Do you like where you live?

[800msprint]

Where do you live? Why and do you like it or not?
I'm in a commuter town. I don't like it but I'm not sure of where best would suit me.

Love it. I live in Plymouth, with the moors, sea and countryside all within easy reach. It's friendly-ish and has a thriving arts scene, theatre and university. The shops aren't great but I don't care.

Been here a long time and wouldn't leave now.

In the centre of a small cathedral city in the south where many people have dogs, an added pleasure for me. Don't need a car, everything on doorstep, theatre, cinema, restaurants, galleries, museums, shops, music in cathedral and wonderful riverside dog walks through water meadows surrounded by beautiful countryside. No to low crime. It's a lovely place to live in, I'm very lucky.

Yes, I do actually, which is surprising as 8 years ago I was desperately trying to move away from here.

We live in a small suburb outside Croydon, but absolutely nothing like Croydon! Seriously on the border of the green belt (I can see fields from my bedroom window) and quite peaceful. When I walk up and down our local high street I see lots of people I know to nod to from the school run and our neighbours. There's a lovely sense of community but it's not stifling. And it's 45 minutes door to desk to my office in zone 1, which is also perfect as it means we have easy access to everything central London has to offer - which as we were moving further out from where we grew up in z2/3 respectively, was and is really key for us.

Itscoldouthere I think I have a vague idea of where you are. I feel for you, having nothing to do was my fear when we moved out of North London, but we are close enough to drive back daily (I think from that can guess the area).

I want to go to Brighton. I’m slowly planting the seed in DH’s mine. I love the vibrancy and city life mixed with the country. We do get that a bit here, but you have to sit on a train for 20 mins 😂

London...kind of in between inner London and suburban London. Love it. Lots to do. Good transport. Lovely parks and open spaces. Quick to get to central London.

Village in Suffolk. Love it. It's convenient for schools and not far from a nice market town. Walks on the doorstep, but shops a car drive away. Took some getting used to but I don't adapt quickly.

Used to live in a busy commuter town, it was lovely being able to walk to the shops, catch a train to London etc, especially when I was a teen.

I imagine I'll move back into a town when I'm old.

@800
I cried for weeks when we moved. Thought it was the worst thing ever and I hated it. But, I changed my attitude, threw myself into it even when I really really didn’t want to. Said yes to as much as I could, Chatted to anyone and eventually I found my people and my things that introduced me to the side of where I live I like. I won’t live here forever, but that’s ok that’s not the point of now. For now it’s fine and I’ve made the best of it. It’s hard because I really didn’t feel like it at times and just wanted to run back “home” but throw yourself into it and it will be ok. Where do you need to move to? I’ve lived all over the country mind but was young and single so that was easier

We live in a reasonably sized village just outside a market town in the South Midlands. The school is nice, the people are lovely and surprisingly it's quite international! My neighbours are Brazilian and Italian.
The only thing I would change is to be by the sea, as that's where I grew up and I miss it.
We ended up here by accident.

I live in quite a famous town on the south east coast of France.
I love it because it’s very International and busy enough that there is always something going on but in the winter season it’s quiet enough to feel more like a village.
It’s clean, it’s safe, we have a great mayor and I can walk to the beach.
We can drive to national parks, forests, vineyards and mountains.
The negatives are that it’s expensive, doesn’t feel very inclusive and the attitudes of people down here can be hard to live with!
The good outweighs the bad for me though.

@800msprint we kind of ended up here by default. We originally found a house at the beach, and were 2 weeks from completion when our seller decided they wanted more money for the house or they were pulling out! (They found out our financial situation as they were friends with DH's relatives)

We didn't want to drop our buyers in it (a family relocating) and didn't want to rent somewhere so we viewed 15 houses in 1 day! fell in love with none of them!

On our way home, my SIL sent me a link to our house, we viewed it the next day and put our offer in 30 mins after viewing!

BIL & SIL live 20 mins walk away and PIL live in the next street. I've had to implement strict boundaries as I don't like people just dropping round! But I do love living here

@heartbreakcentral I just don't get Shrewsbury. What am I missing?! I do love the small villages and countryside around though.

@800msprint what do you mean when you say you HAVE to move? Do you need to move for a job? What are your circumstances?

I've lived here for 10 years and I feel like I'm on holiday all the time. Parks, river, cycling, wild animals (badgers, parakeets, deer) peace and quiet. Great restaurants/coffee shops/theatres. No need for a car as public transport is so good and cycling and walking are fab.

I'm approx 10 miles from the centre of London and 20 minutes by public transport.

I live in a city that's very run down and dismal. When dd finishes A levels I'm moving to the coast to be closer to family. It's always been my dream to live on the coast, I can't wait.

littlecloudling have you walked around the residential streets? Lovely period houses, the river, tons of independent shops, real sense of community, lots of green space, the best indoor market. Maybe it's because I'm a born and bred brummie, I just love it!

I can buy a lovely Victorian terrace there for circa 200k I couldn't buy a decent flat here for that. I'll be mortgage free when I move at 46....

littlecloudling name change btw 😂

I live in Milton Keynes and love it even though it seems to have negative reviews on Mumsnet

My village yes. General area has great facilities gyms theatre. Parks etc.

But what I’m totally sick of is the amount of RUBBISH dumped on the busy roads. It’s all tajeaway bottles. Cups etc. It’s really is a disgrace and I can fathom the minds Olof people that think it’s ok to Chuck stuff out of cars. No pride. I always pick up bits from my street but the amount on my commute makes me wants to cry.

Small but busy town in Scotland. I’m right in the centre which can be a bit noisy at the weekends, but that’s a minor downside.
I love it here, the town has a huge selection of independent shops (no Costa/Starbucks or any other “high st” type of shops) and I know loads of people to speak to as I worked here too.
There’s only 2 other downsides to the place, I’ve got no outside space at all and we’re on the top floor so that means almost 100 stairs. (Thank goodness for online shopping ) We have stunning views though as we’re in a beautiful area and only a 10 minute drive to the coast.

I am living in my dream home and have my gorgeous horses here so it gives me pleasure every single day to be able to look out the window and see them.

We never have traffic jams or parking problems, it's an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty so fantastic riding/walking country.

It is well connected to busier towns and cities including London; state education is excellent and it's possible to get a dr's appointment the day you ring and ask for one!

I have lived in many places in the UK and overseas so I will never take for granted how lucky we've been to raise our family here in such an economically advantaged, safe and beautiful place.

North Yorkshire village, 40 mins drive from whitby, loads of wide open spaces to explore with the dc, many a play area or managed woodland walks, ideal for schools and near a fantastic hospital for youngest dc as he has epilepsy, Autism, Adhd, and other bits and bobs- really love this area as born here. Don't like the village mentality and treatment of people who aren't from here. Gossips, outright bullies and potential Jeremy Kyle candidates.

I love where I live. I live in the town I grew up in, just off the street where my parents have lived since the late 70s. I have lived other places in the country but came home in 2012 and have no plans to leave. I love that my DD goes to the school I went to, that her classmates are my classmates’ children. My family are all close by. We have a small 2 bed house but have a front & back garden, we can walk to school and it’s safe for DD to play out.

We live 10 minutes from the coast, 20 minutes from Newcastle, it’s an hour or so to Northumberland, an hour or so to Whitby, loads of national trust places near us.

It is classed as a poor area, DD’s school has a higher than national average pupil premium rate but the I can’t fault the teaching or the pastoral staff.

Actually, after writing all that, I’ve realised I probably don’t appreciate where I live enough!

I live near London. I live in a apartment building quite near the train station. I have twins. I love living in a apartment, so much easier to clean/maintain.
I like being able to walk to the shops.

It's all right. It's largely a commuter/light industrial town in the East Midlands - I wouldn't say it was particularly trendy. I'm on a main bus route between two towns so it's convenient if I had to give up driving. I can walk if necessary to a couple of small retail parks and there's a nature reserve nearby.

We live in a little village just outside of a very posh Warwickshire town. The village is very quiet but nice enough and we are right on the edge so have views of countryside from 2 sides. I moved to the village into DP’s house because it was closer to my work but I miss living in a city. We’ve since moved within the village and the house is great but I still miss the city. It’s a good place to bring children up in which is why we’ve stayed.