Advice on Living in Leicester

[alfaman]

Hi - I'd welcome some advice on living in Leicester....for a Singaporean.

A colleagues Singaporean daughter has a posting to Leicester hospital for a couple of months later this year and needs to figure out where to live

I'd welcome any advice e.g:

What's the town centre like to live in these days? rough and down at heel ... or improved?

Any nearby nice villages or towns nearby with an easy bus or train commute?( as alternative to Leicester)

[Pints]

A mod will be along shortly to add a title. You'll probably get more advice that way.

[jeremyc]

Pints said:

A mod will be along shortly to add a title. You'll probably get more advice that way.

[Working class]

I was on a course in Leicester town centre (railway station) about 12 months ago. The week previous one of the lads was mugged at knife point twice in the same week.

Personally I thought it was a st hole but as you know, all towns have their good and bad parts, I just never got to see the good ones there.

[Brother D]

Erm... If you looked up cities that have a high asian population then, then it might not have translated between the US and UK assumed definition of 'Asian'.

To be honest last time I was there it was horrendous, but it might have changed in the past couple of years.

[mattdaniels]

I spent 3 years there at uni in the 90's. Was a great City to live in, really loved it. Maybe it's changed.

[Jem0911]

I'm not a great fan of the city.
Surrounding suburbs are ok.
Villages are really ok.
I would advise Market Harborough and a bus.

[supersingle]

Some bits are ...erm... ok.

The surrounding villages are nice but commuting is difficult due to the dreadful traffic and the probability of being killed on a bus.

There's lots of medical types living in flats close to the Royal Infirmary. It's not too bad and very handy for the town centre which is much improved of late.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere near Leicester General Hospital. Crap hole of the first order.

[Jw Vw]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That would be my answer too. Absolute sthole!

[H_Kan]

Working class said:

I was on a course in Leicester town centre (railway station) about 12 months ago. The week previous one of the lads was mugged at knife point twice in the same week.

Personally I thought it was a st hole but as you know, all towns have their good and bad parts, I just never got to see the good ones there.

I've got family (who aren't particularly hard or anything) who live in Leicester and work in the city centre who have never been mugged.

I also visit regularly and have never felt threatened. As a place, it has some great indian restaurants and a lot of decent shisha places, which means I am a happy bunny whenever I go up there.

If your friend is quite particular then areas like Oadby are very nice and an easy commute into the hospital if she has a car. Buses are a pain though, especially from areas outside the city.

[thenewf]

Leicester is not a very nice city and has certainly become much worse over the years. The Stoneygate area is Ok though and you can still walk into town. Also as some else mentioned Market Harborough is nice and commutable by train. Another possible is Oakham.

[kickingkh]

+1 for Market Harborough being nice. Also any villages with a bus route into the city centre is a good bet. Town centre is not a sthole, but as appears to be the way with most cities I've spent time in - anywhere close to the train staion = avoid, avoid, avoid.

[anonymous-user]

I went to Uni in Leicester (DMU) for 3 years, and lived about 5 minutes from the hospital.

In the 3 years I was there 4 people got stabbed, and one shot either in the block I lived in, or on the road I used to get to the faculty building I had lectures in.

Some parts are real, real st holes - other than that there are some excellent bars, and great night life. Its like any city really - just need to have your wits about you at times and should be fine.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 5th June 13:48

[Angry Sheep]

I'm currently at DMU and will be renting a house about two minutes from the hospital from September. If I had a choice, I wouldn't be. Lots of crime, muggings etc. It's a bit of a sthole.

[philthy]

Angry Sheep said:

It's a bit of a sthole.

............and this years PH prize for understatement goes to Angry sheep

[STW2010]

So, to sum it up- it's a fking dump

[heppers75]

Hi Op,

I have lived around Leicester for most of my life.

The city centre is if possible best avoided other than an evening out every so often as there are some great bars, places to eat and some decent shopping to be had.

As for areas to live within a <30 min commute either by bus or train, that will depend very much on budget and what your friend wants from life in general. Mkt Harborough is nice, as are the villages on the A6 towards Loughborough so Birstall, Rothley, Barrow-upon-Soar, Quorn etc etc. Then you can look towards Kirby Muxloe, Desford etc or out towards Countesthorpe and Blaby.

PM me of you want happy to assist I even have a few friends with places that rent out etc as well as know a few chaps in the property Market. Also one of our best friends is a nurse at the general in Leicester and I am sure she would help out too.

Best,

heppers

[Caulkhead]

Hmmm, Singapore to Leicester? Now that's going to be a culture shock worthy of a reality TV series!

Warn her that English is probably only the third or fourth most commonly spoken language in Leicester and she'll be fine as long as she lives outside the city and commutes. About 50 miles out should do!

[vinnie83]

Born and raised in Leicester.

As much as I complain about the place, it's not THAT bad.

There are parts of it that are ste, but there are far worse places to live.

Leicester has a lot of countryside close by, there are good restaurants and the shopping is a lot better than it used to be.

If she finds a nice area of town to live in, then I'm sure she'll be fine.

This thread would suggest that leicester is like a war zone! I have not been mugged or assaulted before, I know of one person who has been mugged/assaulted in Leicester - and he had so much Indian gold on that night, absolutely drunk and walking around at 2am alone - he practically had an arrow above his head saying come and mug me!

I will admit though that the place has become a lot worse for crime over the past years, but then I think most places have. As long as you don't walk around alone at silly times of night and in the dodgy areas I doubt you'd see any trouble.

Leicester is like anywhere - as long as you know where is ok to go and where isn't, then you're fine.

[PurpleMoonlight]

She will fit in just fine, something like 45% of the population is from ethnic origins and everybody seems to get along fine.

I've worked in Leicester since 1989, and live locally.