery set up there. I remember looking for my first ever job in Reading and having 15 offers on the table with 30 more interviews lined up before I even knew my exam results! It's always been/tried to be a "little London". Although this has it's plus points, it also means that most of the outlying villages are now nothing more than suburbs of a large town (I feel really old typing that).

My family still like it there and after being made redundant, my brother managed to get his own business off the ground very quickly even during a recession. It's just not my cup of tea really.

Hi Star_Dust,

I am from Fleet Hampshire which is about 30 mins drive from Reading. I worked in Reading for 4 years. There are a few large companies there. I am not sure what it is like for therapies though. It has a shop than runs therapies and workshops in Caversham and the town centre isn't too bad as there is the Oracle which also has a cinema and plenty of restaurants. Personally, it is not a place I would want to live but I would imagine that as it is only a short train ride to London Paddington, there are quite a few people who live in reading but commute.

Hi I live in farnborough and do go to reading by train sometimes in fact I was there yesterday Its commercial lots of shops very busy lots of people. But I do like it love the oracle. why not go there for few days and get the feel of the place? and to look for holistic therapies.

Amethysfairy:)

Thank you all for your replies! I will definitely pop over there for a visit I think - I was looking at the university website and it looked great. But I may have to rethink the whole thing. It is my partner who is going there for 3 months and I assumed that I would be going too but instead the whole thing has caused a huge rupture in our relationship. 🙁