To ask which towns/cities have NOT gone to the dogs?

[Lieger]

We are likely relocating in a couple of years. Just seen a thread about towns being full of people fighting and off their heads on drugs, empty high streets, rubbish everywhere, tent cities etc. Is there anywhere in the UK that hasn’t gone to hell?

Harrogate is absolutely fantastic

My hometown Billericay

Kingston-upon-Thames is still nice

Esher, Cobham, Farnham
Surbiton high street is looking a bit sad but river is lovely
Windsor
Richmond-upon-Thames
Englefield Green

Love the last sentence.

Ludlow, parts of Exeter, parts of Northumberland, Jersey... really depends what you want though

I will unhelpfully not say where I am, but I live in a thriving and vibrant market town. Not in the SE of England.

We benefit from having great amenities and being somewhere worth going to for a day out. That sucks in wealth from surrounding poorer areas. The residents of those towns visit our town and spend their money here instead of where they live. The council invests here and not there. If you were thinking of moving to this general area, you'd pick our town if you could afford to.

So prosperity fuels prosperity.

So not all towns have gone to the dogs. Many have though.

@TheYearOfSmallThings - here’s my attempt:

I went to waitrose
too soon for yellow stickers
timing gone awry

Why won't you say where you are, @ThomCruise ? There must be thousands living there, we won't pick you out!

I live nowhere near it, but Stamford is gorgeous, with fast trains to London. Pricey for housing though.

Of course most towns and cities have good bits and bad bits.

I mean, if you moved to Edinburgh and had the budget for Stockbridge or Marchmont you are going to have a very different perception than if you are in Niddrie or Wester Hailes. Any larger town or city is going to have a certain level of social issues whether you are in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, France...

I was in Bury last week and the market was most definitely there

I mean people always say my city is a dump, yes it's not the best for shopping as the shop selection is pretty crap!
But I have never felt unsafe even on nights out, I've seen homeless people but not what other people are describing on here and the other thread

I live outside of town and smell weed a lot more but that's about it

Cardiff.

I agree with @KateDelRick

Why won't you tell us @ThomCruise? We are all (fairly 😅) decent people. I promise (most of us) won't show up at your doorstep! 😉

Also Chester (although I haven’t been in a few years).
I used to live there and although there is a large number of homeless people, I never ever felt unsafe anywhere in the entire city. And even the “rough” part of Chester really wasn’t that rough, it was similar to the “nice” areas of other city’s!

There are lovely small towns in Somerset,( Bruton, Somerton, Langport, Frome) the larger towns (Taunton, Yeovil) aren’t so lovely, yet still fine.

Wells, the smallest city in the UK, is lovely!

@DownWhichOfLate I like it! Some talented people on this thread.

Another vote for Bath. I grew up in east outskirts of Bristol so went to Bath a lot. It’s still a lovely place. Bristol on the other hand…

Aww see I love Bristol, it’s such an interesting, cultural city. I am very aware of its problem areas though, hence not recommending it to the OP.

Nantwich is nice. If you don't mind Northerners.

Cambridge but it is £££

This isnt a helpful thread, as one person's dump is another person's 'vibrant and mixed' town.

York is not pleasant from Saturday lunch time onwards lots of hen parties I was in last week and by 2.30 had counted 7 plus a lot of empty shops sadly some have homeless people living in doorways especially coney street

The problem if you want to live in such a place is that a) you need a massive budget b) there is usually a lot of competition for housing and little on the market c) expensive (although lovely) shops and amenities. Think Waitrose, independent shops, no Lidl or Aldi.

The price of a one bedroomed flat in my area buys a three bedroomed house ten miles away, so many opt for more space and travel in to the nice place on a Saturday.

I’m sure the smallest city in the UK is St St David’s.