As far as cities go, where I live is good (Bristol). Problem is I don’t want to live in a city, I want to be somewhere like the Lakes or the Highlands, or North Wales. Somewhere nice and open, quiet, mountains and all those things. It’s just very hard to move somewhere like that and find an appropriate job.

My dream would be to move somewhere like that and be able to work from home, but as a software tester it’s not that feasible, and most jobs which I could go for would be in big cities. Someday I’ll find out how to do it!

Living in South Croydon and deeply ambivalent about it.  I realise that for as close to London as it it, it has loads of advantages.  The riding nearby is actually pretty ok especially on the road bike. Some great places to eat and drink, top board game cafe and some good green spaces.  But as far as I can see that’s all damage limitation 🙁

I’m from a small village in the Chilterns which is a paradise but we couldn’t afford even a shed there.  I reckon a move west towards Bristol would be ideal.  Otherwise it might be back to sunny western australia and Fremantle.

Hello perchy.

North Manchester, I’m really lucky that we landed on a house just at the right time that has nice neighbours and is walkable to a good school and I can ride my bike in and out of work.

there is good mtb and road riding achievable from the door

there is a pub within 200m but it’s a flat roof full of lager drinkers so the bitter is invariably poor because not enough people drink it. there are other pubs. A really nice pizzeria run by an Italian family.

We are choosing to stick rather than twist

Hello Woppit.

Holy shit, my first thought when I saw that was this…..

😀

Skipton, for all the reasons given above.  There’s a wealth of places to ride within a 1h drive, it’s a lovely little town with everything I need on my doorstep.  I work from home at the moment, but it’s an easy to commute to Leeds etc.

yup. west devon.

dartmoor rideable from the door, surfing 30-40mins drive.

if I moved now it would only to be closer to the coast.

Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire

I grew up in Chalfont St Peter and my parents live in St Giles now. We were back last weekend visiting. How anyone can afford to live there is beyond me. I don’t like it but I see the appeal if you want or need to be in the SE or commuting to Laarndon.

We now live in the Tweed Valley. Its right nice. I love the countryside, the outsdoorsy ethos, the quality of sports and activities for kids, excellent High School, the connections to Edinburgh and, of course, the riding. Where I live was recently listed by The Times as the best place to live in Scotland.I do hate how miserable a lot of the true locals are though.  They whinge constantly about how rubbish it is and how hard done by they are, but they refuse to leave (ever).

Not an easy question.

I’ve been so spoilt that I’ve never lived anywhere bad. I like where I live now, it’s leafy commuter ville and we have lots of green space, Windsor Great Park a walk away which is loverly for both cycling / walking.  40mins into London, good jobs etc.

Taken yesterday while walking the dogs across the Polo fields.

But I grew up in Wharfedale and it’s a tough act to follow and I always hanker to go back.

Yep.

National Park, AONB, >300m altitude, off-road from my doorstep, 5 miles to the nearest traffic light, <£3/pint – for all I know I might have actually died…

I’m currently tempted to move into one of surrounding villages though.

family live in scotton, just outside knaresborough if you know it.  lovely little village with a cracking pub (guy fawkes).

Huddersfield,

I live next to a dual carriageway. thats the only thing id change. Can walk 30 seconds to a wood, 10 mins to a shop and an hour to work (although i drive).

Im just out of the shitty area of hudds so its ok but everytime i visit friends (ely, bristol, london, sheffield, redcar) im more grateful of where we live.

Yeah its alright. I live just outside Leeds and can be on the M62, M1 or A1 in minutes so can go any direction I like easily. Train station a few minutes walk from my house gets me into Leeds in 10 minutes.

Leeds is a great city with loads going for it, people slag it off but usually for the same reason you can slag any city in the world off. Im not from Leeds or Yorkshire but have lived in Yorkshire for most of my life now and its great.

I do wish I was closer to hills and decent trails, but you can’t have everything can you….

Yes, I love where I live, even though it is universally acknowledged as a post apocalyptic shithole.

Sounds charming.  Would you still live there if you had more money?

Sounds charming.  Would you still live there if you had more money?

Absolutely*,  It’s my home.

*If I had enough money, I’d ALSO live here.

What a jolly happy bunch of bastards you lot are.

No, it’s pretty shit here actually. Mainly because it’s bloody over-populated and more and more houses are being built to over-over-populate it. Roads are so busy, I can’t actually drive anywhere without losing my rag. (Luckily I can ride to work (when I’m not collapsing in a heap, of course)). Family is here, so can’t move, job is here, not very employable, so reckon I’m stuck for a good few more years.

Oh, and the nearest city is Portsmouth, which aside from being impossible to drive into, is a chav-central, scummy, mess of a dump.

Oh, the sea. That’s near. And I like the sea.

family live in scotton, just outside knaresborough if you know it.  lovely little village with a cracking pub (guy fawkes).

Scotton is nice but the road through it is a nightmare. It was great to see the pub saved and see it doing so well though. I also like the Arkendale, Ferrensby, Coneythorpe cluster. And very nearly bought a dilapidated ex butcher’s shop in Burton Leonard which we decided not to go through with, but is now this 

Skipton, North Yorks. easy to get to Manchester or Leeds should I need to.

Also a direct train to Kings Cross early am every day and return 6.03pm from Kings Cross, pretty good for a Dales market town.

Scotton is nice but the road through it is a nightmare. It was great to see the pub saved and see it doing so well though.

nightmare as in tight with parked cars rather than busy i assume you mean?

the nearest city is Portsmouth, which aside from being impossible to drive into

It does have the distinction of possessing the largest council estate ever, just to the north, are you sure added extra doesn’t that sell it too you?

nightmare as in tight with parked cars rather than busy i assume you mean?

Yeah – it isn’t ‘busy’ as such but just too narrow especially with cars getting bigger and bigger all the time and the corner the pub sits on is a nightmare. Not fun in a car, even less so on my bike.

As for OP thing, yes, it’s quite nice here.

Our little enclave has a farm out back, a golf course the other side, common land over the road and a nice village with a good school not so very far away. The house itself is ancient, has a mind of its own and all the doorways are brain injury height, apart from that, and the fact it could use the shed being replaced with a more modern (i.e. waterproof, not made from asbestos, more aesthetically pleasing frontage, but that’s what you get for having a converted pigsty) model, its all good.

No plan to move any time soon.

Live in Hexham, Northumberland.  Love my house, reasonable school for the kids, decent rail link to Newcastle( other than constant strike!).  Can get to the lakes in an hour and a half, across the lovely road to Penrith.  Up the A68 for Edinburgh again in couple of hours.  Empty roads for the road bike, motorbike, and decent offroad as well.  Not much in the way of pubs/eating out is the only downside.

Between Malvern and Ledbury for the last 16yrs – love it. Riding from door, walking, pubs, great local sports clubs for kids, nice local towns with good schools for kids. Bit of a trek for decent shopping (we tend to infrequently do Cheltenham or Cardiff) but that suits me fine ;->

It does have the distinction of possessing the largest council estate ever, just to the north, are you sure added extra doesn’t that sell it too you?

Where I lived as a child, you mean? Yeah, although, in comparison to all the green land being swallowed up and hideous houses built on in Waterlooville, Leigh Park is an oasis of architecture, grass and parkland.

Grew up in Aldershot and spent 10 years in Newbury before moving to Hong Kong so yes, its not too bad.

I dont live on the island but out on Lantau so Im a short walk or ride to the mountains but a 30 minute ride into town if I want. The ridings not too bad and you are a short flight to even better places. Cant afford to buy here (but have a UK place) and the pollution could possibly be the death of me in the future but its fascinating, international, cosmopolitan and always full of surprises.

When it comes to Cardiff, I want to add that in spite of the reputation the Valleys have for socio-economic deprivation, they – and many of the towns and villages dotted around them – are extremely beautiful.

Whether on a road bike or a mountain bike, it is so easy to leave Cardiff and get out into some of the most beautiful riding the UK has to offer. Indeed, it used to amaze me that – being from Canada originally – I had such incredible access to real, natural, and very beautiful, forest trails just a few minutes’ ride from my door.

So, thumbs up to Cardiff, but a big thumbs up to the whole of South Wales as well.

Yep, N.Wales. It’s a when a potential move comes up that I realise how much I like it here. Pretty sure that I’d only move for an international job (more blue skies would be nice).

Live in Galapagar, a small town to the north west of Madrid – trails start <5 min from my front door, proper mountains a short ride away, freezing in winter and boiling in summer… and I’m very happy here. Downsides are that we need a car for pretty much anything, and there’s not much in the way of nightlife where we live. I’m also about 35-40min by car from work, and if I ever have to work again in the centre of Madrid that’d go up to over an hour… 10 year plan when we get rid of the kids is to by a flat up the road in El Escorial, it’s a bit more lively but even better situated for riding and running 🙂

Where I lived as a child, you mean? Yeah, although, in comparison to all the green land being swallowed up and hideous houses built on in Waterlooville, Leigh Park is an oasis of architecture, grass and parkland.

Nope, Paulsgrove, last place you’d want to live if you are a paediatrician.

Kerley said:

I absolutely love where I live.  Right in the middle of New Forest in a small village where I can walk 50 metres up the road and be in the trees or ride onto some singletrack and fire roads.  Very quiet, very clean air, nice neighbours.

It wasn’t cheap though…

Which is me too (Don’t think we’ve met though).

I’m riding across the forest and down the beach tomorrow.its ace!

Only trouble is my wife wants to move away. And only because she’s always lived there! It’s becoming a bone of contention…

I live in Wymondham, just outside Norwich. Nice town, great schools, decent people. However, the riding is a bit flat and boaring.

Farnborough Village (between Bromley and Orpington) here –

I’m 45 with kids aged 8+11.

I like it a lot, but probably don’t love it.

Great location for airports/travel/etc – fast train to Charrig X takes 20 mins, good schools for our kids, good road riding (10 mins and you’re on little lanes around Downe/Cudham/Biggin Hill) we live in a quiet road with mostly nice neighbours (pretty much everyone is retired) so feels safe as everyone is a curtain twitcher.

However, it is expensive (our extended, semi-detached Dorma-loft converted bungalow is probably worth £550k at the moment) so once the kids have grown up a bit we’ll probably look at downsizing & moving out a bit.

Hebden Bridge and mostly it’s great, and certainly it is from a riding point of view. Only place I’d possibly rather be in the UK is the Lake District, but it’s more cut off than here and has less going on.  I don’t really fancy being surrounded by Tory baby boomers, either.

I live on the coast in North Northumberland

Shout to the Northumberland massiv or is there Northumberland Yarking.

ish,

I live in Horwich, and i like the access to the moors, lakes etc.

its getting busier and getting swallowed into Bolton and has a horrific rate of house building. i dream of moving to the highlands, I have looked at property in dumfries and galoway and slowly I am getting the OH to agree its time to move.

I need to work though and thats the issue!

Yep, definitely.

Moved to Cheshire about 20 years ago from Brum. Wild horses wouldn’t get me back.
Now living in a small village in South Cheshire, not much great riding on the doorstep but most places of the UK are so easily accessible. Got a choice of Cannock, Llandegla or Delamere as ‘local’ rides, and if I want to go further I can do a day out in the Lakes, Peaks, Snowdonia, FoD, etc very easily, even venturing over to Mabie on occasion.

Plenty of decent footpaths, fields & farm tracks for running with the dogs from the doorstep too, and work is only 3 miles down the road.

If I want some big city life Liverpool & Manchester are a train ride away, and family aren’t too far away (but far enough 😉 ) in sunny ol’ Birmingham.

Yep, I love it here 🙂

Nope.

Northwich itself is a shithole.

However, 40 mins and your in North Wales, 40 mins and you are in The Peak, 90 mins you are in The Lakes,10 mins to the M6, and 10 mins to the M56,so geographically its pretty much spot on.

Looking to move as I type.

Looking to move as I type.

Still thinking up North?

Still thinking up North?

All depends on the work situation- Its ok for me pretty much anywhere no I’m working for myself, just the better half to think of Lee.

Would love to tho, Rothbury would be ideal..