I couldn’t suggest Manchester, far too big to ride out of/across.

You don’t need to, you could live in the suburbs out Ashton, Stalybridge way to be right on the Pennines.

Personally I think you would find what you want in quite a few cities, pick 2 or 3 and see what jobs come up on the main jobs sites. IMO more important to get a job with a decent company than be too restrictive on the specific city if you are starting the process with an open mind to location.

Sheffield, or downsize all the way to Derby.

Cardiff has the big advantage of not being in the north.

There are quite a few Welsh people to deal with there though 😉 Other than that it looks lovely.

Inverness would be my first choice. Not great as a city tbh but in terms of access to open country not sure it can be beat. Airport access to other parts of the UK too. Maybe Aberdeen. Sterling might be a bit small.

I’m an engineer not a prostitute haha

Got to be Sheffield then. It’s where engineering was invented. Probably.

I’m biased like, being a Sheffielder, but it’s a brilliant city. Some shithole parts, the same as anywhere else, but on the whole very nice. You’d want to be looking at the west side, possibly north-west, for proximity to all that the Peak District has to offer. Crookes, Walkley, Hillsborough, Abbeydale areas if you need to get in to town. Stannington, Loxley, Grenoside, maybe even Oughtibridge or Bradfield if not.

Lancaster big enough for you? Easy reach of the lakes and dales, peak District and Scotland doable.

I live in Bristol and can understand the issue with the house prices. I would recommend Leeds (where I’m from) or Sheffield. I always find Manchester too sprawly – seems to take ages to get out of the city.

The other alternative would be to buy a house in Newport and commute into Bristol – handy for Cwm Carn and the Forest of Dean.

A little smaller than Cardiff, obviously, but Swansea is great. Gower on doorstep, great beaches and good riding (road) and with trail centres and natural stuff pretty nearby. I’d hate to move back to Cardiff now. Fairly bereft of culture though if that’s your bag.

Carlisle is not too bad, esp if you want the outdoors life

Lakes, dumgal 7stanes, Glentress all within 1h – cheap too

There’s not very good job opportunities in Swansea, Carlisle and Lancaster.

Have a good look around. I wasn’t taken with Sheffield at all.

Leeds seems to tick a lot of your boxes.

I’d still go for Edinburgh though

Isnt Edinburgh very expensive too?

I relocated to Stockport 2 years ago and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Massive station so anywhere in country within 2 hours.
Peak District on Doorstep, an hour from Grizedal, Cannock, Llandegla.
5 mins on train to Manchester and the town itself is under a massive redevelopment and the old town is like a mini York/Chester.

Mackem – Member
Isnt Edinburgh very expensive too?

If it was me and I worked in engineering* and had a job in Edinburgh** i’d get a place in Peebles***

*I do
**I do
*** I did

5 mins on train to Manchester and the town itself is under a massive redevelopment and the old town is like a mini York/Chester.

I’ll have a pint of what Jonny’s on…

Agree though the Manchester environs are a good bet – a ton of excellent riding around 3/4 of the city. Plus the SW direction where there’s no mountain biking is great for road riding.

Assuming you’ve never been to the Old Town? It’s actually really nice.

I know Stockport well – there’s potential but it’s buried under 50 years of bad planning and, latterly, neglect. It is an enormous project – ten years away if they started tomorrow. The Merseyway deserves to be torn down by an angry mob, as a starting point.
Sad to see how the surrounding suburbs have overtaken Stockport, when historically it is the focal point of the S Manchester region.

Alehouses are good, mind.

Already started the redevelopment of some of the poorer parts of the town, then 65m project over Grand Central.

I moved to Huddersfield 1.5 years ago from Norfolk, my take on the local cities.

Leeds – nice city, good bars & restaurants etc with plenty going on. Locationally its ok, but the peaks i.e. ladybower is a good drive. Dales is closer but tbh ive yet to find any half decent riding compared to Pennines or Peaks.

Sheffield – compared to Leeds its not as good, wouldnt want to live in Sheffield but it is easy to get to Peaks, however anywhere else is longer drive i.e. dales, pennines, wales etc.

Manchester – loacationally best placed for getting to the hotspots around the country, if you live stalybridge or stockport way getting to peaks is easy and hayfield is really close with some top riding. Manchester is a great night out too, loads of decent places to eat and drink and again like leeds loads going on but it is ridiculously busy and takes an eternity to drive out of.

Personally if it was me, I’d stay in Huddersfield. Dead easy to get to leeds and manchester on the regular transpennines trains for the bars and restaurants. Has the much less touristy north peaks on the doorstep and its not half as busy as the cities.

Whereabouts in Hudds though?

Manchester. Busy, metropolitan, fairly big, cheaper than the South, plenty going on, close to the Peaks and Yorkshire. I heard there’s a job opening for a gangster.

Thanks a lot for all your help

Crime is rife in Manchester

Heard at the weekend, as we watched a stunning sunset in Pembrokeshire.

Small child, “Mum, we need to pick the bags up”

Their bags were on the bench behind them.

Mum, “We’re in in West Wales, not Manchester”

giant565 – Member
There’s not very good job opportunities in Swansea, Carlisle and Lancaster.

All depends on your aspirations/work/life balance 💡
@24 you still have a lot of life experience to gain… 😕
Buying a house? You don’t have much in the way of ambition unless it is buy to let.

Accrington takes some beating

I moved to Manchester a few years back. The pros are:

Good riding within 1-2 hours drive (N Wales, Peaks, Lakes, Gisburn).
Good links to M6 if you need to travel a lot with work.
Reasonable house costs (if you avoid Didsbury/Chorlton).
Lots to do in the City socially.

The cons:

The traffic is murder, particularly the M60 at pretty much any time you’d want to drive on it.
The city isn’t much to look at.
Your car insurance will cost a lot more (mine doubled, but I was in Oxfordshire previously).
The tram system was good in the 1st year I moved here, but since then there has been so much work been going on that it’s become rubbish. The delays and changes to service have become so frequent that my exercise-averse girlfriend has taken up cycling to work to avoid them!

Overall I like living here, but I don’t love it. But then I’m Scottish so anywhere south of the border is probably not going to cut it!

Sheffield is a great place *but* getting to anywhere in the West (e.g. Wales) is a ballache. Manchester suburbs also have good access to the Peak but are a lot closer to Wales, the Lakes etc.

West side of sheffield, north side of leeds, north side of bradford, anywhere in Halifax area are probalbly best options if you don’t want to move further north.

Newport for the win, close to Cardiff and Bristol, friendly locals, great pubs and nightlife, good riding right from the doorstep its ticks all the boxes*

Some of this description may be inaccurate

Also look at Stoke, Doncaster etc.

Stoke and Doncaster?! Why not add Rotherham to the list while you’re at it?

The traffic is murder, particularly the M60 at pretty much any time you’d want to drive on it.
The city isn’t much to look at.
Your car insurance will cost a lot more

The traffic is nowt compared to parts of Yorkshire – around the network near Bradford/Leeds etc? Even on minorish roads at peak times in other parts it can be congested. I often think where have all these people been/going to – theres nothing of note there!

The city isn’t much to look at- agree but then thats the same with most identikit cities that saw some bombing.

Ah car insurance. I have 10yrs NCD- my car insurance is £450. Enter all the same details but a Huddersfield postcode and its £260.

I’m a Brummy and tempting though it is to recommend it, I won’t, mainly for fear of ridicule. It does fit all your needs though…

Anyway, offering an impartial view of the main places mentioned:
Manchester – Great city but it’s either a pain to get out of as you’re central or a pain to get in to as you’re not. No for me.
Leeds – Another great city but you are in the North here and depending on the location of your friends, family, etc. this could be a problem.
Sheffield – I’m not that taken with the city in truth but the riding is good and the hills are close, if you find the right part of the city that could work.

A curve ball, Derby. Easy to get to the hills, good job prospects, quite a nice place to live and, as it is Midlands ish, still gives you lots of options to get to other parts of the country. If I ever wanted to move from Brum (though, why would I?) it’d be on my list.

Exeter is a good shout – Haldon for quick after work cheeky loops. Dartmoor for more and climbing. Lovely beaches within an hour. Exmoor with a little more effort, Quantocks too.

I like Birmingham- couldn’t live there though. Too far to decent trails or even road riding.

The thing with Sheffield (if you live in the right bit of it) is that you have some of the very best riding on your doorstep.

So although 30 mins drive for a ride seems very short and doable, once you have can ride from your front door you very quickly lose any appetite for putting your bike in the car to go anywhere else. If you also ride on the road this is even more true, every ride can be on counrty lanes despite you living 10 mins from the centre of one of the largest cities in the UK.

Also if you are into climbing as well the Sheffield is a no brainer.

And Engineering. It’s like you were made for the place.

The only thing that would stop me would be if I had to travel west regularly during rush hour or daytime at the weekends. Normally it’s a pleasant drive, at peak hours a nightmare. Central Manc is OK though as there is a direct train.

Quick blast after work anyone?

I’m an engineer not a prostitute haha

Glasgow – loads of jobs in Shipbuilding in Scotstoun/Govan.

Why not just move a bit further outside of Bristol? House prices drop pretty rapidly once you’re a few miles out

Why not look for the right job first, as that’s what you’ll be doing for 40 hours per week. Then move & rent somewhere local & investigate the area.

You may find that wages are lower in areas with cheaper housing, so bear that in mind.

Also worth thinking a few years ahead to a time when you might settle and have kids, therefore you need to consider what accent they would pick up.
Obviously that rules out Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

Stay in Bristol and live in one of the cheaper areas.