Hi All,

Does anyone from here live in/near Portsmouth? What's it like? Any decent riding? (be that road or rufty tufty gnarly mtb) what's the town centre like?

Anything else would be appreciated, i'm currently scouting property prices!

thanks in advance,
jt

it's a shit city by the sea

Move to Chichester and commute would be my advice.

Portsmouths quite nice (well, around the docks/spinnaker tower/gunwharf quay/navy bits and Southsea's ok) to visit/work in but I'm not sure I'd want to live in the bits I've seen of it.

It is much improved, but I would be looking to live outside and commute. As suggested Chichester is quite nice, but there are lots of nice villages within reach.

iDave – you seem to have summed up what I saw when I last visited during that 24hr race.

Chichester looks nice, if a little pricey but, keeps the riff-raff out i'm sure!

Oh dear, don't go near that town centre. Chav central.
Parts of Southsea are ok (still too many chavs though).

No decent riding without a drive, unless you take the "move to Chichester" advice.
I live in Waterlooville, which isn't far from Petersfield where the Downs start. It's ok. some resonable roads for quiet roadying, if you like that sort of thing.

Too many cars in Portsmouth too. It has to be one of the worst cities in the country to drive into, or even ride into. Traffic is horrendous. So is the standard of driving. And parking? Don't get me started!

Anyway, yeah, look at the surrounding area, where there are some ok spots. I've lived in a lot of them!

If you find somewhere interesting and want to ask about the area, drop me a message (or post on here).

Been down there on business quite a bit, there are some good restaurants/bars in Gunwarf Quays, and had some good nights out there (including a visit to Club EQ!), don't think I would want to live there though.

You could always move to the Isle of Wight and commute over every day. I did it for 8 1/2 years! Need to factor in the ferry cost which is about £160pm.
Or Gosport? hahahahahaha!

I grew up just outside pompey, but now live in the peak.
Towns much like many others, nice down on the front today I bet!

The riding is uncomparable IMO, I don't bother taking my mtb bike when I go down to stay with my parents!

..Gunwarf Quays

See any fights?

Portsmouth's pretty shocking,especially at night. I was born there and i would never move back, i wouldn't suggest Southampton either. My suggestion would be perhaps fareham, whitely or any of the other towns springing up around the cities. There's some riding to be had, Q,E off the A3 or the south downs that run along from winchester to Brighton. Several Mtb groups in the area too.

its a dump

No good MTB riding from your door, but I imagine the road riding is OK, especially if its a road out of Portsmouth 🙂

North to Petersfield the MTBing starts to get better

Southsea is actually quite nice, it depends what you're looking for…

I lived in Southsea when I was a single gal. Lovely flat on the seafront, free live music every weekend, farmers markets every month down Palmerston Road, walking distance to some alright bars and Gunwharf Quays. But Southsea and Old Portsmouth are the only nice bits really.

Towns just outside of Portsmouth are Chav magnets, Chichester is nice, quite posh and very expensive.

I live in the New Forest now, settled with my other half and am very happy, lots of forest, beach and a nice villagey atmosphere. Only a stones throw from Southampton town too if we miss the city.

I worked down there for 6 months and my mother lives down there. It would have to be an amazing job offer to get me to move down there. Not a nice place and it's a lot further from the Peak District.

If my good lady gets the job she's applying for then commuting to the Uni would have to be within easy reach.

I'd prefer to live somewhere such as Chichester/etc and put in the commute, but we shall see!

There seems to be quite a standard view on the town centre which is good to have a unified view, so thanks for that!

IOW looks nice, but I feel i'm a bit too young to start The Good Life just yet 😉

thanks all 😉
jt 😉

portsmouth is **** horrible tawny, makes sheffield look glam!

Born in Portsmouth, occasionally go in for work, but WOULD not consider living there now, especially with kids!
Been just on outskirts of Chichester, (Fishbourne), for a while now, bloody brilliant place to live, shore rides about 5 minutes away and can ride to the top of the highest downs point in around 30 minutes.
Some nice bars and restaurants and good shops, (so the girlfriend says), in Chichester City Centre.
Again, any advice, drop me a mail!

it's a shit city by the sea

Imagine a desolate post-industrial town dumped on the South coast & inhabited by Southerners. It's like Oldham without the charm.

Southsea used to have a nightclub called Joanna's (AKA the Royal Naval School of Dancing) which was possibly the most horrid, sticky pit in the known universe.

Andy

I live in Southampton and am SO tempted to forward a link to this to both cities tourist marketing departments.

There is a touch of rivellry between here and that sh1th0le

The historic dockyard is an enjoyable day out.

…eh, nothing further to add.

I live in Southampton and am SO tempted to forward a link to this to both cities tourist marketing departments.

There is a touch of rivellry between here and that sh1th0le

I don't know what your point is – Southampton's at least as much of a hell-hole and may even be worse.

Andy

Went to uni there. It was OK as a student living on Southsea. Very densely populated. Ahh Joanna's – Navy Fighting Club.

If it weren't for Portsmouth what would Southampton residents look down on?

I live in Southampton and have to agree with the above posts, wouldn't be on my list of places to move to!

One thing people haven't mentioned is commuting into / out off portsmouth is a nightmare. I used to teach at portsmouth uni one evening a week and during winter used to see a RTA every time, once there was 3 accidents.

I stopped teaching there as I thought it was lowering my life expectancy.

Town centre seemed to be populated by extras from a Robert Nweton pirate film when I was there.

Pretty grim when I was at Poly – 86-89…

…Been back a couple times, and to Gosport earlier this year. Even that sent a shiver down my spine.

My first sight of the place is still my over-riding memory – the view from the M27 at Portsdown Hill – a flat grey slab of a city, dumped by a grey puddle of water, swathed in the bleak grey greyness of a wet and windy Autumn day…
.
I'm feeling quite depressed even recounting it.

Take a rough port city, bomb the crap out of it and rebuild with some of the ugliest examples of 1960s architecture. Slap in lots of massive roads that go nowhere fast, people with the coastal version of cockneys and hey presto Portsmouth! (And I was born there.)

Petersfield is a pretty nice place – direct train line, 25 mins on the A3, and probably cheaper than Chichester (certainly better investment potential – it's on the edge of the new South Downs National Park). Good singletrack riding in the Hangars with great pubs, hills and the Downs within reach by road or mtb.

Lol at some of the comments.

Forgot to mention, very very heavily populated with Polish now (southampton's pretty bad too).

Doesn't bother some people, frankly pisses me off to high heaven when I walk into town / go to the supermarket / etc… and every single person is polish….except me and the missus.

frankly pisses me off to high heaven when I walk into town / go to the supermarket / etc… and every single person is polish.

maybe you should move away from Warsaw, then?

If I lived in Warsaw it would not be a problem, it's their country after all!

a flat grey slab of a city, dumped by a grey puddle of water, swathed in the bleak grey greyness of a wet and windy Autumn day…

love it

love it

Got turned down for a job with the Portsmouth Tourist Board…

Or Gosport? hahahahahaha!

Great bmx track in Gosport, just being extended currently to meet national track standards. Will be amazing.

Portsmouth is ok, unless you like riding bikes. If you like riding bikes, don't come here. I can't wait to move.

I grew up near Petersfield. Portsmouth is a shithole…don't do it.

I don't know what your point is – Southampton's at least as much of a hell-hole and may even be worse.

You're joking?
Southampton is nowhere as chavy as portmouth
Southampton has decent train/bus system
Southampton has decent riding (well at least some WCA riding)
Southampton has a good university
Southampton has the hobbit
Southampton has the Ceno
Southampton as a picture house

To be fair I have been to portmout twice. And that's twice too many. I'll go with the move to petersfield option

+1 for Petersfield or Southampton.

The riding in Petersfield is good, and the night life in Southampton is great.

Portsmouth = Horrid horrid horrid town. Full of fat , ugly biffers with 5 chidren attatched at various ages, all with different fathers. It contains some awful shops , and people. Even the 'nice' shops are not as nice as the versions in other towns. Lots of people with really cheap tattoos and no dress sense whatsoever. They sit on the beach and drink stella in the sun and burn , then cook Tesco value burgers on disposable BBq's and leave them for other people to clean up.

Don't do it. I have a PO postcode , and I would not move to Pompey .
The football team is rubbish too. Gunwharf and the Spinnaker tower / Old docks area are its only attributes.

If you have to move to the area look at the small towns 5 – 10 mies around . Bishops Waltham , Petersfeild, Chi, Hartings, Clanfeild, Rowlands castle, Horndean or Emsworth.

During a debate in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in late March 2003, British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon somewhat inadvisedly compared Umm Qasr to the southern English city of Southampton. The analogy was met with scepticism among the troops on the ground. A British soldier was widely quoted as retorting, "There's no beer, no prostitutes and people are shooting at us. It's more like Portsmouth."

jambo

Southampton is full of scummers. Pompey is full of people haters. Havant, Chi, petersfield etc are all ok areas.