What I Don't Have and Glad!!

[Milims]

Also - are you supposed to have a licence for a radio?

[ina]

Also - are you supposed to have a licence for a radio?

No! I offered to pay when they kept pestering me about a TV licence - but they refused.

[Annpan]

No TV here either

It seems like there are a lot of ishers out there who don't own televisions.
( silly question coming up)
So if you watch programmes on your computers. do you still have to get a license?

You only need a licence if you own equipment which can receive live broadcast... watching BBC iplayer you don't need a licence, nor for receiving any of the other services online (as they can't yet offer live streaming) If you have a TV that is just used for computer games you DO need a license... even if you don't have an aerial. Same goes for any portable TV you may own.

Frankly I'd rather pay a licence than have to listen to commercial radio - thankfully I can choose to live in a pretty much ad-free home... plus I think that the BBC are good value for money.
The license also goes to pay for a lot of the broadcast equipment that other broadcasters use (repeaters etc) and the BBC have pioneered various innovations (HD for example)
*steps down off of soapbox*

[ocailleagh]

So if you watch programmes on your computers. do you still have to get a license?

Yes you do, though not having one for my TV hasn't been a problem so far

I only have the one TV, on the rare occasions I fancy watching it in bed I simply leave my bedroom door open, its the one good thing about the shoebox I live in!

I don't have a microwave (pointless, evil contraptions), dishwasher (though I do hate washing up), washing machine (I do one or two washes a week, my friend lets me use her machine), landline (though I do have a few mobiles, only two of which are actually working right now. And my internet is mobile broadband), carpets (collect dust and mites, exude poisonous gases for decades), car (I really don't think me driving would be a good plan, though I do rather want an old Morris Traveller...have I got the name right? The ones with the woodwork on the back), central heating (it switched itself off months back as it needs it's annual check up..who knew they were intelligent enough? Skynet here we come!)...um there are probably other things I don't have too!

Oh! A garden! But I do have a postage stamp sized patch at my parents' house! this is one I'm not so glad about though...

[Annpan]

Just to clarify

You need a TV licence to use any television receiving equipment such as a TV set, set-top box, video or DVD recorder, computer or mobile phone to watch or record TV programmes as they are being shown on TV.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/licencefee/

[jampot]

i dont have central heating...dont miss it either as it seems to improve lo asthma

yeah when i was a kid we had no central and since moving into a house with it my asthma has got worse ,especially during winter!

i have no mobile phone (and dont want one) ,no car (ditto), no major stress(soon to change as im going back to college )

[hamster]

A commute into work!

Also no tumble drier, no dishwasher, can't drive and wouldn't want to around here (though the bf does, which is useful for getting things off Freecycle, so I feel a bit hypocritical about this one - having my cake and eating it ), no bread machine, no microwave. Aside from driving, I don't know if I'm actively glad I don't have them or just indifferent.

If we had more space, I think we might get a cheap microwave as they are much more efficient for heating up leftovers than firing up the whole oven or the hob, but the kitchen is very small and I'd rather have the space.

[possum]

No tumble drier, never owned one, don't want one, clothes smell a lot nicer hung up and our sleep out dries them in about the same time a tumble drier anyway, so why bother.
no mortgage
no central heating, well yes maybe it is central heating as there is one logburner in the middle of the house, so I guess you could call it central heating.
In winter, no water heating bills, no fuel bills (got loads of wood to cut and a wetback on the stove), and minimal cooking bills as the stove does it all.

[ina]

and a wetback on the stove

What's a wetback in NZ? I only know that term from the States, where it's an illegal refugee from Mexico...

[mrsflibble]

I was thinking that, and why would you have an illeagle mexican immigrant on your stove? you're not that hard up for wood are you?!

[ina]

I was thinking that, and why would you have an illeagle mexican immigrant on your stove? you're not that hard up for wood are you?!

[Annpan]

and a wetback on the stove

What's a wetback in NZ? I only know that term from the States, where it's an illegal refugee from Mexico...

Its a back boiler

I was explaining to my Kiwi friend how our set up will work (eventually) and we spent 10 minutes debating over what was the correct term...

[ina]

Ah thanks! That sounds a bit better.

[lsm1066]

Let's think. How about all the things that used to be within 5 minutes of my house. So that would be:

the mainline railway station (with the railway line at the end of the 60' garden)
the tube station
the main road (directly outside the house) with main bus route and attendant traffic
the North Circular
the massive supermarkets and shopping centre
Ikea

In short - what I don't have and don't miss is London. Not one tiny little bit.

[Flo]

I've got no debts (no mortgage, rent up to date) - nice situation with the cost of everything rising.