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Edinburgh is the obvious choice. I like Glasgow as well but Edinburgh is better for the sort of work I do (IT) and has better riding nearby. Glasgow is better for music gigs but Edinburgh is better for theatre etc.
We live in the Peak Park, about halfway between Sheffield and Manchester - A57 takes you into both or there is the - 40 mins to Manchester, 30 mins to Sheff.
The village is big, friendly and I can ride out of my garage and onto the junction of 5 bridleways in 5 mins, so don't discount village life - London is 3 hours away in a car and the train links from Sheff & Manc are ok.
If Mrs P can work from home it's an ideal place to live.
[i]Also consider York[/i]
lovely city but flatter than a witches tit 😉
Just north of Bradford does it for me. In the hills already, ace riding from the doorstep. Commutable into Leeds in 20 or so minutes by train, an hour max on the towpath if you want to cycle in. I don't recommend commuting into Leeds by car though.
Oh, and the best curries in the world can be had anywhere within the Bradford Metropolitan District 🙂
Leeds is one of those cities that is crying out for some decent public transport, but as soon is it gets somewhere near, the lovely government decides it'd rather spend the money on something ephemeral, like the Olympic Games.
From where I live in Baildon, I can be (by car) in the Yorkshire Dales in 30-odd minutes, and in Kendal inside an hour. Hell I could probably [i]ride[/i] to the Dales in a not unreasonable time
Get yo ass up North, way too crowded down sarf.
don't forget the weather really is shite up north. i'd go for Bath personally.
West Leeds (Ilkley, menston, Guiseley, Bingley, Skipton etc). All have excellent local riding and quick access to Leeds on the train. All are a reasonably short drive to Dales, Lakes, Peaks and also 2-3 hrs for north Wales and southern Scotland. For culture/entertainment, everywhere outside London is going to be a major big disappointment by comparison. Manchester and Edinburgh are probably the next nearest for culture/entertainment, but by a big negative margin, and on that score they're not much above Leeds, Glasgow, Bristol etc. I'm affraid, if you move out of London the culture/entertaiment choice will be drastically reduced.
Britain is ace, truly a fantastic country to live in, i love it.
Scotland's ace, Wales is ace, the south West is ace, and the bit in the middle is ace.
Even london is ace, but i wouldn't want to live there.
i do want to be able to enjoy as much as i can, without too much faff/travel.
i wouldn't want to live in the south-west, as a weekend trip to scotland wouldn't be any fun, and vice versa.
So i live in the middle.
Sheffield, it's ace.
Leeds is similar, but a bit bigger/busier.
i'm not sure Manchester offers the same quality of 'riding from your door'...
uplink - MemberDon't forget that the climate in Edinburgh is going to be a bit different to London - if that's a concern to you
Certainly a couple of degrees cooler & wetter & a hell of a lot windier
cooler yes. more windy - dunno - its not that windy but Edinburgh has a very dry climate - half the rainfall of Glasgow. One of the driest places in britain and drier than London
Average rainfall per yer (inches)
Europe
Rome: 23
London: 29
Paris: 25
Berlin: 23
Frankfurt: 25
Zurich: 42.5
Bergen: 81.7
Amsterdam: 31
Milan: 39
Madrid: 17
Dublin: 29
Edinburgh: 26
Edinburgh is a lot windier than London TJ.
If you say so Druidh - I dunno.
I lived there for 2 years mind. I reckon that gives me some idea.
barca is quite right, Sheffield is an urban hell hole as you can see. Don't even think of coming here..,
[img] 
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http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/nw/
"The exposure of NW England to westerly maritime air masses and the presence of extensive areas of high ground mean that the region has some of the wettest places in the UK."
Christ on a bike man, what is wrong with you? Did you build the place or something? 😀
I only said "The only place that I have [b]been to[/b] and would definitley avoid spending a longer time in than I absolutely had to is Sheffield."
I've been lots of times. I've stayed for a prolonged time there, I didn't like it, the man is asking for opinions, I expressed mine.
In a frankly bizzare coincidence, my mate wants to do the Manchester to Sheffield on road, Sheffield to Manchester off road ride that we did for charity this year, again. He wants to do it tomorrow. I might just agree just so I can dislike the place a little bit more than I already do
Another picture of Sheffield [img] 
[/img]
I like this game. Very juvenile but still fun.
croydon??
i have to ride for 3 mins and im in the countryside!!
and i can still see the city
Thanks for all the advice chaps... you've given us a lot to think about 😀 Bristol sounds interesting, as does Edinburgh (different ends of the Island though eh? 🙄 ) I like the sound of village life, but not sure if Mrs P would go for it (though if she's totally honest she's more of a country girl herself...)
If you are after doorstep riding, then have a think about Stockport, it's not a city, it's 10 miles outside Manchester, an easy commute for the wife.
Culture and entertainment is o.k. ( in Manchester).
If you head south and go for the Peaks end of Stockport, it really is 5 minutes into those hills.
North of Manchester, you've got places like Rivington.
Stockport is within easy driving distance of North Wales (Snowdonia), Calderdale, Cumbria and just minutes from the Peaks. You would be ofcourse in the middle of the British Isles. So 3 hours to London, 3 hours to Scotland.
If you don't go into the centre of Stockport, the outer bits are really nice.
I'd be looking at rainfall maps...I'm on the western edge of the pennines, near manchester, and although the riding is great I'm fed up with the grey skies and rain...I'll be looking over the drier eastern and southern parts of the country.
[ah - just seen that the climate has already been mentioned]
How about sorting out the job first, then deciding where to live?
You might want to move to Bracknell as thats where there are plenty of IT marketing jobs, it's a sh1thole but close to Swinley.
Personally, I like Bristol but then I live here and am prejudiced.
another vote [i]against[/i] Sheffield here.
I worked there for a whole 2 months. Couldn't stand it any longer. Wouldn't want to live there. But on the other hand, it is better than Rotherham (where I worked for 2 years). Just.
besides, Kevin Blackwell works there now 😉
MOT
Take a look around Surrey Hills Fantastic riding over there and beautiful country side
and the plus point approx 45 min journey into London.
You Tube Barry knows best and Summer Lightning just a few of what
riding it has to offer 😉
Well if you do want a look at the trails around Bristol, I'm sure someone would be happy to guide for you.
Edinburgh. Tons of good riding right on the doorstep (Pentlands). Glentress 30 minutes away and you can be in the heart of the biggest mountains in Britain in just over two hours.
And you can ride pretty much anywhere you like.
Edinburgh has tons of restaurants and pubs, and more culture than you can shake a stick at (whatever that means). And it's such a compact city you can walk/bike pretty much anywhere. And it has probably the most stunning city centre in the world. I've been here 20 years now and wouldn't consider leaving.
Check out Great Malvern...we moved here 5 years ago and have not looked back. Great trails literally on the doorstep. Malvern Theatre for the missus - major london shows regularly (plus just 30 miles from Stratford if the bard beckons). Close to Wales and the Forest of Dean when a change is needed.
Reasonable property prices, direct trains to London, award winning pubs, good schools...what more do you want?
Liam Killeen and Tracey Moseley have made the most of their upbringing here....
Shrewsbury
Decent rail links, lots of culture easy access to loads of trails and one of the best mid week mtb groups around.