I am new to this amazing group but not new to my love of R.E.M. I have been a fan since 1990 when I was 10 and since that day an obsession was born. Monster was the only tour I got to see in Giants Stadium (Is it even called that anymore?) but I am so glad I did get to see them live before my days of being a traveling broke ass.
I grew up in New Jersey, USA and lived all over the USA but 19 years ago I moved to Scotland and for most of that I have lived in the Shetland Islands. But before deciding I wanted to be in the most remote place in Scotland I could find I lived in Edinburgh and Fife. I will soon be making a big move back to the Scottish Mainland the biggest and most exciting part of that for me is hopefully getting to Gigs again. Shetland isn’t exactly on the top of the list for most touring bands. Although I have had the pleasure of working for the most lovely Kris Kristofferson and The Proclaimers when they were here.
So as I see a lot of people here already know each other I would love to know where everyone is from and I heard there were a few Scots around so would love to make some “local” mates too. Also I would love to see one photo of where you call home. Shetland is a very quiet place with Orcas, Ponies, puffins, sheep and not much else except for when we are burning Viking Galleys with thousands of people and Vikings roaming the streets.
Me, I’m born and bred of the North German Plain where flatness is a part of our cultural identity. Imagine Norfolk with everyone driving on the right, basically. Moved to Ireland in my late 20s, started posting here shortly afterwards and am now a middle-aged weirdo enjoying life between the mountains and the sea in beautiful County Wicklow, another Viking corner of Europe. I’ve loved R.E.M. since I first heard Cuyahoga on the radio as a jet lagged 13-year-old in 1986 and they’ve probably been a much bigger influence on my life than any Rock’n’Roll band ever should be.
This is about a five minutes’ drive from where I grew up.
And this is about a five minutes’ drive away from where I live now.
It’s great to see so many newbies here. When Ethan posted that the boards were back up I was expecting a massive nostalgia fest with all us old hands that would probably fizzle out rather soon once we’d all compared favourite live memories and grey hairs gained since we last met on here, but with new people around it might actually end up rather more dynamic and turn into a proper, active community again, yay! Welcome!
I’m Denise, and I was born, raised and am still very much stuck in Co. Fermanagh in Ireland. This is the best photo I could use for where I’m from - not my picture but I have been up there! You can see my town from this viewpoint and it’s about 20mins away from me.
I became obsessed with R.E.M. when In Time came out - I was 13/14 at the time. I had the absolute honour of going to see them 6 times and those days will never be beat. I’m still obsessed but it’s under control more so now than when I was a teen!
Both of you have such beautiful photos. I spent some time in Ireland about 18 years ago just for a few weeks and hope to get back someday. Its so nice to find other R.E.M. people I had my small group of devoted fan/friends back in the states but sadly my closest and the biggest of those fans and friends passed away. The rest of us keep in touch but its not easy across an ocean to feel that close connection we used to have. Anyway…
I felt a bit like I was gate-crashing when joining and seeing so many beautiful connections and long term friendships but I thought I would start this thread as a way to get to know people and put myself out there as well. I so wish I had known about this group back in the day but sadly life and all that comes with it meant I didn’t have time to do much of anything online but at least I had the music. Its been lovely having such a warm welcome though and I really hope to make some friendships as well. Its a special connection this love of R.E.M.
And this is one of my local usual haunts when it isn’t freezing and Big Bertha there isn’t in a bad mood trying to ram me into the sea
Hey Vetiver so happy to meet you! Its been years but I have spent some time in Lanarkshire. We bumped into each other yesterday so glad to know there is other Scots here. We are moving to Buckie in Moray. We needed to be somewhere we could access our health consultants without a 14-hour ferry journey or an hour plane journey (that often gets canceled due to weather) so we bought ourselves a lovely place there, after spotting it online.
I am just excited to be here and everyone is so welcoming it really is exciting.
Thanks thats very kind of you to say. Its a great and beautiful place to live if you can handle the isolation and the dark winters but the 19 hours of sunlight in the summer and some fine wildlife and beautiful empty beaches on a good day are worth it. Currently its been constant gale-force winds and hail most days. But when its clear we get the Aurora Borealis a lot so that too is a bonus. I will certainly miss Shetland but all our family is here so we will be back and forth often. Its also a great place if you like photography I am no professional but its easy to get a decent photo when you are surrounded by beautiful things.
Absolutely lovely, you wouldn’t need to be a professional when that’s what you get to photograph. Sounds unique and incredible. It’s very much on my bucket list to see the Aurora Borealis!
Well come to Shetland even better come when we have the Fire Festivals (when they are safe to have again) and experience the wild remote insanity. Its certainly a shock to the system for some its love for others its hate.
I’m from Athens, GA. I’m actually making plans to eventually move to Ireland and y’all aren’t helping the wanderlust with these great photos. hahaha
I live in the way northwestern edge of Los Angeles in West Hills, but up against the mountains of Simi Valley. If you’ve ever watched westerns, you’ll recognize some of the hills. Or Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, the ranch is about a mile away.
Beautiful part of the country. I lived in Pasadena for a bit as a teen and had a cousin in your area who I loved to visit because it was so pretty there. I also lived further south in Laguna Niguel as well as further North in San Fran then Seattle in my early 20s before moving to Scotland.
When Ethan posted that the boards were back up I was expecting a massive nostalgia fest with all us old hands that would probably fizzle out rather soon once we’d all compared favourite live memories and grey hairs gained since we last met on here, but with new people around it might actually end up rather more dynamic and turn into a proper, active community again, yay! 
Welcome!
