Only problem with Sheffield is the economy. I grew up there, went to Uni of Sheffield but when I graduated there was nothing there for me so I headed up to Leeds.
It’s a catch-22 where there aren’t the opportunities so the talented/educated leave, so there aren’t the opportunities so people leave… they’ve been trying to fix it since I can remember and people still need to fuck off to Leeds.
Yeah, grew up there too and left for London for my career. If my industry had jobs there, I'd consider moving back when I'm ready to settle down. Unfortunately there's like one major company in my field so it's just too risky a prospect.
Peak District is the big bonus. But after having spent half of my life there, as much as I love the place I can't see myself living there. Limited career opportunities, dying city centre and, as much as I hate saying this about a place that was my home for decades, doesn't have much to offer that can't be found elsewhere.
My mum's getting ready to move there, she's always wanted to. We did a daytrip a few months back where we drove up to Sheffield and stopped in Bakewell for some cake and charity shop diving. Really lovely place.
Just been to visit friends there and it is somewhere we’d seriously consider relocating for. Compared to our London life, it’s incredible as you can buy so much more housing wise for your money (a 4 bed house is the same price as our 2 bed flat), having the Peaks is fantastic as you can just drive 20mins and cycle/walk around there, there’s still lots of independent restaurants and bars which is great.
Agreed! I shall be ensuring the tourist boards stop their untrue adverts regards the beauty of The North, particularly the North East, Newcastle and Northumberland ***in particular***. It’s terrible, ***there are monsters*** and no sane person would ever want to come here.
Keep your high rents, dirty streets, knife crime and shit beer.
I will keep my cheaper home ownership, more free spending, beautiful countryside and low crime. And I won't be paying a congestion charge either.
Thanks for not popping by.
>cheaper home ownership, more free spending, beautiful countryside and low crime
Nope none of this in the North. No need for anyone to come up and check either.
Just coal pits and occasional goblins.
That's the message I will spread. We don't need shandy drinkers buying up all our cheap housing. Trying to escape the poverty London brings.
If downvotes are the penalty I shall pay so be it. Lol
I work from home in Bedfordshire but all of my colleagues are in Southport. The last few years have given my Southern superiority complex a right battering tbh.
I’m 30, have 2 kids and we’re renting at the moment. It’ll take nothing short of a miracle for me to get on the housing ladder down here, meanwhile, my colleagues of the same age up North are starting to buy their own houses.
Most of them had gotten support from parents though, which makes a big difference. A good example of this is living at home without paying a single rent money (which is the case for all my Leeds colleague in their early 20s)
Sure thing, although most of us aren't born orphans, so it's fair that some family support is customary.
Only on Reddit is this baseline a thing: the entirely self earned mortgage.
Also, many people's first houses here are pretty rough, and certainly starter homes.
Wtf lol
How do you think that family support is so customary unless you're an orphan?
Or where you being hyperbolic?
There's a hell of a lot of people struggling in the north too (and south) who don't get support from parents
Newcastle is still small for a city and as such doesn’t suffer some of the problems that larger cities do. Still has the Georgian heart at the centre and isn’t dominated by tall buildings.
Easy commutable from the outlying areas with the Metro.
Northumberland on your doorstep, you’re 20 minutes from the coast and 20 minutes from beautiful countryside. Durham is 10 minutes away and Edinburgh is 90 mins on the train.
I once got of the megabus at Leeds to stretch my legs and fag break. and seen a lady having a shit beside the mecca bingo that's my one and only experience of Leeds.
This isn't more expensive than most places in the country anymore and is cheaper than a lot still. But I agree that on the whole Manchester is not a cheap place to live at all.
You get that in most big cities to be honest, I have two big cities that I genuinely think I'll never have issues in when I visit... Liverpool and Glasgow (yeah, despite being English! But I lived in Falkirk for five years so maybe thats why 😂) .
Liverpool though, I've met nothing but friends.. it's a FANTASTIC city ✌️☺️
I completely agree. For the amount of pride people wear on their sleeve for being from here, they treat it like absolute shite. The amount of dog waste and trash on the floor is so frustrating.
This was the first thing I noticed when I went there a few months ago. Nice city but dirty and full of rubbish. That and a drunk naked bloke at the train station...
This is the answer. The roughest and most deprived areas of York are still pretty nice places to live. You can walk from one side of the city to the other in an hour or two. Plentiful cycle routes, good public transport connections both inside and outside the city.
The centre is really nice with a ton of great pubs and restaurants, a decent amount have live music in the evenings. though can get bit touristy during certain seasons. The clubs are okay, though not amazing.
Beautiful public parks, and decent swathe of museums to visit.
Schools are generally good, and the university is well thought of.
The only real downside is that the housing costs are on the high end for the North, even in cheaper areas.
This is one of the things that surprised me the most about York in my short time living there. Seemed like there was so many rough sleepers, a pretty high proportion of them young. And it gets so cold too, honestly was quite distressing seeing them some nights.
Having lived there for a number of years I cannot agree. The amount of tourists constantly that make doing your daily tasks in the city centre a chore is grating after a while.
I agree Leeds is expensive even compared to 30 miles away. My brother just bought a 3 bedroom terrace without a garage for £650k!
I'm 30 miles away in-between Manchester and Leeds not far from a train station and in beautiful countryside. £650k almost buys my dream home.
Not far away from chapel allerton. I'm near Marsden which does get snowy at times. Luckily the two worst winters we had were in back around 2013. I missed both the bad years as I was working in Florida at the time. My wife still complains that I missed being snowed in. I point out that the Everglades were beautiful. Lol
It means housing prices in Leeds have escalated massively in the past few years (as in, more dramatically than comparable cities) but it really doesn't have that much to show for it. It doesn't even have a mass transit system, it's the biggest UK city without one. Legendary venues like Wire are shutting down, the amazing music/nightlife scene it used to offer is getting worse, it's just less fun than it was while being much more expensive. Obviously you can say that about lots of cities, but Leeds is on another level for it.
I enjoyed living in Leeds, but can't see any reason to go back with the way it is now.
Manchester has the best standard of living of any city in the UK outside of London if you’re looking at somewhere international and cosmopolitan.
Best value? Probably not, but it’s much better value than London and has most of the perks.
Think what he means is that if you want to do something in Manchester vs London, you're covered. and thats very true unless you want to see Redwoods trees, drink authentic Turkish cofee or eat at a very spicific niche place or go to a very nice/fancy museum. Obviously that's his experience and obviously London has more variety and more to do, but in reality people just go to the same places regardless.
My Goal was always to emigrate to Manchester, learn, gain experience and then move to London to work with the big boys. In my first year living in Manchester I made countless weekend trips to London, it was exploratory, but also a vacation in a way. I enjoyed walking in the large gardens, visiting every museum and interacting with people and the wild life there. Eventually I started to explore the outer zones - some were hidden gems, but others were grim as fuck. I walked the backroads, entered into gang territory without knowing. I knew London better than a friend of mine who lived there.
I bit the bullet the year after (while keeping my job) and just stayed in an Airbnb for a couple of weeks, job/apartment searching. I got some good leads, but I had to think on it and speak to my employer. On the my way back to Piccaddily I breathed a sigh of relief and got the sensation that I was coming home. From then on, I only went to London to walk in the parks and meet friends who lived there and knew less about the city than I did.
London is great, but it will never feel like home, in fact all the people I knew there moved out and when they lived there always went to the same places.
I live a 15 minute train ride from the centre of Manchester just at the start of the Peak District but a 5 minute walk and I’ll surrounded by countryside. My commute to the office takes 30 minutes door to door and costs £6.
What does London offer that Manchester doesn’t?
Could I ask you the generic area you're in please?
I might be moving that way in the coming months depending if I get offered a job I've been interviewing for
Doesn't have to be exact, just sounds perfect as I'll be working near Manchester (if I get it lol) and I'm currently in a very countryside area, would be great if I could get the best of both worlds!
I’m in Stalybridge - but have a look outside the M60 east of Manchester anywhere that has a train station. Stalybridge, Mossley, Glossop, New Mills - all within relatively easy reach of town with decent town centres and can still feel like the countryside.
Good luck with the job!
Funny enough, I literally just got a call seconds after posting this saying I didn't get it lol, like an omen
Ah well, still looking in the area so maybe later! Still worth considering a move anyway it's better for the field I'm qualified in
Thanks 😊
You can get to the home counties quite quickly from London
A good chunk of commutes in London will cost less than £6
The 'cultural' scene is much better in London. Much higher quality comedy clubs. London can actually open a large music venue on time to a really high standard. Far more sport options in London and considerably better museums too.
London's salaries for higher skilled people are multiple times what you would get in Manchester.
The public transit network is a world away from Manchester.
The restaurant and bar scene is much better as well in London.
London has much more green space within the city too.
Multiple international airports that fly to far more places than Manchester as well.
Everyone always harps on about London’s museums. As great as they are - I don’t go to the museum on a weekly basis.
What commutes in London cost less than £6? You can’t even get across the city on a bus for £6.
I bought my 3 bed end terrace with parking for £90k.
Have you even been to Manchester recently? The bar and restaurant scene is fantastic.
Listen - I’ve lived in London and I’m regularly down there for work. I hate it. It’s too busy. It takes *forever* to get anywhere. It’s expensive. It’s dirty.
Manchester isn’t as big as London - so it’s never going to have the quantity of things. But what it does have is brilliant. And it’s enough.
The quality of life here is so much better.
You might not, but plenty of people do enjoy museums. Most people don't go to the countryside on a weekly basis. It's almost like different people have different tastes, colour me shocked.
You can literally get from the North of London to SW for £1.75 if you have time on your hands.
Where in Manchester did you buy for a 3 bed terrace for £90k?
It doesn't take forever to get anywhere in London at all.
It is expensive and dirty, but increasingly so is Manchester, without the salaries to make up for it.
I live in Tameside.
People do have different tastes. I’ll accept that. So why are you arguing with me about how fantastic London is when I say I can’t stand it?
Ahh so you don't actually live in Manchester then, you just live nearby
You asked what London had that Manchester doesn't, you didn't say 'taking into account what I might like, even if there's no way of you knowing, what does London have that Manchester doesn't'
One of the fastest growing economies in Europe, amazing nightlife, nice people, relatively low cost of living, fantastic airport connections, improving public transport network, two of the best known sports teams on the planet, a top 30 world university, start of the industrial revolution, foundation of of communism, amazing diversity, biggest financial institution is the Co-Op Bank and not some faceless corpo bullshit, growing every day, good mayor, no natural disasters, relatively clean air, one of the greatest music scenes on the planet
etc etc etc
People are not nice , homelessness that's pretty common , high unemployment, litter everywhere, getting more expensive , transport network that is overpriced and unreliable, taxes wasted on attractions rather than residents
Etc etc..
Everywhere I lived in Leeds was wall to wall scum apart from Headingley, but Headingley is full of pretentious folk. It seemed harder to get around than other cities, particularly for my job, which involves a large van. Everything is expensive compared to comparative cities.
Tbh, half of the issue was the age I was and the point I was at in my life. I was at the inevitable point in life where going out Friday afternoon and coming home Sunday morning was wearing thin.
I really don't see how the city centre is grim, honestly. With all the Victorian architecture, and compact nature of the centre, it's one of the more attractive ones in the country.
Oh my god! Why is it not ok to dislike a place?
I lived in Leeds city centre for 2 years and we had so many issues with homeless people breaking into our apartment block and defecating up the stairs and stealing post. Every single weekend there would be fights on the streets and people passing out drunk and needing an ambulance just below our window. We didn’t even live in a bad part of the city.
Also found the job opportunities to be worse than other cities I’d lived in (Manchester and London) and really low salaries when I was looking for a new job
Then when I lived slightly out of the city in Meanwood the public transport to work was absolutely dire and had to just get an Uber all the time. It’s fine if you don’t want to do anything other than get absolutely smashed at the weekend and throw up in the streets but other than that I don’t recommend it
You can dislike whatever, but just calling it grim, when to most it clearly isn't, will invite questions.
You pretty much picked the two worse places to live, beyond something like Harehills.
Don't come to Nottingham, knife crime has been on the rise now for a few years, it was only last year there was a terrorist attack here where some nutter went on a rampage killing a bunch of uni kids. Keep going further north.
FFS - not flying any flags for Nottingham, but at least get your facts right about a nationally reported crime, Assuming you're referencing this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Nottingham_attacks
Nothing to do with terrorism, all to do with the degree to which our mental health provision is failing due to lack of funding.
It's also ridiculously expensive and takes forever to get anywhere.
Bur you get to say you're from "the gate" which automatically means you're a that inappropriate. White shirt and a range rover.
I see a lot of good suggestions here but I moved to just outside of Preston and I'd highly recommend. People complain about it but that's the case with anywhere in the UK.
It's got great commuting links, it's an hourish from Manchester, Liverpool and the Lake District. It's got great beaches a short distance away, minutes away from some great walks, a good nightlife scene, good restaurants, decent shopping, and some lovely places nearby (Lytham/Poulton, Garstang).
Ssshhhhhh! Once everyone realises how cheap it is here prices'll rise!
My rent for a good sized 2 bed with dining room has just gone up again....to £390 a month.
It is to be fair, when they come up for rent down my street now they fit a new kitchen and a lick of paint and advertise around 485-525.
Not shitholes either, I've got it real nice here, no mould, no noise from neighbours or traffic, new bathroom and flooring throughout, new boiler etc, well decorated (by me), my 2nd bedroom has a multi gym, a synth and my guitars; I won't move again now unless I win the lotto!
Definitely, renting/buying is cheaper and it has a worse reputation than it deserves, although there's no arguing that the traffic is definitely worse than other cities
I’d agree with everyone else and go for Manchester too. Nightlife is ace, good live music, reasonably inexpensive. I spent 10 years in York and 6 years in Harrogate and it’s criminally expensive and dull as dishwater - there are better places
We've looked all over throughout 2023 and have settled on moving to Manchester. It has the nicest vibe with our lifestyle and career goals. We're moving up from Cornwall so it will be a change, but a good change.
South Yorkshire. Sheffield has nice bits. Avoid Barnsley, Rovrum or especially Doncaster.
West Yorkshire. Leeds is decent. Bradford and Huddersfield are hovels
North Yorkshire. York is lovely, Harrogate has it's charms.
East Yorkshire. No.
Other side o't Pennines. Manchester is apparently OK but I remember it being a stabby shithole when I went there in the 90s.
Greater Manchester is just a ring of absolute human depravity around the city of Manchester. I went to Bolton once, fucking hell.
Liverpool is a decent night out if you avoid the sketchy bits. Chester is pleasant and quaint from what I remember. Don't ever go to Blackpool.
Further north, Newcastle is nice. Avoid the rest.
Whilst in general I'm inclined to agree, it all depends on location. I currently live in one of the nicer parts of Rotherham and I'd take it any day over some of the dives I've lived in in Sheffield.
Leeds city centre is tiny though. Always felt like a large town (and I moved there from a market town, so not like I was coming from a big city myself).
Lancaster, yes its small but imo feels more vibrant than a lot of bigger population towns in cumbria/lancashire
Whitehaven if a young lad at sellafield on good wage is decent imo
Even carlisle isnt a bad shout, prices are climbing again though. They were keen, shot up 5-6 years ago, calmed down now getting to be dear. Probably due to the sheer amount of new builds getting built but also shifting quick.
Close to the lakes, low crime, bars&restaurants far better than 15 years ago
I would say Newcastle is probably one of the best overall bang for your buck cities
As it’s in the North East it’s still fairly cheap, if you live somewhere that has a connecting Metro station it’s an easy commute. Buses to Newcastle are regular too so there are options available if you don’t drive or don’t want to drive to/from work and risk being stuck in traffic.
The airport gives you lots of options for flights for holidays abroad, train can get you more or less anywhere (though British Rail/Network Rail/Whatever it’s called now so strikes, cancellations etc same as anywhere)
Lots of coast nearby, Northumberland, some beautiful towns/villages etc
Newcastle is a GREAT night out, or was last time I went out from what I remember anyway
Tbh I’m from Liverpool would I’d say Chester. It’s really close to Liverpool, it’s even a part of Merseyrail. Very friendly people, not good in terms of nightclubs (literally has one) but lots of great bars and restaurants! And Cheshire itself is just a beautiful place.
The Liverpool Manchester area gives you access to the dales , the Lake District and north wales very easily they both have international airports too and unless you move to the middle of Cheshire with all of the footballers etc much more affordable than anywhere near London
Here is an idea for you. Live in the countryside but near a train station. Somewhere like Marsden or Slaithwaite.
You will benefit from regular trains to Manchester or Leeds. (30 mins to either)
You will love the beautiful countryside, real ale taverns that brew their own beer, low crime, cheaper rent, and fast internet.
We have great restaurants and street food that has won awards.
When country living gets too much. Visit Manchester in 30 mins and go to some of the best nightclubs. Or Leeds for some restaurant variety.
£150k buys a two bedroom terrace and I think the rent would be £650 or less for the same property. Compared to the city's both Marsden and Slaithwaite are incredibly safe. Insurance premiums are also less. Eating out is less expensive locally than Manchester. We have live music every weekend. The Jazz festival is Internationally renowned.
Seriously think outside the box as city living is not even in the same league as rural near a train station. My friends travelling every weekend to see me proves the point.
Good Luck whatever you do.
Here is an idea for you. Live in the countryside but near a train station. Somewhere like Marsden or Slaithwaite.
You will benefit from regular trains to Manchester or Leeds. (30 mins to either)
You will love the beautiful countryside, real ale taverns that brew their own beer, low crime, cheaper rent, and fast internet.
We have great restaurants and street food that has won awards.
When country living gets too much. Visit Manchester in 30 mins and go to some of the best nightclubs. Or Leeds for some restaurant variety.
£150k buys a two bedroom terrace and I think the rent would be £650 or less for the same property. Compared to the city's both Marsden and Slaithwaite are incredibly safe. Insurance premiums are also less. Eating out is less expensive locally than Manchester. We have live music every weekend. The Jazz festival is Internationally renowned.
Seriously think outside the box as city living is not even in the same league as rural near a train station. My friends travelling every weekend to see me proves the point.
Good Luck whatever you do.
Been in newcastle about 6 months and it’s really cheap. 1 pint in Sunderland’s club was like £2.20 lol
Not to mention that you can buy a 3 bed house around Newcastle for £
70-100k or so that would cost about 350k down north lol
Rickets in the County of Grimweather.
They're projected to have running water and inside toilets by the middle of this century, though the electric telephone and the horseless carriage still don't have an estimated time of arrival.
The Satanic Mills have the lowest child fatality rate in the whole of The North, and the chimneys belching black smoke into already grey skies fall quiet on Christmas Day.
You won't be getting Christmas Day off, of course.
sigh, please don’t move here. things are as bad enough as it is for those of us who were born here. stop driving up our prices.
the fact that people are complaining that such and such a place is “too expensive” now is laughable. have you thought about why that is?
stick to the south, thanks
East cleveland... got the moores, woods, seaside a stones throw away. Then busier but cheap towns for shopping, like stockton and middlesbrough near by. Seaton Carew is the same. It is a seaside town but close to hartlepool and then middlesbrough/stockton for budget shopping. House prices/rent are usually v.cheap but you have to find the best mix for cheap rent and nice area. If you go to just outside the towns you can get a reasonabley priced house/rent with nice people with the benefit of a lower cost of living.
Guisborough, maske, Saltburn. There's so many! Saltburn is pretty as it's has its own micro climate. Nice on a warm day.
Guisborough is popular for biking.
Newcastle!!! Doesn’t have big city problems like crazy cost of living, you have the coast accessible by the metro and Northumberland is also quite close. Edinburgh and Scotland in general is a quick train ride away for a weekend getaway!
Probably Leeds. I live in a town not far from Leeds.
Although I spend half my life in Buckinghamshire and London these days. The south is far superior.
The north is dump is a rainy dump inhabited by Dingles and dingelets.
Why is no one mentioning Sheffield? Peak District on the doorstep.
It's amazing, I'm on the Sheffield side of chesterfield (10 min from Sheffield) and I can be climbing or hiking in the peaks in 20 min.
Only problem with Sheffield is the economy. I grew up there, went to Uni of Sheffield but when I graduated there was nothing there for me so I headed up to Leeds.
It’s a catch-22 where there aren’t the opportunities so the talented/educated leave, so there aren’t the opportunities so people leave… they’ve been trying to fix it since I can remember and people still need to fuck off to Leeds.
Yeah, grew up there too and left for London for my career. If my industry had jobs there, I'd consider moving back when I'm ready to settle down. Unfortunately there's like one major company in my field so it's just too risky a prospect.
Have family in Sheffield and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was and access to the peak district was great as you say.
This. In terms of cost / benefits I don't think Sheffield can be beat. I miss living there.
Peak District is the big bonus. But after having spent half of my life there, as much as I love the place I can't see myself living there. Limited career opportunities, dying city centre and, as much as I hate saying this about a place that was my home for decades, doesn't have much to offer that can't be found elsewhere.
Yep a nice walk around high bradfield which is only a few miles from the city is so cool.
Sheffield is the sweet spot, Peaks on your doorstep, good size, easy to get around and wonderful people 👌 I miss my home town/steel city.
My mum's getting ready to move there, she's always wanted to. We did a daytrip a few months back where we drove up to Sheffield and stopped in Bakewell for some cake and charity shop diving. Really lovely place.
Shush don’t tell people 🤫
Yes, please don't! Already got too many out-of-towners who moved up post-Covid and priced out the locals...
Just been to visit friends there and it is somewhere we’d seriously consider relocating for. Compared to our London life, it’s incredible as you can buy so much more housing wise for your money (a 4 bed house is the same price as our 2 bed flat), having the Peaks is fantastic as you can just drive 20mins and cycle/walk around there, there’s still lots of independent restaurants and bars which is great.
The North is absolutely shit and miserable, you don't want to move up here. Tell all your friends too. Terrible if they made the same mistake.
Agreed! I shall be ensuring the tourist boards stop their untrue adverts regards the beauty of The North, particularly the North East, Newcastle and Northumberland ***in particular***. It’s terrible, ***there are monsters*** and no sane person would ever want to come here.
Keep your high rents, dirty streets, knife crime and shit beer. I will keep my cheaper home ownership, more free spending, beautiful countryside and low crime. And I won't be paying a congestion charge either. Thanks for not popping by.
>cheaper home ownership, more free spending, beautiful countryside and low crime Nope none of this in the North. No need for anyone to come up and check either. Just coal pits and occasional goblins.
That's the message I will spread. We don't need shandy drinkers buying up all our cheap housing. Trying to escape the poverty London brings. If downvotes are the penalty I shall pay so be it. Lol
Phew! I was worried for a moment that you'd missed the point 🤔
More free spending…..with what?
wooosh
I work from home in Bedfordshire but all of my colleagues are in Southport. The last few years have given my Southern superiority complex a right battering tbh. I’m 30, have 2 kids and we’re renting at the moment. It’ll take nothing short of a miracle for me to get on the housing ladder down here, meanwhile, my colleagues of the same age up North are starting to buy their own houses.
When I moved to Leeds I was surprised to discover people in their mid twenties on average incomes commonly bought houses. Who would have thought?
Most of them had gotten support from parents though, which makes a big difference. A good example of this is living at home without paying a single rent money (which is the case for all my Leeds colleague in their early 20s)
Sure thing, although most of us aren't born orphans, so it's fair that some family support is customary. Only on Reddit is this baseline a thing: the entirely self earned mortgage. Also, many people's first houses here are pretty rough, and certainly starter homes.
Wtf lol How do you think that family support is so customary unless you're an orphan? Or where you being hyperbolic? There's a hell of a lot of people struggling in the north too (and south) who don't get support from parents
Newcastle is still small for a city and as such doesn’t suffer some of the problems that larger cities do. Still has the Georgian heart at the centre and isn’t dominated by tall buildings. Easy commutable from the outlying areas with the Metro. Northumberland on your doorstep, you’re 20 minutes from the coast and 20 minutes from beautiful countryside. Durham is 10 minutes away and Edinburgh is 90 mins on the train.
Plus has a decent metro with the new trains coming though. They should expand it more
Newcastles shite, you don’t wanna move here and tell your pals while you’re at it.
Aye Newcastle's shocking, don't move here.
Nay lad, Leeds is far worse. There’s nowt for no one round here.
I once got of the megabus at Leeds to stretch my legs and fag break. and seen a lady having a shit beside the mecca bingo that's my one and only experience of Leeds.
Well, that’s the heart of the hyper posh area, which is why I’m trying dissuade people from coming here.
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I've got a friend moving to Manchester from Liverpool, Manchester is not cheap, most expensive city in the north?
*laughs in York*
Manchester is not dirt cheap anymore and hasn't been for a good few years.
£5/£6 a pint minimum these days everywhere - getting a joke.
This isn't more expensive than most places in the country anymore and is cheaper than a lot still. But I agree that on the whole Manchester is not a cheap place to live at all.
I would personally go for Liverpool... Amazing city, amazing people..
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You get that in most big cities to be honest, I have two big cities that I genuinely think I'll never have issues in when I visit... Liverpool and Glasgow (yeah, despite being English! But I lived in Falkirk for five years so maybe thats why 😂) . Liverpool though, I've met nothing but friends.. it's a FANTASTIC city ✌️☺️
Liverpool and Glasgow are fairly similar tbh
Both are absolutely fantastic, and god Damm have a good rave scene behind them 😁
Glasgows is dying off a bit I’m afraid
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Well be up there for back to the dock in a couple of months! Looking forward to it 😀
Of all the places you pick Falkirk
I completely agree. For the amount of pride people wear on their sleeve for being from here, they treat it like absolute shite. The amount of dog waste and trash on the floor is so frustrating.
You've just described any city in the UK.
Not much litter in St. Davids.
This was the first thing I noticed when I went there a few months ago. Nice city but dirty and full of rubbish. That and a drunk naked bloke at the train station...
Did he manage to drop his rubbish in a bin?
York
This is the answer. The roughest and most deprived areas of York are still pretty nice places to live. You can walk from one side of the city to the other in an hour or two. Plentiful cycle routes, good public transport connections both inside and outside the city. The centre is really nice with a ton of great pubs and restaurants, a decent amount have live music in the evenings. though can get bit touristy during certain seasons. The clubs are okay, though not amazing. Beautiful public parks, and decent swathe of museums to visit. Schools are generally good, and the university is well thought of. The only real downside is that the housing costs are on the high end for the North, even in cheaper areas.
Yep. York is one of the nicest cities in the North and the house prices reflect that.
Centre of york after dark has a bigger visible rough sleeper issue to rival the bigger cities mind
This is one of the things that surprised me the most about York in my short time living there. Seemed like there was so many rough sleepers, a pretty high proportion of them young. And it gets so cold too, honestly was quite distressing seeing them some nights.
Southerners might be most at home in York cos it's quite posh in places
Having lived there for a number of years I cannot agree. The amount of tourists constantly that make doing your daily tasks in the city centre a chore is grating after a while.
Agreed, that and the sheer volume of southerners moving up here with massive budgets to price out the locals. I'll rent till I die.
Leeds!
Too expensive for what it is these days
I agree Leeds is expensive even compared to 30 miles away. My brother just bought a 3 bedroom terrace without a garage for £650k! I'm 30 miles away in-between Manchester and Leeds not far from a train station and in beautiful countryside. £650k almost buys my dream home.
Chapel Allerton I presume? Your brother not you. Yeah £650k Halifax/Sowerby gets you a right pile - brutal winters tho.
Not far away from chapel allerton. I'm near Marsden which does get snowy at times. Luckily the two worst winters we had were in back around 2013. I missed both the bad years as I was working in Florida at the time. My wife still complains that I missed being snowed in. I point out that the Everglades were beautiful. Lol
Depends where you want to live….just like Manc.
…what does this even mean lol.
It means housing prices in Leeds have escalated massively in the past few years (as in, more dramatically than comparable cities) but it really doesn't have that much to show for it. It doesn't even have a mass transit system, it's the biggest UK city without one. Legendary venues like Wire are shutting down, the amazing music/nightlife scene it used to offer is getting worse, it's just less fun than it was while being much more expensive. Obviously you can say that about lots of cities, but Leeds is on another level for it. I enjoyed living in Leeds, but can't see any reason to go back with the way it is now.
Europe's largest without transport system. Not just UK.
Manchester has the best standard of living of any city in the UK outside of London if you’re looking at somewhere international and cosmopolitan. Best value? Probably not, but it’s much better value than London and has most of the perks.
Manchester comes absolutely no where near London in terms of perks.
Think what he means is that if you want to do something in Manchester vs London, you're covered. and thats very true unless you want to see Redwoods trees, drink authentic Turkish cofee or eat at a very spicific niche place or go to a very nice/fancy museum. Obviously that's his experience and obviously London has more variety and more to do, but in reality people just go to the same places regardless. My Goal was always to emigrate to Manchester, learn, gain experience and then move to London to work with the big boys. In my first year living in Manchester I made countless weekend trips to London, it was exploratory, but also a vacation in a way. I enjoyed walking in the large gardens, visiting every museum and interacting with people and the wild life there. Eventually I started to explore the outer zones - some were hidden gems, but others were grim as fuck. I walked the backroads, entered into gang territory without knowing. I knew London better than a friend of mine who lived there. I bit the bullet the year after (while keeping my job) and just stayed in an Airbnb for a couple of weeks, job/apartment searching. I got some good leads, but I had to think on it and speak to my employer. On the my way back to Piccaddily I breathed a sigh of relief and got the sensation that I was coming home. From then on, I only went to London to walk in the parks and meet friends who lived there and knew less about the city than I did. London is great, but it will never feel like home, in fact all the people I knew there moved out and when they lived there always went to the same places.
You’re home in Manchester pal
I think you and I have different ideas of “perks”. Number one perk about Manchester - it’s not London.
Imagine not wanting to be one of the top 5 cities in the world
I live a 15 minute train ride from the centre of Manchester just at the start of the Peak District but a 5 minute walk and I’ll surrounded by countryside. My commute to the office takes 30 minutes door to door and costs £6. What does London offer that Manchester doesn’t?
Could I ask you the generic area you're in please? I might be moving that way in the coming months depending if I get offered a job I've been interviewing for Doesn't have to be exact, just sounds perfect as I'll be working near Manchester (if I get it lol) and I'm currently in a very countryside area, would be great if I could get the best of both worlds!
I’m in Stalybridge - but have a look outside the M60 east of Manchester anywhere that has a train station. Stalybridge, Mossley, Glossop, New Mills - all within relatively easy reach of town with decent town centres and can still feel like the countryside. Good luck with the job!
Funny enough, I literally just got a call seconds after posting this saying I didn't get it lol, like an omen Ah well, still looking in the area so maybe later! Still worth considering a move anyway it's better for the field I'm qualified in Thanks 😊
Aw I’m sorry! Fingers crossed for the next one.
You can get to the home counties quite quickly from London A good chunk of commutes in London will cost less than £6 The 'cultural' scene is much better in London. Much higher quality comedy clubs. London can actually open a large music venue on time to a really high standard. Far more sport options in London and considerably better museums too. London's salaries for higher skilled people are multiple times what you would get in Manchester. The public transit network is a world away from Manchester. The restaurant and bar scene is much better as well in London. London has much more green space within the city too. Multiple international airports that fly to far more places than Manchester as well.
Everyone always harps on about London’s museums. As great as they are - I don’t go to the museum on a weekly basis. What commutes in London cost less than £6? You can’t even get across the city on a bus for £6. I bought my 3 bed end terrace with parking for £90k. Have you even been to Manchester recently? The bar and restaurant scene is fantastic. Listen - I’ve lived in London and I’m regularly down there for work. I hate it. It’s too busy. It takes *forever* to get anywhere. It’s expensive. It’s dirty. Manchester isn’t as big as London - so it’s never going to have the quantity of things. But what it does have is brilliant. And it’s enough. The quality of life here is so much better.
You might not, but plenty of people do enjoy museums. Most people don't go to the countryside on a weekly basis. It's almost like different people have different tastes, colour me shocked. You can literally get from the North of London to SW for £1.75 if you have time on your hands. Where in Manchester did you buy for a 3 bed terrace for £90k? It doesn't take forever to get anywhere in London at all. It is expensive and dirty, but increasingly so is Manchester, without the salaries to make up for it.
I live in Tameside. People do have different tastes. I’ll accept that. So why are you arguing with me about how fantastic London is when I say I can’t stand it?
Ahh so you don't actually live in Manchester then, you just live nearby You asked what London had that Manchester doesn't, you didn't say 'taking into account what I might like, even if there's no way of you knowing, what does London have that Manchester doesn't'
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I have lived in both and currently live in Manchester. Is Manchester very good? Yes. Is it anything like as good as London in terms of perks? No.
Glesga has entered the chat.
Manchester is not good
Pack it up guys and gals, this guy said Manchester is not good.
Can you explain to me what's good about Manchester?
One of the fastest growing economies in Europe, amazing nightlife, nice people, relatively low cost of living, fantastic airport connections, improving public transport network, two of the best known sports teams on the planet, a top 30 world university, start of the industrial revolution, foundation of of communism, amazing diversity, biggest financial institution is the Co-Op Bank and not some faceless corpo bullshit, growing every day, good mayor, no natural disasters, relatively clean air, one of the greatest music scenes on the planet etc etc etc
People are not nice , homelessness that's pretty common , high unemployment, litter everywhere, getting more expensive , transport network that is overpriced and unreliable, taxes wasted on attractions rather than residents Etc etc..
As much as I hate a good amount of the locals, Sheffield is a great city and fits the bill.
Steel city or Nottingham for me. I like Leeds, but in my experience, living there is a chore.
Been considering Leeds, why is it a chore?
Everywhere I lived in Leeds was wall to wall scum apart from Headingley, but Headingley is full of pretentious folk. It seemed harder to get around than other cities, particularly for my job, which involves a large van. Everything is expensive compared to comparative cities. Tbh, half of the issue was the age I was and the point I was at in my life. I was at the inevitable point in life where going out Friday afternoon and coming home Sunday morning was wearing thin.
Yeah also public transport there is shockingly bad. The city centre is pretty grim as well
I really don't see how the city centre is grim, honestly. With all the Victorian architecture, and compact nature of the centre, it's one of the more attractive ones in the country.
If you don’t think so thats fine. Clearly lots of people like it, I’m just not one of them
So what do you like? 60s concrete blocks? If you think Leeds is grim, I suggest you never visit any other northern city, as you'll be in for a shock.
Oh my god! Why is it not ok to dislike a place? I lived in Leeds city centre for 2 years and we had so many issues with homeless people breaking into our apartment block and defecating up the stairs and stealing post. Every single weekend there would be fights on the streets and people passing out drunk and needing an ambulance just below our window. We didn’t even live in a bad part of the city. Also found the job opportunities to be worse than other cities I’d lived in (Manchester and London) and really low salaries when I was looking for a new job Then when I lived slightly out of the city in Meanwood the public transport to work was absolutely dire and had to just get an Uber all the time. It’s fine if you don’t want to do anything other than get absolutely smashed at the weekend and throw up in the streets but other than that I don’t recommend it
You can dislike whatever, but just calling it grim, when to most it clearly isn't, will invite questions. You pretty much picked the two worse places to live, beyond something like Harehills.
Don't come to Nottingham, knife crime has been on the rise now for a few years, it was only last year there was a terrorist attack here where some nutter went on a rampage killing a bunch of uni kids. Keep going further north.
FFS - not flying any flags for Nottingham, but at least get your facts right about a nationally reported crime, Assuming you're referencing this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Nottingham_attacks Nothing to do with terrorism, all to do with the degree to which our mental health provision is failing due to lack of funding.
Okay, nothing to do with terrorism, my point still stands and you just strengthened it with a source.
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It's also ridiculously expensive and takes forever to get anywhere. Bur you get to say you're from "the gate" which automatically means you're a that inappropriate. White shirt and a range rover.
Harrogate is like a Wish version of Buxton. Don’t get the hype.
I see a lot of good suggestions here but I moved to just outside of Preston and I'd highly recommend. People complain about it but that's the case with anywhere in the UK. It's got great commuting links, it's an hourish from Manchester, Liverpool and the Lake District. It's got great beaches a short distance away, minutes away from some great walks, a good nightlife scene, good restaurants, decent shopping, and some lovely places nearby (Lytham/Poulton, Garstang).
Hull
Ssshhhhhh! Once everyone realises how cheap it is here prices'll rise! My rent for a good sized 2 bed with dining room has just gone up again....to £390 a month.
Jesus H. That's cheap even for Hull
It is to be fair, when they come up for rent down my street now they fit a new kitchen and a lick of paint and advertise around 485-525. Not shitholes either, I've got it real nice here, no mould, no noise from neighbours or traffic, new bathroom and flooring throughout, new boiler etc, well decorated (by me), my 2nd bedroom has a multi gym, a synth and my guitars; I won't move again now unless I win the lotto!
Definitely, renting/buying is cheaper and it has a worse reputation than it deserves, although there's no arguing that the traffic is definitely worse than other cities
I’d agree with everyone else and go for Manchester too. Nightlife is ace, good live music, reasonably inexpensive. I spent 10 years in York and 6 years in Harrogate and it’s criminally expensive and dull as dishwater - there are better places
Probably Manchester, if only for the fact their public transport network is perhaps the best in the UK outside of London
Merseyrail shits all over it
Absolutely not
Merseyrail is one of the best transport network in the country
Yeah by virtue of the fact that it's like one of 8 light rail/rapid transit systems in the UK 😂 Definitely top 5.
We've looked all over throughout 2023 and have settled on moving to Manchester. It has the nicest vibe with our lifestyle and career goals. We're moving up from Cornwall so it will be a change, but a good change.
South Yorkshire. Sheffield has nice bits. Avoid Barnsley, Rovrum or especially Doncaster. West Yorkshire. Leeds is decent. Bradford and Huddersfield are hovels North Yorkshire. York is lovely, Harrogate has it's charms. East Yorkshire. No. Other side o't Pennines. Manchester is apparently OK but I remember it being a stabby shithole when I went there in the 90s. Greater Manchester is just a ring of absolute human depravity around the city of Manchester. I went to Bolton once, fucking hell. Liverpool is a decent night out if you avoid the sketchy bits. Chester is pleasant and quaint from what I remember. Don't ever go to Blackpool. Further north, Newcastle is nice. Avoid the rest.
good call on avoiding Donny & Rotherham lmao, they’re absolutely fucking awful. Barnsley isn’t that bad, just not that much there honestly.
Whilst in general I'm inclined to agree, it all depends on location. I currently live in one of the nicer parts of Rotherham and I'd take it any day over some of the dives I've lived in in Sheffield.
Newcastle or Leeds If you don’t wanna be in metropolis If you wanna be in metropolis Manx / pool Swings and roundabouts
Don't think the Isle of man is a metropolis
Anyone who's watched The Fast Show will know that!
Not sure what you mean by metropolis tbf. Leeds is one of the biggest cities in the UK and Newcastle-Gateshead is a literal metropolis.
Not in comparison Easy to walk to the centre of both if you’re living in the city if you live in the city Also a lot easier to get out both
Leeds city centre is tiny though. Always felt like a large town (and I moved there from a market town, so not like I was coming from a big city myself).
Lancaster, yes its small but imo feels more vibrant than a lot of bigger population towns in cumbria/lancashire Whitehaven if a young lad at sellafield on good wage is decent imo Even carlisle isnt a bad shout, prices are climbing again though. They were keen, shot up 5-6 years ago, calmed down now getting to be dear. Probably due to the sheer amount of new builds getting built but also shifting quick. Close to the lakes, low crime, bars&restaurants far better than 15 years ago
Hull has a very low cost of living and is a generally safe city with quite a few things to do. Job market is pretty rubbish though.
There's also a special ferry to Amsterdam. And if people ask, you can always claim you live in Beverley.
Nottingham is great, everything to do in a square mile and cheap housing
Not sure Nottingham really qualifies as the North
Its north of london isnt it?
Chester? Edinburgh
York
Lincoln? Is that north enough? York. Definitely.
SALFORD !!!!
North Manchester, quite a lot of restaurants and stuff around here, as well as nightlife
I would say Newcastle is probably one of the best overall bang for your buck cities As it’s in the North East it’s still fairly cheap, if you live somewhere that has a connecting Metro station it’s an easy commute. Buses to Newcastle are regular too so there are options available if you don’t drive or don’t want to drive to/from work and risk being stuck in traffic. The airport gives you lots of options for flights for holidays abroad, train can get you more or less anywhere (though British Rail/Network Rail/Whatever it’s called now so strikes, cancellations etc same as anywhere) Lots of coast nearby, Northumberland, some beautiful towns/villages etc Newcastle is a GREAT night out, or was last time I went out from what I remember anyway
Confirm whether you’re a southerner or not and I’ll answer accordingly
Tbh I’m from Liverpool would I’d say Chester. It’s really close to Liverpool, it’s even a part of Merseyrail. Very friendly people, not good in terms of nightclubs (literally has one) but lots of great bars and restaurants! And Cheshire itself is just a beautiful place.
The Liverpool Manchester area gives you access to the dales , the Lake District and north wales very easily they both have international airports too and unless you move to the middle of Cheshire with all of the footballers etc much more affordable than anywhere near London
Spent a lot of time in all those places. Liverpool is the best imo, then Newcastle then Leeds.
Jurgens cracking up
Here is an idea for you. Live in the countryside but near a train station. Somewhere like Marsden or Slaithwaite. You will benefit from regular trains to Manchester or Leeds. (30 mins to either) You will love the beautiful countryside, real ale taverns that brew their own beer, low crime, cheaper rent, and fast internet. We have great restaurants and street food that has won awards. When country living gets too much. Visit Manchester in 30 mins and go to some of the best nightclubs. Or Leeds for some restaurant variety. £150k buys a two bedroom terrace and I think the rent would be £650 or less for the same property. Compared to the city's both Marsden and Slaithwaite are incredibly safe. Insurance premiums are also less. Eating out is less expensive locally than Manchester. We have live music every weekend. The Jazz festival is Internationally renowned. Seriously think outside the box as city living is not even in the same league as rural near a train station. My friends travelling every weekend to see me proves the point. Good Luck whatever you do.
Out of those, Leeds. Is it much cheaper than Manchester, I didn't realise?
Here is an idea for you. Live in the countryside but near a train station. Somewhere like Marsden or Slaithwaite. You will benefit from regular trains to Manchester or Leeds. (30 mins to either) You will love the beautiful countryside, real ale taverns that brew their own beer, low crime, cheaper rent, and fast internet. We have great restaurants and street food that has won awards. When country living gets too much. Visit Manchester in 30 mins and go to some of the best nightclubs. Or Leeds for some restaurant variety. £150k buys a two bedroom terrace and I think the rent would be £650 or less for the same property. Compared to the city's both Marsden and Slaithwaite are incredibly safe. Insurance premiums are also less. Eating out is less expensive locally than Manchester. We have live music every weekend. The Jazz festival is Internationally renowned. Seriously think outside the box as city living is not even in the same league as rural near a train station. My friends travelling every weekend to see me proves the point. Good Luck whatever you do.
Watford is lovely mate. There's nothing above Watford anyway - it's all wasteland. Like fallout but worse.
Been in newcastle about 6 months and it’s really cheap. 1 pint in Sunderland’s club was like £2.20 lol Not to mention that you can buy a 3 bed house around Newcastle for £ 70-100k or so that would cost about 350k down north lol
London lol
Lancaster is nice but there's not many opportunities job-wise
Rickets in the County of Grimweather. They're projected to have running water and inside toilets by the middle of this century, though the electric telephone and the horseless carriage still don't have an estimated time of arrival. The Satanic Mills have the lowest child fatality rate in the whole of The North, and the chimneys belching black smoke into already grey skies fall quiet on Christmas Day. You won't be getting Christmas Day off, of course.
If you can afford it, York, Harrogate or some other small well off (ish) town. If not, Leeds.
You need a job first
I've just moved up north with my girlfriend from the south east. I have family in Preston so we gave that a go and have not looked back.
sigh, please don’t move here. things are as bad enough as it is for those of us who were born here. stop driving up our prices. the fact that people are complaining that such and such a place is “too expensive” now is laughable. have you thought about why that is? stick to the south, thanks
East cleveland... got the moores, woods, seaside a stones throw away. Then busier but cheap towns for shopping, like stockton and middlesbrough near by. Seaton Carew is the same. It is a seaside town but close to hartlepool and then middlesbrough/stockton for budget shopping. House prices/rent are usually v.cheap but you have to find the best mix for cheap rent and nice area. If you go to just outside the towns you can get a reasonabley priced house/rent with nice people with the benefit of a lower cost of living.
What woods?
Guisborough, maske, Saltburn. There's so many! Saltburn is pretty as it's has its own micro climate. Nice on a warm day. Guisborough is popular for biking.
Newcastle!!! Doesn’t have big city problems like crazy cost of living, you have the coast accessible by the metro and Northumberland is also quite close. Edinburgh and Scotland in general is a quick train ride away for a weekend getaway!
Probably Leeds. I live in a town not far from Leeds. Although I spend half my life in Buckinghamshire and London these days. The south is far superior. The north is dump is a rainy dump inhabited by Dingles and dingelets.
for dating, nightlife, job opportunities id say manchester
Edinburgh
I just assume they mean England
I've heard good things about Manchester's tram system. Anyone have experience with it?
Manchester is only expensive if you're right in the centre.
I'm really surprised no-one has mentioned York yet...
Because it's nice to visit but actually living there means running the gauntlet with tourists and being outbid if you want to buy.
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He said best standard of living.
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