What is Gloucester like to live? any areas of the city to avoid? why are houses so cheap?

[MentholLoad]

live fairly local-ish but never been I don't think. looking for somewhere I can move to to reduce my mortgage. is it a nice place to live? TIA 😘

Some places I would avoid personally to actually live but it I have been in Gloucester all my life and no issues. I'm in North of the town where house prices slighty more but better areas. There was a thread on Glos living a while back, maybe do a search

thanks @Haribosweets 😊

could anyone give a summary of the different areas? are there areas that are more diverse/working class, known for xyz, that kind of things?

Hello,
personally I would avoid Gloucester.

The houses are cheaper as it’s gone downhill and is a shadow of what it was many years ago. Areas to definitely avoid would be Barton, Tredworth, Coneyhill, White City, Matson, parts of Tuffley, parts of Longlevens.
There is lots of drugs and crime. The town centre is a dump.
depending on your budget try looking at areas outside the city such as Longhope, Highnam, Nailsworth, Upton St Leonard’s.
Houses in the Forest if Dean are cheap compared to many places and there are some beautiful areas with outstanding views. There are places in the forest to avoid as well such as Cinderford.
hope this helps 😊

thanks @FOD100 , might head to Stroud then which was my original plan 👍

The city centre is in the middle of a massive regeneration project, check out Gloucestershire live articles on kings quarter and the forum. With the new transport hub and redevelopment at the quays I don't think that the pps assessment is necessarily accurate.

Areas to avoid:
Barton & tredworth, coney hill, matson, White City.

Newbuild estates:
Very family oriented ie. Kingsway, coopers edge, twigworth, brockworth- also Newent which is just out of town might be worth a look. Agree also with Highnam.

Nice areas:
Churchdown & longlevens (good for secondary schools) Upton st Leonard's (semi rural)

I've missed loads but there's a good mix of everything tbh.

Stroud is also nice but public transport can be sketchy if you need to rely on it for anything. Same with Forest of Dean.

thanks @AutumnLea , that's really useful. what about Tuffley and Hardwick, I see quite a few houses there. also Quedgely, my friend lived there but that was 25 years ago

Quedgeley and hardwicke are decent areas I would be happy to live in. There's a big Tesco and small retail park. Quiet at night. The only minor issue with quedgeley I would say is that when it's warm and the wind blows up from the tip you can sometimes get a bit of a smell. That's really minor though.

Tuffley is divided into upper and lower tuffley. Upper tuffley towards the Stroud road area is probably the nicer bit. Lower tuffley there can be some anti social behaviour around the senior school.

I lived in the city center for just under a year. Its very diverse. You can get some excellent carribean food. Sadly there is visible deprivation in the city center with people sleeping rough. The forest of Dean is fancy. Nearby Cheltenham too.

I wouldn't opt for Quedgeley, it is quite rough in places and there are problems with drugs. I would look into the nicer parts of the Forest of Dean ( not Cinderford or Mitcheldean) maybe even explore parts of Chepstow/Caldicot if you are happy to be in Wales.

Stroud is amazing! Just sayin 😁

Which part of quedgeley would you say is rough? It's not somewhere I would tend to associate with drugs tbh

I love Stroud

Brockworth, Churchdown areas? Abbeymead/Abbeydale Between Cheltenham and Gloucester, all fairly nice.

@AutumnLea I used to work there and remember walking past people taking drugs in the middle of the day when walking to the supermarkets for lunch - safe to say it put me off a bit. I also had two occasions where I changed my route to avoid some iffy looking groups of lads hanging about shouting and swearing at passers by. It may not be all that bad, that's just my experience and is about 4/5 years ago now to be fair. I did go to a pub called The Bumblebee a couple of times that did lovely food.

Agree with previous posters about areas to avoid. Highnam is nice . Stroud is like living on a different planet to Gloucester but there are drugs and crime there too.
Gloucester has a lot of shoplifting and a lot of drug taking.

Ah you might be thinking of the new bit towards Waterwells /Kingsway @WaitingfortheTardis

Quedgeley's always pretty much been working professionals.

As a bus driver you get to see all areas at all times of day so say, for example, matsons can be a nightmare with drugs/drinking/antisocial behaviour/road closures due to police 'incidents' you just don't see that in Quedgeley. It's all couples on a night out or the odd teen coming back from town. Mums nipping to Tesco. Office commuters (a lot). The streets are absolutely dead at night.

Just wondered why people are saying to avoid Cinderford in the FOD? I agree the town centre isn't the must attractive place 🤣 but I know people who have lived their all their lives and never had any issues. It seems to be no worse than other local towns so what am I missing?

I get a bad vibe in Cinderford!

Gloucester is a shit tip which is why it's relatively cheap. DD went to secondary at Stroud and I have to drive there regularly for work. Its also not somewhere I would live, it's a strange place, a mix of middle class hippy and really rough areas. It's an arse to drive to as well. I think the further west you ho the cheaper it gets, but that obviously depends on your work etc.

Where would you say the rough areas are in Stroud?

I live in Brockworth which is sort of on the way to Cheltenham. Areas I would live in happily: Abbeymead (not much there but houses, I've just moved from there), Churchdown (more expensive but more going on), Longlevens/Elmbridge(closer to town), Hucclecote, Quedgeley

Shurdington and Upton St Leonards are nice and slightly more rural therefore more expensive. I grew up in Coleford in the Forest of Dean, there are many lovely places to live out there but there is still deprivation in some parts.

I would honestly avoid Tuffley, it's probably too hard to tell which bits are ok if you're not from here already. Also definitely avoid Barton, Tredworth, Matson.

I also used to live in the Docks in Gloucester in a flat, it's probably the only bit of the centre that I would live in, lots going on but obviously only useful if you're not needing a house.

I lived in lower Tuffley for 24 years, never any problems. Moved to Tewkesbury, a small town the Worcester side of Gloucester, 2 years ago and love it here. Lots of pubs and places to eat on my doorstep, lovely walks and good links to the motorway😀

Where do you live at the moment?

can anyone tell me more about Cinderford and Rusipidge?

I'm in Bristol @WhatsTheWorstThatCldHappen , so a few crackheads don't bother me 😁