Yo it's Yeovil! (Yeovil in General)

Member Name: liz3yy

Product:	Yeovil in General
Date:	10/05/09 (157 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Functional town with a few little extras

Disadvantages: Bit too chavvy in places

I'm from Essex and moved to North Dorset almost two years ago to live with my partner. At the time I hadn't heard of Yeovil believe it or not and for the first few months of living here didn't consider paying a visit when my OH suggested it.

My first trip to Yeovil was born from necessity rather than desire; I was learning to drive and unfortunately had to retake the theory test as my original certificate had expired. The nearest test centre to my horror was in Yeovil, which meant a half hour ride on the bus, I wasn't impressed or looking forward to going there as my work colleagues who live in the area were forever putting the place down and encouraging me to go elsewhere!

First impressions were not good, Yeovil reminded me a lot of my birthplace Harlow in Essex, lots of roundabouts, it's functional.....er and that's about it. However two years on my views have changed a great deal, driving around the town almost every day on lessons and being dragged around the shops by my other half gradually made me realise the place does have many good points. I would even consider living there now!

Where is it?
The town itself is located just off the A30 in Somerset, close to Sherborne in Dorset.

Is it easy to get to/from?
Transport links to and from Yeovil seem to be good, there are two train stations, Yeovil Junction and Yeovil Pen Mill which run direct trains to London and Exeter. Neither of them are close to the centre of town but are certainly not miles away either, at most you'd be looking at a 15 minute walk I would say. Buses are also widely available nearby towns and villages, though the more rural locations arent served more than once a day or worse.

Who lives there?
The town has a population of about 40,000

What facilities are available?
Like all towns of similar size there are the usual facilities and amenities. A good selection of shops in the town centre and also in out of town retail parks such as Babylon Hill. I get the impression that Yeovil isn't a particularly upmarket place as there's no Waitrose or John Lewis, instead there are two huge supermarkets - Asda and Tesco plus in the high street the usual staples such as a Primark and New Look. This suits me fine in these credit crunching times.

The centre of town seems a little disjointed, the high street has a down market feel to it and gives the impression it needs a facelift and a little TLC, the streets leading off from it fare a little better. Just off the main high street is a small open air shopping centre called the Quedam Centre which is much more modern looking and contains stores such as BHS and Boots.

Palates of all types are catered for with numerous places to eat from Pizza to coffee shop to posh-ish restaurants.

If you fancy a little culture you can take in a show at the Octogan theatre just off the centre of town or if you're in the mood for some sporting entertainment the town is home to Yeovil Town FC which I'm told by my footie mad work colleague is THE place to be every other Saturday afternoon, yeah I'll reserve judgement on that one!

Yeovil continues to grow on me every week, the more time I spend there the more I like the place, I think the chav in me is coming out more and more no matter how hard I try to suppress it!

I wouldn't choose to live in Yeovil but if I had to for whatever reason I wouldn't be able to complain. It has everything you need to go about your daily life and more besides. I was too quick to judge on first arrival down here, never judge a book by it's cover as the saying goes

Summary: A decent place to live and work