I stay just north of Aberdeen and have done all of my 45 years if you count a spell in Aberdeen itself. I’d love to be further inland and would be forever smiling if I was in or around Aberlour like swavis. Would quite happily move but the kids are all settled in school and we have everything close by including our parents so all is well at the moment

As much as discovering the South Downs are ~30mins ride away in the last ~17 months have helped, by and large I’m beginning to loath Southampton, especially after visiting family in Wirral last weekend less than 10mins walk west of Birkenhead Park. I wouldn’t want to live in Wirral either these days, but compared to down here, it feels far less congested with people and cars. Not to mention that realistically, we don’t stand a hope in hell of getting on the housing ladder down here until the unpleasant prospect of inheritance in hopefully 20+ years time.

Practicalities aside, such as finding suitable accommodation/jobs/weather, of places I’ve lived or remember visiting in the UK… North Wales around Machynlleth or The Mendips. Somewhere hilly and sparsely populated.

The road through it is crap though, (I commute that way from Boroughbridge to yon side of Killinghall)

We mustv’e crossed paths at some point Glenn, I get out & about on the HT between B/bridge & Knaresborough a fair bit.

I love where we live but I’ll end up back with Northernsoul in Durham which is still ‘home’ for me.

Yeah, it can get busy and quite narrow in places so not ideal, but a nice village other than that – and the pub is good!

And yes, we must have crossed paths, I’ve noticed a few buses on that road recently and thought it might be you!  And I always check for a badly parked bus in Morrisons car park whenever I stop by 😉

Northampton too due to job relocation. As mentioned the town is a bit of a pitbut other aspects it’s ok. Recently now work mainly from home so move back to Europe soon.

Why not?

I think Harrogate is nice enough to visit but it’s a carpark for 12hrs a day, the house prices are bonkers compared to what you pay for equally nice areas near by, the amount of houses being built with no obvious sign of infrastructure improvement will make things far worse, the roads are left to get in a appalling state, the shopping is poor and the nightlife not up to much. Worst of all though are some of the people as there’s a large (and growing) group who think buying a Range Rover and drinking in the Fat Badger means your upper class and can treat the peasants like dirt. Speaking to my mate who has lived in Harrogate all his life he suggests that this bunch are usually all mouth and no trousers and the properly wealthy folk tend to be decent. From my 18 years working here I’d tend to agree.

Still, I’d much prefer to live in Harrogate than Ilkley!

Worst of all though are some of the people as there’s a large (and growing) group who think buying a Range Rover and drinking in the Fat Badger means your upper class and can treat the peasants like dirt. Speaking to my mate who has lived in Harrogate all his life he suggests that this bunch are usually all mouth and no trousers and the properly wealthy folk tend to be decent.

Exactly! The amount of Chelsea Tractors being driven round Harrogate by blonde bimbo’s is unreal.

& yes, it is a car park most of the time!

Hertfordshire. Not so much these days as it increasingly turns into a suburb of London.

I’m thinking of making the move to Norwich, where I used to live. Otherwise I may do 6 months in UK and 6 months in Italy. Knee surgery first though, and if that is successful, I can get back to mucking around in the countryside.

Just outside Bromyard, on the Hereford/ Worcester border.

Rural enough to not have too many neighbours (except cows n sheep) but a two minute ride to town for essentials.

I really struggled when we moved here two years ago, I couldn’t adjust to the house/lifestyle/ move away from friends, but now I’m settling in to it I wouldn’t want to move.

Can see the Malverns from the bedroom window, good cycling pretty much from the door, plenty of scope for projects to keep me busy. The more we get finished on the house the more I love it.

nope but i guess it could be worse.. definitely an upgrade to where I was living in london however where I used to live is now gentrified.

I remember seeing this okace in a film and thinking it would be an awful grim place to live. I now live where the funeral took place in 4 weddings and a funeral.

San Sebastián, city centre, 5 mins walk from La Concha beach. Temps up in the 20s today. Pyrenees 2.5 to 3h away, you could ski in the morning and be on the beach in the afternoon.

In reality, i hate snow and beaches, food is crap, rainfall double that of Penrith and the guiris in summer are insufferable 😂 and being self employed I’m fed up of being shafted by the hacienda.

Aside from family, the cycling, proximity to cool places in spain and europe keeps me here , and the basques are pretty rad.  Work is easy, minimal, and I down tools for two weeks at easter and xmas, and two months in summer.  Couldn’t move back to Dogshit Island , though I often terribly miss my old manor in north London, and my old local pub round the corner from my dad’s in Ulverston. Always look forward to visiting.

Have always lived in Birmingham, live a mile from where myself and wife were both born, both of us desperate to move on and try something new, we know nothing else but a huge city, only thing keeping us here is our youngest son at the moment and we keep hinting at 24 he needs to move on and move out 🙂

Have looked at what we’d get for our house when we sell and hopefully one day move yorkshire way for quieter life and hopefully quieter roads as im a hgv driver 🙂 ….

Birmingham as a whole , is FULL , its so busy everywhere, even on the weekends the roads are horrible, so no we dont like where we live anymore, although neighbors etc are great so no complaints there

Sendling, Munich, Germany….

I’ve been in the Vaterland for nigh on 11 years, but I’m slowly getting tired of the place. Have been in Munich for 7 of those, prior to that I was drifting about working in the Alps.

Pros:

– the city is clean and safe.

– work. slipped into the event industry a fair few years ago. lots of exhibition and event  chippying. have enough work close by to keep me busy, but saying that i don’t need to be in town for most of it.

– friends. lots of good mates through work. despite being self-employed i usually end up working with the same groups of lads.

-proximity to the river and green spaces. we live about 300m from the river which is great for BBQs in summer, going for  a run or ride. 15 mins on your bike going south and you are surrounded by greenery.

– proximity to the alps. 45 mins in the car and i’m in the hills. another 30mins and i’m in the high austrian alps. Lake Garda is a 3.5h drive.

-getting away is relatively easy. we live on the south side of town and can be on the Autobahn within minutes.

Cons:

-the cost of living in Munich is high. rents are silly and getting sillier. house prices are ridiculous; no chance of being able to buy anything within commuting distance of town. meals out are rarely under 45€ for two of us.

-lack of any decent riding without getting in the van. there are the trails along the river to the south, but they are a bit meh. short  descents that don’t offer much and heavily eroded.

-traffic. i tend to cycle just about everywhere and never use the motor for getting around town. for a few clients i need to drive and getting into or out of town around rush hour or back into town on a weekend can be a nightmare. even sundays see long queues and tailbacks.

– traffic. just too many cars. think Munich has one of the highest car ownership amongst German cities.

-cycling through town. the bike paths are there but are not always well thought out. had a quite a few near misses as both cyclist and driver due to the infrastructure.

-the oppressiveness of the city. Munich is just too clean and ****. lots of snobs/snooty folks. too many people earning too much. the number of Porsches and big loud BMWs is sickening.

-the police are ****s. they’ve no crime to fight as such so spend their time penalising people for petty offences.

-lack of pubs and bars. obviously there are loads of bars and biergartens, but i really miss a nice cozy pub.

-the german way of life can be a bit much at times. everyone conforms. people don’t say thank you. the language is awful (despite me speaking it very well – when I’m up north in Hamburg or Berlin people think i’m a Bavarian) and at times i just can’t be arsed to speak it.

not going to be here much longer. next year will be time to change.  GF’s job is coming to an end and we want a new challenge. have been looking at property in Italy for a while.

San Sebastián, city centre, 5 mins walk from La Concha beach.

Sounds rubbish. You want to be near Zurriola for the surf  (😭)

Love where I live?

Ramsbottom. I’m a simple creature.  If I turn left out of my front door I can walk down for a pint at the microbrewery at the bottom of the road,  if I turn right I’ve got mile after mile of hills and open moorland

What do you think?

#smug****! 😃

No. I have just moved to south west Scotland. Struggling to understand what that move was all about. The house is one big massive botched job too. Happy days these are not. Thinking about moving already, got the dog to think about at the moment but when she goes (not that I’m looking forward to that day, I am in fact dreading it, but she is 13 so got to think about a future without her) I’m thinking Spain…

Sounds rubbish. You want to be near Zurriola for the surf (😭)

I hate surfing too 😥

Another one in Durham here.

The city itself is nice enough and the location is fantastic. The Durham Dales provide arguably the best road cycling in the country and we’re 30 minutes from Hamsterley.

Loads of lovely areas within striking distance, Northumberland, N York moors, Lakes etc. The Durham coastline itself is pretty nice if you avoid the towns!

Being brought up in the Lakes though I will always hanker after being back there even though it wouldn’t be practical for us to live there at the moment.

Another one from Northumberland here and it ticks all the boxes for me. Quiet, good facilities, work and schools. I can see the Cheviot Hills from my window, Kielder is an hour away in the car, I can be in Glentress in less than two hours and can be on the local trails in less than 30 seconds from my door. The only time I would consider moving elsewhere is if it was abroad where it’s a bit (read a lot) drier and warmer.

Baildon, about 5 miles north of Bradford. The village is lovely, trails on my doorstep, open countryside to the north, yet only fifteen minutes from town if I want to go to the shops/theatre. Gigs tend to be Leeds or Manchester, Leeds is only half an hour away, Manchester is an hour. LeedsBradford airport is a £15 taxi ride if I want to ge out of the country.

but, and it’s a big but, getting to anywhere south of Bradford e.g M62 is a PITA during rush hour. Current job is in Normanton so M62 is essential; precious job was in Aylesbury so was an early start on a Monday, getting to m62 wasn’t a problem. Job before that was in Ripon so Harrogate was the big problem for my commute then.

but overall, yeah , I love where I live

Yes. North Wiltshire, Chippenham has grown a lot since I was a kid, up from roughly 19,000 to close on 50,000, but despite that it’s dead easy to get into the countryside from anywhere in town, it’s got several nice parks, one has a Sustrans route right through it alongside the River Avon, the main London – Bristol railway runs through it and its the confluence of a bunch of major roads; A4, A420, A350, with the M4 about three miles north, so getting anywhere is easy. Bath, Bristol, Swindon, Cardiff and Salisbury are easy to get to as a result. Then there’s places like Avebury, and Castle Combe with loads of walking and cycling paths for miles around. Lots of decent pubs and restaurants scattered around too.

I used to walk to work for eleven years, but I now have to drive fifteen miles to Westbury, but I can do it in 20-25 minutes, so it’s not too bad. I walk into town as well. It’s just handy for just about everything, really.

YES

Coed y Brenin 5 min

Dyfi Bike Park 15 min

Antur 30 min

Revolution Bike Park 40 min

Pig in Shit!

I suppose house prices define where people want to live, regardless of personal views.    As it happens, I still live in the same village I was born and raised in……despite living elsewhere in between.  It’s got a lot going for it.

For me the trouble with living somewhere that is sought after (Surrey) it becomes crowded and busy and Developers seek out every small plot of land to cram yet more houses onto it.  For that reason, I am yearning to live somewhere a bit quieter when I eventually retire. Probably still in Surrey though, as West Sussex is possibly too quiet!

S Manc here, the Heatons. Be ridiculous to complain as the quality of life is high – in the north, children happy, smooth bike commute into town, good trails and great riding scene, well located in the broader sense of getting around the UK etc etc. It’s surburban living, though, so it’s not the sort of place to fall in love with (for me) – feels right for this phase of our lives but hard to visualise growing old here.

The house is a big difference maker – managed to get somewhere old and interesting by taking a risk on the purchase (previous owner had been at war with the local bars over noise and shit behaviour – she’d won but had soured on the whole experience and wanted to sell up), feels like a good place to come back to.

We moved to Ely, Cambridgeshire 6 years ago, a small cathedral city surrounded by pan flat featureless farmland was a bit of a shock after living in Bristol for 10 years.

The ‘city’ centre and riverside is really nice, the amenities aren’t bad, crime is low and most people are friendly (I think it was voted the friendliest place in Britain at one point. A strange mix of old timer fenland locals, middle-class families that have been priced out of Cambridge and migrant farm workers but it seems to work. The weather is also much drier and sunnier than Bristol.

The major bad point is the landscape around here which is nearly all flat arable farmland with few features or even hedgerows, it’s rare I stop on a ride to admire the view. The roads are also awful, there are very few roads – so even minor ones are very busy, lots of accidents through impatient drivers stuck behind farm traffic. Because of the roads and wind road cycling is a bit of a chore unless doing longer rides into to Suffolk, Thetford is 30 minutes away, it’s OK but very head down XC. I’ve got into Gravel biking this year which is better but there is still a lack of tracks and byways that aren’t destroyed by farm vehicles.

So yeh, a nice place to live unless you are outdoorsy. In the UK the Tweed valley or Northumland would be my pick. Bristol was great but couldn’t afford a family house there and it rains a lot.

Farnborough Village (between Bromley and Orpington)

I am told I was born there.

Originally from Norfolk, so a country bog at heart. Lived in and around London where my wife was from, finally moved out to rural East Sussex 8 years ago and love it! Lots of woods, hills and space – road riding and MTBing aplenty, lovely dog walks, great pubs, close enough to Heathrow/Gatwick for me, fast train service to London for my wife 2 days a week.

House prices low enough for the SE, good mix of original locals & “immigrants” from London.

 it’s rare I stop on a ride to admire the view

“Any fool can appreciate mountain scenery. It takes a man of discernment to appreciate the Fens.”
[Harry Godwin – pollen analyst – circa 1932]

“Any fool can appreciate mountain scenery. It takes a man of discernment to appreciate the Fens.”
[Harry Godwin – pollen analyst – circa 1932]

Ah yes, Godwin’s Law.

“As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a mention of Norfolk being very flat approaches 1”

Love the area but hate the prices, be more than happy if I could buy our 5 kids each somewhere reasonable to live #lotterydreams / beautiful Chilterns

This is probably going to be a bit controversial but I live (and have always lived) in the Peak District and I am realy starting to hate it! I’m sure it’s a wonderful place to come and visit but to actually live here is getting worse year on year. The traffic is terrible,there is no parking,the place is overun with wealthy retirees who constantly complain (and also have lots of time on their hands to kick up a fuss about their complaints) if anyone wants to do anything that differs slightly with what their quaint image of the countryside is. I can see the village I was born in from my window and also the house where my daughter was born and I feel like a total stranger here now.

the cost of living in Munich is high. rents are silly and getting sillier. house prices are ridiculous; no chance of being able to buy anything within commuting distance of town. meals out are rarely under 45€ for two of us.

thats a really cheap dinner out to me.  Just been out for a pub meal – one of the cheaper local places.  £80 for the two of us.  We could maybe get a Pizza with no pud and drink water and get out for under £40 but thats about it.

Our usual bill for dinner out for two is £100.  Want to go posh – the sky is the limit!

Just shows how expensive is relative.  Out of interest what is your “expensive rent”  to compare Edinburgh is £600+ PCM for a one bed in a halfway decent area.  I have a one bed I let out for below market rent at £700PCM

Further thinking about this, I was asked yesterday is there anything I miss about Sheffield. There are a couple of things…

Friends and Family, I had seriously underestimated how much I would miss them.

Hathersage, I had my first date with my wife there and I miss walking over the stepping stones and mucking about by the river.

Yum Yum, a good Chinese doesn’t seem to exist in the whole of Perthshire.

Undal in Millhouses for the same reason as above.

The Broadfield. Clearly a better selection of whisky up here but I miss the atmosphere (The Old Mill in Pitlochry is my current substitute).

Chateauponsac, Haute Vienne, SW France. It’s bloody brilliant.

Ramsbottom.

lived here all my life.

I do really like it, but long for bigger hills, better weather and a decent pub.

I think Harrogate is nice enough to visit but it’s a carpark for 12hrs a day, the house prices are bonkers compared to what you pay for equally nice areas near by, the amount of houses being built with no obvious sign of infrastructure improvement will make things far worse, the roads are left to get in a appalling state, the shopping is poor and the nightlife not up to much. Worst of all though are some of the people as there’s a large (and growing) group who think buying a Range Rover and drinking in the Fat Badger means your upper class and can treat the peasants like dirt. Speaking to my mate who has lived in Harrogate all his life he suggests that this bunch are usually all mouth and no trousers and the properly wealthy folk tend to be decent. From my 18 years working here I’d tend to agree.

I was going to try and argue with you but no, you’re right. 🙂 Still I like it (I don’t go out in town too much and when I do I avoid places like the Fat Badger. Unfortunately the housing situation isn’t going to get very much better for anyone anywhere but hopefully they can get some sensible plans for the relief road passed and take traffic away from the centre.  And I do find it amazing that there isn’t a Range Rover dealership here – The Gate must be home to half all currently road-worthy Range Rover Vogues.

Out of interest what is your “expensive rent” to compare Edinburgh is £600+ PCM for a one bed in a halfway decent area. I have a one bed I let out for below market rent at £700PCM

Our rent is 1050€/month for 60m2….. and that is considered cheap by Munich standards.

Some people I know are paying another 100-500€ more a month for the same or an extra 15m2.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>One friend was paying 750€ for a room in a shared house.</span>

There is a rule in Germany that your landlord can raise the rent every 15 months to keep it in line with the average rent in the neighbourhood.

And 45€ for the two of us isn’t a fancy meal out. That’s for a pizza  and a drink each.

I don’t bother with fancy meals out in Munich. If rather wait till when we’re in Italy where a coffee costs 1.20€ rather than 4.50€ and a slap up meal sets you back 25€ each.

The flat I let is around 45 -50m2 including walk in cupboard and bathroom ( are they included usually)for £750 and thats below market rent.  I won’t say cheap because its not by any standards

doesn’t sound too much more expensive than Edinburgh.

Ta

Naja…. Expensive enough for my tastes. But like I said, our rent is cheap. Friends all pay more.

A 60m2 flat with only 3 windows opposite ours sold recently for 710,000€

No

Newport, South Wales Twinned with Grozny circa 1994

Kelso here, Scottish Borders, love it. Although considering moving to Innerleithen.