If you could live anywhere in the UK...

[Robertj21a]

richie99 said:

Robertj21a said:

mcg_ said:

Corby

Ha Ha, always good to have a joker.

Some lovely villages not far away. Would never go to the town though. Uppingham and Market Harborough nice towns.

Surprised there has not been much mention of the weather. I couldn’t live much further north than, well, Corby because of the combination of wind, cold, rain.

Just a bit further out and you have some wonderful places - Oakham, Stamford, Melton Mowbray.

[anonymous-user]

croyde said:

keirik said:

North Wales. Which is in fact where I moved to in 2014 after 30 years in that London.

Lovely countryside, friendly people, close enough to Chester and Liverpool if I want to go out.

And every time I go back and visit London it only takes 30 minutes for me to hate it all over again. Although living there that long did allow me to buy a nice cottage up here and retire at 56 ??

I've just spent a few days in North Wales with my kids and girlfriend.

Only been there various times for work and either at night or in weather so atrocious I had no idea of the sights I was missing.

We drove from London to Abergynolwyn and stayed in a house there. Went hill climbing and went crabbing in Aberdyfi.

I then drove my boys up to Festiniog for Bounce Below but what a drive and what views. The higher mountains were covered in snow whilst the valleys were in sunshine and rain, all green and Alpine like.

We continued up to Llandudno and stayed in a marvellous old hotel up on the headland. Cheap, friendly and a great breakfast.

Drove to Anglesey and had ski lessons back at Llandudno at the ski centre.

OK everything else was closed until March and we had gales, rain, snow and sunshine all in one day but we loved it.

The seaside resort had interesting shops and we had a great meal at the Empire Hotel.

We really loved our week in North Wales in freezing February.

What's it like in the summer?

It rains!

[Vaud]

Matty2449 said:

We keep our caravan for most of the year on either the Sandringham or the West Runton Camping and Caravan Club sites. That’s a lovely part of the world, anywhere along the North Norfolk coast. Brancaster, Thornham, Holkham etc

Cley, Blakeney, Holt - all very nice. I used to holiday in Norfolk as a child and am just rediscovering it. I quite liked the bustle of Norwich when I visited.

Heading to Thornham this weekend.

[Yipper]

akirk said:

Yipper said:

The ideal place would combine the scenery of West Scotland with the safety of Scilly and the warm sunny weather of Jersey with the wealth of Central London.

That ideal place is known as Switzerland...

But if you cannot live in Switzerland, then the Chilterns in South Bucks and South Oxon get closer to those characteristics than anywhere else in the UK.

Anyone who thinks that the chilterns (rolling hills) are even remotely like the more majestic scenery in West Scotland might need to revisit their geography lessons!

the simple reality is that the South-East is no longer proper countryside - it is too built up
the Cotswolds was always popular because it gave you proper countryside but still close to London (hence so much London money in the Cotswolds)
but even that is no getting so built up that it will no longer have that feel - when you look at the plans for additional housing on the edge of Cirencester - there is no way that this area remains countryside...

for now you will still get that sense of space and wilderness in parts of the UK, but very few in the South

The Cotswolds is just the Chilterns for poor people.

Fred West lived in the Cotswolds.

The Chilterns blend good scenery with good wealth and good (for UK) weather. It is why Prime Ministers, rock millionaires, media elite and globally famous TV presenters all cluster there.

[Gunk]

Yipper said:

The Cotswolds is just the Chilterns for poor people.

Fred West lived in the Cotswolds.

It was a st part of Gloucester not exactly Kingham

[Vaud]

Yipper said:

Fred West lived in the Cotswolds.

And?? Master of fake correlation and trolling...

[dmsims]

GetCarter said:

the dirt, the air quality,

I worked in London for a few years around 2000, nothing prepared me for how bad it is now (last year), it made me feel sick

5 minutes from home:

Edited by dmsims on Thursday 15th February 22:01

Edited by dmsims on Thursday 15th February 22:07

[DonkeyApple]

Yipper said:

The Chilterns blend good scenery with good wealth and good (for UK) weather. It is why Prime Ministers, rock millionaires, media elite and globally famous TV presenters all cluster there.

It sounds awesome. Just knowing those amazing people are near must make you a better person.

And media elite! Wow. I mean, imagine living within 20 miles on an elite person?

It’s just bringing back all my school memories from out there. I’m not sure now how I coped.

[Unexpected Item In The Bagging Area]

I think we’ve just hit peak Yipper

[akirk]

Yipper said:

The Cotswolds is just the Chilterns for poor people.

Fred West lived in the Cotswolds.

The Chilterns blend good scenery with good wealth and good (for UK) weather. It is why Prime Ministers, rock millionaires, media elite and globally famous TV presenters all cluster there.

mmm, as someone with a geography degree and as a qualified teacher, I will have to mark this D- could do better

as you can't move in this area without falling over A-list celebs, and as a world-famous rockstar has just bought a house in our village, I will almost have to agree with you, that's the neighbourhood gone! (but then I am not sure you would understand )

(...and Fred West was Gloucester which is not in the Cotswolds...)

Edited by akirk on Thursday 15th February 23:41

[DonkeyApple]

Unexpected Item In The Bagging Area said:

I think we’ve just hit peak Yipper

It’s amazing how someone can repeatedly add 2 & 2 and get 5.

Zero comprehension of the links to Heathrow, key roads to London or the myriad small airfields, film studio, recording studios and all the other key facilities that have grown up around the rapid links to London, the rest of the world’s key cities and even most of the UKs cities. And all the leisure facilities of shooting, golf, motorsport etc and all the schools. Funny how people who need to travel for a living have gravitated to one of the easiest areas to travel from.

[C Lee Farquar]

akirk said:

(...and Fred West was Gloucester which is not in the Cotswolds...)

Born and raised in Much Marcle, Herefordshire. Also not the Cotswolds, even for the most optimistic Estate Agent.

[C Lee Farquar]

Am I right in thinking that Hungerford is in the Chilterns?

[AC43]

GetCarter said:

AC43 said:

GetCarter said:

smifffymoto said:

Get Carter's house.I would kick him out if I didn't have other commitments.

Watch it you, I have a vicious puppy

But as stated, great for old gits like me, but round here all the teenagers can't wait to get out. (As I would have done).

As for Hampstead - I lived there for many years, and for London it's as good as it gets (apart for the school run), but it's still London, which I HATE.

Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 15th February 15:11

It's funny how people see things differently. Having gown up in a bit of a backwater I fought tooth and nail to get to London and am still very happy to be here 29 years and six months later.

If anywhere I'd happily more further in.

Hampstead would be my top choice but I wouldn't complain about being based in Marleybone High Street of just off Holland Park.

Money no object I'd do it tomorrow.

Each to their own and all that.

Indeed. No truer word spoken.

...and in fact, I regularly get e mails asking me how their kid can get into the music industry and the first thing I say is get them to move to London!

There are so many downsides to living there, which we all know, the traffic, the crime, the dirt, the air quality, the price of everything, the astonishing anger that seems to pervade, the anti social behaviour - and so on for ever... but there is a really big upside (apart from museums and theatres which everybody mentions but hardly ever visit).

And that is: You can sell your 4 bed detached in Hampstead for £3+ million and buy a 14 bed house with 5 holiday cottages and 568 acres up here and still have a million in the bank to live on. And a bit of a view.

https://www.torridonestate.com



I should add... not my place, a neighbour's.

Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 15th February 17:03

A very beautiful part of the world. I have family there and was there in November. Going back in the Easter hols. BUT

(1) one hour's sunshine a year
(2) a billion midges
(3) Nats
(4) Nat tax
(5) Bored teenagers

:-)

[AC43]

Vaud said:

Matty2449 said:

We keep our caravan for most of the year on either the Sandringham or the West Runton Camping and Caravan Club sites. That’s a lovely part of the world, anywhere along the North Norfolk coast. Brancaster, Thornham, Holkham etc

Cley, Blakeney, Holt - all very nice. I used to holiday in Norfolk as a child and am just rediscovering it. I quite liked the bustle of Norwich when I visited.

Heading to Thornham this weekend.

If the title of the thread was "where would I live if I HAD to move out of my current city?" I would vote for either Norwich or Bristol. Both are thriving civic centres n their own right with plenty of creativity/culture/gigs and so on, both with plenty to do for teenagers, both with very good schools (well, Norwich certainly), both with easy access to some great scenery/walks etc. In terms of Norwich you're within easy reach of the north Norfolk coast and the spectacular beaches on the east. Bristol means getting to the west country is a doddle rather that the ball ache it can be when trying to get to get there and back from London.


So, for me, if not London I'd go for Norwich (golden triangle) or Brizzle (Clifton to be precise).

EDIT; One criteria that I omitted is that I'd still want to be less that three hours from the smoke by car and two by train for work reasons and generally so I'd still be able to get my hit from time to time. I started visiting London frequently long before I moved here.

Edited by AC43 on Friday 16th February 11:21

[Flibble]

Unexpected Item In The Bagging Area said:

I guess you’re in the east of Cheshire then? I grew up in Bramhall and lived in Wilmslow and Poynton too: it’s a nice part of the world with a good mixture of town and country.

Yes, I've lived in a few places around Cheshire. Moving into Manchester (suburbs) currently though, need the convenience of the City.

Edited by Flibble on Friday 16th February 09:49

[Gunk]

I’ve lived in Oxford for the last 17 years and I wouldn’t want to move anywhere else, there are downsides, roads are very busy, house prices are far too high and cost of living is probably the same as London.

However quality of life here is fantastic, it’s a beautiful part of the world to live.

[DonkeyApple]

C Lee Farquar said:

Am I right in thinking that Hungerford is in the Chilterns?

When you say ‘the Chilterns’ do you mean Yipper Downs (Is there a medical condition named after this place?) home of the media elite?

[Amateurish]

Gunk said:

I’ve lived in Oxford for the last 17 years and I wouldn’t want to move anywhere else, there are downsides, roads are very busy, house prices are far too high and cost of living is probably the same as London.

However quality of life here is fantastic, it’s a beautiful part of the world to live.

I love Oxford and lived here for severall years but couldn't cope with the pollution. Air quality will be an increasingly important factor in people's choice of home. Plus it has decent private schools but only mediocre state schools.

[brrapp]

wobert said:

it’s owned by the same people who run The Empire....

You mean the royal family?