I'm from the UK (North of Manchester) and retired: so plenty of time to take photos. That is more difficult than it should be these days as more and more developments retain private ownership of the land around the buildings and have a "no photography" rule, and more people are suspicious of anyone with a "real" camera.

I feel I need to get up earlier and/or stay out later to utilise the better light (sunrises etc.), but that seems hard to achieve!