|
|
| *SoulEyes Photography>>>Nature Photography |
Edinburgh, Leeds, Bristol or Southampton? |
Which is the best to live in? We're moving and would like to live in a nice quiet, safe town/city with good public transport, affordable housing and things to do/see. Interested in hiking, photography, nature, art and history. Not interested in night clubs. You would do well to visit Upmystreet.com for a breakdown of the areas you're interested in. It will give you the demographics, typical house prices, council taxes, crime rates, major local facilities, 'neighbourhood profiles' etc. Also get some Ordnance Survey maps (not ordinary road maps) of the town and surrounding areas. Have a close look and you'll see all sorts of places of interest which won't show on a road map. Bristol is a beautiful city with a lot of history and great buildings. There are some fantastic things in the surrounding area and you can even visit Wales for a nice day trip. Unfortunately, since the second world war Bristol been run by a council of Philistines who have done more to destroy the architectural and social heritage than the Luftwaffe ever did. It is a very congested city because it has an unco-ordinated bus service and the council refused to build a tramlink system (party political wrangling over the route caused the costs to escallate beyond the budget). Parts of the city are effectively no-go areas for single pedestrians after dark, even the 'smart' streets have their share of muggings. The car crime level is one of the country's highest. Council tax and property & car insurance premiums are high. Bristol has some of the best fish and chips in the south west. I REALLY don't recommend living IN Bristol, but I DO recommend that you look at the surrounding towns of Bath, Clevedon, Nailsea, Weston Super Mare and Keynsham. Also look at the villages within North Somerset and South Gloucester. You can have all the benefits without the city hassle. Southampton is smaller than Bristol. Generally it is a much safer city (of course like any city, there are some places you don't go to on your own at night). It is cheaper and cleaner than Bristol. If you like to visit the New Forest, Isle of Wight or other south coast resorts then Southampton is the town for you. Italso has one of the largest theatres outside of London's West End. Nearby Winchester is the ancient capital of England and has a decent pub. Southampton city centre Fish and chips are poor value compared to Bristol or Edinborough unless you buy them in the suburbs. There is only one Indian Restaurant in the town that's any good but the surrounding villages have some excellent ones. Romesy (just to the north) has arguably Hampshire's second best Thai restaurant (I like it and so do most of Hamphire's Thai population). Southampton can get very congested in Cowes Week and during Boat Show weeks. Like-For-Like property prices are similar to Bristol but your car and house insurance will be much lower. Around Southampton is the New Forest and Bournemouth to the west and Portsmouth (Mary Rose, HMS Victory etc) and Brighton to the east. Like as in Bristol, you can have the benefits of Southampton without the congestion if you live just outside the city. Look at Romsey, North Baddesley, Hythe, Fareham, Eastleigh, Chandler's Ford, Ringwood. I can't give as much detail for Edinborough and Leeds, but having experienced both I'd much MUCH prefer Leeds to Edinborough. It's safer and cheaper, has excellent trains to most places and is better located. Having said that, some of the best pizzerias in the UK are in Edinborugh. May I ask a big favour? Please (I beg you) don't use that euphamism for "cheap" which is so popular with the press and politicians (affordable). It's destroying our wonderful language, and we don't want to end up with a limited and imprecise vocabulary like the Americans. All housing is 'affordable' to somebody. It has to be by definition of the word 'affordable'. If you mean low, medium or high cost why not just say it? There's no shame in stating it honestly. Happy hunting. Source(s): http://www.upmystreet.com/ Edinburgh is the place, surrounded by beautiful scenery and plenty to do. Edinburgh is wonderful for hillwalking (both close to the city and within about 1.5 hours drive you have the start of the mountains). Photography excellent (great light, great architecture, sea, mountains), nature in the Firth of Forth plenty of sea birds and sea life, there's the Pentland Hills about 20 minutes on the bus to the South and also closer hills, and easy to get to the Highlands. Art - plenty of gallaries of all sorts and lots of travelling exhibitions, history - well Edinburgh is pretty historical, museums, old buildings etc... The public transport is good, and a hell of a lot better than Bristol's. Lots to see and do, you will never be bored. It is safe, unless you go to one of the dodgy suburbs, forget Trainspotting as those days are long gone. If you're english try to avoid being too English, and don't get involved in religious and football issues and you'll be fine. The only problem is housing, which can be a bit pricy, but there are cheaper areas that are still OK to live in, and it's cheaper than the best areas of Bristol. Bristol. Very nice, not as safe, and a lot bigger in feeling than Edinburgh. Public transport really not great. Housing in the nicest areas - Clifton, Redland, Cotham - is very expensive. Other areas -Southville, Easton, Bedminster - are up and coming but not as nice, and a long way from the cultural area of Clifton and the outdoors space of the Downs. They're a lot cheaper though. Lots to do - galleries, exhibitions, museums, concerts (although not as good as edinburgh). Photography OK; you can get to Cheddar Gorge, and the Black Mountains within about 1.5 hours but they're not 'proper' mountains. Pretty though. It's a bit nightclubby and can be rowdy on the street even in the nicer areas. Leeds I don't know so well although I have visited it. Shopping is good but it feels like a city. Southampton - good if you like water sports. Not great for hillwalking. The Isle of Wight is an easy ferry hop for some nature, photography etc... I don't know it so well but I think it's not so cultural. Know Edinburgh and Bristol very well. BRISTOL! lots to see and do. parks places of interest museums restaurants lots of shops. very nice place. Forget Bristol, it is a hole. Move to Bath. It has everything you want. History, some lovely walks. Good transport links to London and the South coast and South West. |
Photography Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster |