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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Lancaster or brighton?

135 replies

BrightonOrLancaster · 03/12/2021 16:06

For a woman in her 30s moving alone with her cat!
Brighton: very good friends, warmer sea, more fun, livelier, but all family in north and expensive, closer to London and handy for getting away
Lancaster: very close family, much cheaper, less bullshitty, but no friends to start with, more isolated

No need to talk to me about schools etc as irrelevant to me! I work freelance in something creative. I'm really torn!

Vote:
YABU: Brighton
YANBU: Lancaster

OP posts:
KaycePollard · 04/12/2021 21:54

Also to add - because the cost of living is so very much lower in Lancaster, I find I can afford to go to London and really take advantage of all it offers in a way that wouldn’t be possible if I were paying more for mortgage etc.

And I find the Lancastrian rain quite easy to deal with. It’s just drizzle that doesn’t stop you from doing anything. Unlike the severe drenching rain I experienced so many times the one year I lived in Devon.

Lovewins · 04/12/2021 21:58

Lived in Lancaster for 3 years- seriously, don’t even consider it!

BreadInCaptivity · 04/12/2021 22:09

Lancaster.

Lots of reasons as have already been articulated by pp's (house prices, access to the Lakes, nice independent shops etc).

But my main reason would be proximity to close family. You can make new friends in Lancaster but you can't make new family (and it gives you the opportunity to visit friends and enjoy Brighton without forking out £££ on property).

DdraigGoch · 04/12/2021 22:23

@BrightonOrLancaster

Well it's a perfect 50/50 split! Really enjoying reading your different perspectives. I hadnt realised it was so easy to get to Scotland from Lancaster. The cold and wet doesnt bother me in the slightest but where I think Brighton has the edge is how easy it is to get to the sea. I dont have a car so as a PP pointed out it might be tricky for me to get out and about to the beach and the beautiful countryside around Lancaster. I was in the latter last week and was just worried that it felt a bit dead and quite rough in the centre maybe I caught it on a bad day though? 🤔

I'm leaning towards Brighton on balance but am going to go back to both after christmas and maybe go to a few meetups in Lancaster to see what the vibe is like. I think if I were coupled up I'd head north but as a single woman it might be easier for me to reintegrate in brighton

Lancaster has direct trains to Morecambe, the Cumbrian Coast, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Windermere. Once HS2 is built, the journey times to London will drop to as little as two hours. You can also change at Skipton for the Settle and Carlisle line which takes you right through the Yorkshire Dales. Plenty of hiking you can do if that's your thing.

I'm not sure that November is going to show any city at its best to be honest.

SkippettyDoDah · 04/12/2021 22:51

I've worked in both and would definitely choose Lancaster. Honestly, Brighton is just a bit hen-weekend yuck for somewhere so insanely expensive. It probably depends what you like, but proximity to the lakes and dales would be a massive advantage for me and the south downs, while nice, don't by have any drama.

Summerdayshaze · 04/12/2021 22:54

I loved Lancaster the one time I went. I find Brighton creepy.

Shoemadlady · 04/12/2021 23:00

Depends on how close you your family you are? I'd say that a close knit circle of friends is as good as family so I'd go with Brighton!
It's not the other side of the world, give it 13 months and if it doesn't work move!

Shoemadlady · 04/12/2021 23:01

Don't overthink it. Go with your heart x

Shoemadlady · 04/12/2021 23:01

Why would you go to liverpool? You have no friends of family there?
Doesn't make any sense at ally

TheRigatonini · 04/12/2021 23:16

@Summerdayshaze

I loved Lancaster the one time I went. I find Brighton creepy.
Creepy?!
PurpleFlower1983 · 04/12/2021 23:20

Brighton! But it’s so expensive!

HaaaaaveyoumetTed · 05/12/2021 18:56

If you don't have a car and don't plan on getting one, then not Lancaster.

Lancaster is great in many ways and being so close to the Lakes is a definite bonus BUT only if you have a car. Arnside, near Lancaster is right on the sea, but you absolutely need a car.

DontKeepTheFaith · 05/12/2021 19:00

I voted Lancaster although I’ve never been, it’s really a vote for the North!

I’ve lived in Brighton and Sussex for nearly 30 years, Brighton is too expensive to live and too ‘young’ for me.

Housing costs are so high, that would really put me off if I wasn’t here already.

My vote would be Yorkshire because that’s where I would like to live.

notacooldad · 05/12/2021 19:07

Lancaster!!!
Easy access to the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dale's and Trough of Bowland.
Not far from Scotland.
More buck for your money in Lancaster.
I love Brighton and theres a lot going for it but Lancaster would win by a country mile.
Easy to get to Manchester.
A big plus is clise family nearby.
So Lancaster ❤👍

TuftyMarmoset · 05/12/2021 19:11

Definitely Brighton. We actually have relatives in both (but live in neither) and I find Lancaster rather dreary for the most part although there are nice bits. Brighton has much more going on especially for creative types.

magicstars · 05/12/2021 19:16

Brighton all that! It's an amazingly vibrant city with so much going on.
You could move to the outskirts & still be able to access the fun stuff, if money is an issue.

Laska2Meryls · 05/12/2021 19:21

Brighton, ... but try Shoreham by Sea or Worthing instead.. (cheaper housing ) beach and easy to get into Brighton for anything you need to do..
I lived in Shoreham for many years and studied then worked in Brighton.. moved further west but still by the sea ..

TuftyMarmoset · 05/12/2021 19:24

Relatives actually keep trying to entice us to move to Lancaster with the house prices compared to where they live but honestly I couldn’t face living there even if it did mean we were in close proximity to the Lakes (where we go on holiday most years)

HopelesslydevotedtoGu · 05/12/2021 19:25

Are you able to drive? Could you learn? Cheaper housing in Lancaster you could afford a car. Lancaster would be frustrating with no car - so much lovely countryside that you would struggle to get to.

Brighton more doable without a car. I loved living in Brighton. But, the housing is so expensive now. I wouldn't choose to spend so much on housing if I had another choice. It's very limiting to have such high housing costs.

DramaAlpaca · 05/12/2021 19:26

Brighton, definitely. And I say that as a northerner who was born in Lancaster and knows the area well. It's not the most exciting place and the weather is awful.

CourtRand · 05/12/2021 19:28

Brighton. Not much to do in Lancaster (I lived there for four years).

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 05/12/2021 19:29

Lancaster, the proximity to the Lake District does it for me.

gogohm · 05/12/2021 19:37

Can you afford Brighton? If so it's nice but it's very busy

tarasmalatarocks · 05/12/2021 19:58

Personally I would go to Bath or Poole/bournemouth or even Hastings — I like Brighton for day trips but we looked a few times and I never ever found a nice house to rent in good order that wasn’t damp— and that’s at the high end of renting. I don’t really know Lancaster well enough I have to be honest but wasn’t over thrilled the couple of times I’ve been. As others have said I would prefer Liverpool if up that way or if you like the coast the Wirral is nice

mrscee · 05/12/2021 20:03

Totally Brighton, I'm a northerner moved south 20 + years ago and I love the lifestyle down here.