Special relationship

The author of Flat Out Norwich might not have lived in Norfolk long, but he's quickly and astutely got the measure of my home county. I really enjoyed reading his musings on Norfolk and Norwich, particularly the passage:

Norfolk is near lots of places but is mainly quite far from most places. This means that the people who live here have a special relationship to the rest of the country. They watch, read and listen a lot about the places they are not near, get the best ideas, reject the worst ideas, consider themselves to be both cursed and blessed by geography and then there is a collective unconscious decision to be glad that they are not near most places after all and a sense of relief that comes from being here and not anywhere else.

Nicely said, sir!