Preston Vs Edinburgh

[PrestonVsEdinburgh]

Hi NC as potentially outing. Looking for advice. I currently work in Edinburgh and absolutely love it here, trying to buy at the moment but the housing market is very active and it seems almost impossible to get anything without significant additional savings when flats are going for 20k over the home report I work in a job that I love but it is very stressful and i’m Struggling at the moment due to leadership/management problems.

I’ve been approached by another employer based in Preston and am considering a move there to improve my overall quality of life. Now I know nothing about Preston except that it rains a lot (hate wet weather). I’m going there to visit in a couple of weeks but would like your thoughts on Edinburgh vs Preston as a place to live. I have dogs so good walks/green space is important (brilliant in Edinburgh) I like beautiful architecture, big open skies, and easy access to countryside. Plus city comforts - bars, cinemas etc. I’m also quite active so a decent climbing wall, running club etc would be good.

so wise MNetters if you know Preston/Edinburgh at all can you tell me what you think? And which bits of Preston are nice?

Preston itself has nothing to fit with your “must haves” apart from being about 45 mins by train from Manchester and just under an hour by car from North Yorks (all the open space you want!)

Preston can't compete in any way with Edinburgh!
But you will find nice places to live outside it.

Thanks Jacques

That’s what I was afraid of. I grew up not a million miles from there and in my head it’s a grim industrial town, but i’ve Been reading lots of articles about regeneration and the new university recently and the Ribble valley is supposed to score well in quality of life.

Don’t know if it’s just wishful thinking

I’n Worried that if I stay in Edinburgh i’ll Be in a stressful job and consigned to renting for the rest of my life...

But I do love this city

Was hoping that the countryside/house prices/lifestyle in Preston might make up for it not being ‘Edinburgh’

and in my head it’s a grim industrial town

It absolutely is. Although that’s beautiful in its own right, it might not be what you’re looking for.

There will be nice places in the surrounding area that tick all your boxes, such as somewhere between Preston and Manchester would make both accessible, so it would depend on whether the job on offer would provide the satisfaction, opportunities and income that would enable you to buy the property that fits your needs.

If the job is an improvement, and the salary is right, I would have thought that you could make the rest work easily.

Preston itself has nothing to fit with your “must haves”

Really? Apart from the architecture (unless you like Brutalism) it hits them all.

The parks are fantastic, at least as good as Edinburgh. It's 45 min to the edge of the lake district and 20 min to the forest of bowland. The clubbing scene is meh (Manchester and Liverpool if hardcore clubbing is your thing) but buckets of pubs, gin bars, cafes and restaurants.

It's not as big a city as Edinburgh, so it won't be the same (nothing compares to the fringe for example) but you can buy a palace in Preston for the price of a hovel in Edinburgh.

Stay in edin but buy a place further out ( cheaper) but has good public transport into the city. Good luck!

Thanks donqixote
Please tell me more!

I think if I was to move i’d Want to be fairly central in Preston - I don’t want to be in a neighbouring village that’s pretty but requires a 45 minute train ride to Manchester to find a decent bar

I don't know much about the centre of Preston itself, but I know there's lots of countryside in the surrounding area and there are at least 3 indoor climbing facilities nearby according to Google.

Urbanvoltaire

I’ve thought about that but my hours at work are long and require a fair amount of travel so good train and airport links are important. Plus what I love about Edinburgh is living in the city. If I’m In grim surburbia then I might as well be in Preston!

Even things like decent dog walks are harder outside of the city because of farmland/sheep etc. In Edinburgh there are amazing open spaces like Blackford hill, Arthur's Seat, Costorphine hill etc

I don't know Preston well, but I can vouch for the beauty of the surrounding countryside - the forest of Bowland is particularly beautiful. And the Lake District is very close by.

I live in South Ribble, just outside Preston. It's semi rural so plenty of parks etc and only ten minutes into the city. Preston has some stunning open areas (google Avenham and Miller parks ) and of course is only an hour from the Lake Distrcit and half an hour from the coast. The schools south of the river are excellent and housing price reasonable, I think SR was recently identified as being the best place in the country to live.
The city centre however, is pretty grim. Despite some beautiful old buildings and a market square and lot of history with the 'guild', there are numerous empty outlets. I do most of my shopping at one of numerous retail outlets, or go to Manchester or Liverpool. The development of the university has kind of taken over in the last 20 years. And not in a good way. Traffic can be horrendous.
Don't know about climbing but there is a running club , Red Rose runners.
A mixed bag rally. I certainly wouldn't advise living in the city itself.

And I know that Preston isn’t Edinburgh but Donqixote’s description sounds positive, it would be great to hear from people who live there/near there/went to uni there if possible

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/01/preston-named-as-most-most-improved-city-in-uk

What’s with all the Preston hate? It’s a really thriving city. Sure, it’s not Edinburgh but it has a lot going for it - not least a fast train to Edinburgh or London (2 hours).

If you’ve got the budget, I’d look at Penwortham for a place to live. It has a nice high street, outstanding schools, beautiful parks and lovely housing. It’s also conveniently close to the city centre.
It was ranked the best place to live in the UK recently.

This is a really good read too. Whether you’re into beer or not it gives you a flavour of how we roll here.

Really? Apart from the architecture (unless you like Brutalism) it hits them all

Yeah, I didn’t class central Preston as having “city comforts”. It’s fairly grim and tired.

Thanks @cptartapp very helpful
Hmmm... it does sound a mixed bag. Which areas would you recommend for me - No DC and none planned, not-so-young (late 30s) professional. I’m not into clubbing etc. More sports clubs and gin bars

If you move a bit further out, in the Edinburgh suburbs, you can get a house and garden for the price of a central flat.
My DD1 has a house on the western edge of the city that cost £70K less than DD2’s tiny flat in Polwarth.
There is also a lot of relatively cheap new build going on in West Lothian that is very commutable to Edinburgh.
I think you’d miss Edinburgh terribly if you moved. But on the plus side, you’d be free of the SNP and paying less income tax....!

We're five minutes from Penwortham in Hutton. LOngton and New Longton also lovely. DH and I went to UCALN many years ago. It's changed massively so not really sure how well it's perceived now tbh.

Preston is lovely
I live in South Ribble and work in Preston. Preston is thriving
We have new markets
Gin bars
Beautiful parks
People are friendly
There are the red rose runners running group and the park run every Saturday in Avenham Park regularly gets 500 runners.
I wouldn't live or work anywhere else.

It went through a period of under investment when the Tithebarn project collapsed but it is now being developed. There are some really lovely parts.

They are also building a new cinema in the city centre.
And lots of money is being invested into the city centre. All the footpaths on the main shopping stretch have been modernised etc.
Also just off the motor way near Chorley they are building a big outlet shopping village.

There is a climbing wall centre nearby as well.

Fulwood is ok and has a leisure centre although has the hospital too so can be problematic with traffic. Cottam is nice and has a modern sports complex though lots of new builds. Some nice modern flats round the dock area of Ashton where I grew up, parks, riverside and canal walks there too.