Swapping London with Chester

[ALyons]

After nearly 30 years in London, my husband and I are considering moving to Chester. While he is excited and ready for it, I have many doubts especially because Chester is rather small and I worry we'll be bored very soon. We are both in our early 50s, don't drive, and like a mix of quiet and social life. Chester seems to have quite a few lovely pubs and restaurants, however, I wonder if there is much more and if there is a way to connect with 'ex-Londoners.' The high street also looked a bit run down and coming from London, safety is one of our priorities as it's been rough here lately! Someone even suggested Chester is pretty dodgy in places, to my surprise! I welcome any tips and directions 😊

Chester is no what it was 15/20 years ago.

Liverpool?

You'll be so bored in Chester. It's a very small City, you'll have polished off the bistro's and wine bars in no time.
It's selling point for many is the closeness to the Cheshire countryside and North Wales, but pointless if you don't drive.

Liverpool 👍

It's not, it's loads better...

Everywhere has dodgy bits, but unlike when I lived in London, no-one's ever been stabbed outside my front door. Crime generally is low, I regularly walk alone at night through the city and don't feel even remotely threatened.

Chester is comfortably walkable; however the bus services are, ah, not great. Trains are ok, expensive to travel to London for the day though. Shopping - well Liverpool & Manchester are easy to get to on the train... The food & drink scene is absolutely thriving; Storyhouse is brilliant.

But - and I cannot stress this strongly enough - it is not London. It is not even comparable to London. If you love living in London, you are unlikely to be happy in Chester. I love living in Chester, but I would not live in London for anything.

Rubbish. Chester is like a ghost place compared to the bustling medium city it was in the 90s/early 00s.

But the 90s were not 10/15 years ago... Time flies... And Chester is better now than it was in 2009/10, or 2014/15!

Probably still not right for the OP though!

Thank you all for your suggestions! We'll definitely check Liverpool out and yes I can see why Chester may not be what it used to be...the whole world has changed in the last decade or so. But I also think it's definitely more manageable than a metropolis 😉