Something about Bristol

[Spinxsta]

I've been to Bristol a couple of times to do tourist stuff in the past and have recently been a few times for work. There's something about it that gives me the heebie jeebies!

It's not like I feel unsafe or think it's grim but there's something my monkey brain doesn't like. It gives me a creeping sense of doom and I've never felt such relief to be on the M5.

I seen posts on here before about people getting squiffy at certain places. What's it all about? Any rational explanations?

I'm not woo but I'm starting to think it was the scene of my murder in a previous life!!

I love Bristol and spend a fair amount of time there. I actually don’t recognise most of the issues people have, but then I’ve walked all around it at all times of the night and never had an issue (maybe I’m part of the reason people feel unsettled 😂). It’s also the only city I actually know my way around, so maybe that’s why I like it. Never got any bad vibes there.

I also like the Glastonbury vibe and don’t see how anyone could find it unsettling.

DD was a student there on a 5/6 year course. By the end she had totally outgrown being a student and lived in Bedminster, slightly to the south which seemed to be improving with plenty of first time buyers. Still a bit mixed but some nice coffee shops and restaurants and a bike or bus ride to the centre or a longish walk.

The area around her halls at Stoke Bishop was established residential with family housing. She also lived very centrally in Clifton - lovely but expensive and like a war zone on Friday and Saturday nights. Residential parking is very problematic. Another year was in Redlands which again was beautiful. They were the last student house in the street, a complete dump but cheap, but inevitably when we went past a year ago the house was being gutted and when done up would be worth well over £1 million.

I am sure locals will have other suggestions and more knowledge.

personally I wouldn’t live up by the downs/Clifton village - even if I could afford it which i never could! It’s all Barbour jacketed, ruddy cheeked, Labrador walking poshos and nothing against those people I’m sure they’re perfectly lovely but that’s not me and I’d feel out of place there.

redland and cotham are more central, more arty/academic than straight up posh and a better choice. Still incredibly expensive though so I hope your son is wealthy!

Southville/Bedminster are nice but south of the river so not ideal depending on where you work. St Werburghs is nice too, by the city farm.

I don't mind Bristol (went to Uni there) but Glastonbury makes me actually itch. Been there once and couldn't wait to get out

Thank you so much for the tips!!! His ambition does exceed his current income so knowing where some nice but cheaper places are will be a help! He wants to be close to some green space and swimming pool hence liking the downs area 😀

Try Warsaw!! So much worse.

I loved Warsaw. It was beautiful.

Dark and and depressing is part of the joy of Eastern Europe, I would argue.

@Lovemydoggie me too! (Not going to see your son but visiting Bath!) I'm going in the spring and I was already aware that some people find Bath has a strange vibe so this thread hasn't reassured me.
Please let us know if it's nicer than you expected 😊

I feel this exact feeling in Manchester. I'm from Leeds so love all things Northern!
I just feel really ominous and strange.

Bath is lovely. I survived living near it for many years, still visit all the time, and have never felt a strange vibe!

Bath is definitely getting increasingly run down; it has little to offer beyond the tourist attractions.
There are many closed shops, homeless people sleeping in shop doorways, crowds of tourists wandering aimlessly around and the parking charges are extortionate.

It is a really not true to say Bath has ‘little to offer’ other than tourist attractions. I find it weird when people are so insistent this is the case and wonder how well they know it.

I concur about the extortionate parking though. I get the park and ride in.

I shall let you know. I am actually excited about going to Bath . Am going 4/ 5 th December.X

I know Bath extremely well actually.
I’ve been going there ever since I was a baby, I’m now 71 and I spent my school years there.

I feel that way about the Pal Mal area of London. An unsettled feeling... as if I'm not wanted there.

I live visiting London but I couldn't get out of that area fast enough.

I think it is a bit marmite. I grew up there and am fond of it but not sure I could live there again though I have moved back closer recently. I always advise people to go and look before putting it as a university as some love it but others hate it.

I had exactly the same in Bristol! Everyone else seems to love it there but I couldn't wait to get out. Something just felt wrong and dangerous there and I was on edge the whole time.

I don't like Bristol. DD2 went to uni there and loved it but I couldn't warm to the place. No idea why.

Like any town or city your experience of it will depend on the area you are in. Plenty of Bristol is very beautiful as you walk through streets full of georgian, victorian or edwardian architecture (also parts of it less so after being bombed during WW2 and ‘modern’ buildings built instead!) Perhaps the older architecture can be blamed for the on edge feeling ha, some of it is very gothic looking! Sorry to hear you have a bad feeling about it though. Feelings can depend on our mood so hopefully you have a more positive feeling should you visit again!

Personally I feel Bristol is very liberal, multicultural and very laid back/ friendly, and has all the convenience of being a city, whilst also very close to the countryside i.e.Somerset, Devon, Cotswolds and Wales! (We moved here as a family 6 months ago and are loving it 😊)

Bristol is a vibrant, left leaning and multi cultural city with fascinating historic areas and just a stone's throw to beautiful countryside/the coast. It is also has an unrivalled amount of green spaces within the city itself, such as the Downs, Ashton Court and Blaise Castle along with an amazing foodie scene. Unfortunately though it is full! There's a radical housing shortage and those available are not far off London prices.

Can’t stand the town, but Clifton is great.

Bath is beautiful, during the day. In the evening (and when I say evening, I mean early, like 5 or 6), the centre just seems to empty and get taken over by drug addicts and drunks and the atmosphere gets quite unsettling and unpleasant. It always seems weird to me that a city that gets so many tourists and students is so quiet in the evenings.