I must, alas, report a reduction in the Milton Keynes contingent, we moved to Singapore last year, we are now 7 months in and loving it here. Quite a move but we moved from Cumbria to MK, and at the risk of sounding a bit flippant once you move out of your local area then distance really doesn't matter that much really. I haven't done any modelling yet sadly, there is a big following for plastic kits here and sci-fi fantasy modelling but model railways seems to be a very niche interest and I suspect largely confined to foreigners. No real trains here but the MRT is one of the best metro railways in the world and is a staggeringly efficient and well run operation. I have bought a few things from the UK to build up a backlog of things to do, it is actually no less convenient than when I was in England and for more expensive purchases the VAT deduction outweighs the shipping cost. If I do a layout here it will have to be N gauge I think as apartments are not especially big unless your pockets are extremely deep.