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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

403 replies

Lieger · 26/04/2024 22:33

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?

OP posts:
rainbowduplo · 27/04/2024 16:49

Lots of people seem to be moving to Stroud atm. I've never been, but noticing the trend.

cassiatwenty · 27/04/2024 16:51

JohnBetjeman · 27/04/2024 16:33

Sloughi (sic)

"But spare the bald young clerks who add
The profits of the stinking cad;
It's not their fault that they are mad,
They've tasted Hell."

Come on John, pay attention, it's which cities have NOT gone to the dogs. Your poem says "tasted Hell" which, I'm guessing, isn't a great vibe 😉 Or is it?

cassiatwenty · 27/04/2024 16:53

@Roaminginthegloaming Bridport in Dorset, yes!

cassiatwenty · 27/04/2024 16:58

@rainbowduplo I've heard people say they feel very special whilst in Stroud

takemeawayagain · 27/04/2024 16:59

UpsideDownSomewhere · 27/04/2024 16:16

I never quite understand the love for Malvern. Yes, the hills are pretty lovely but other than that, it's a town of two halves with one side, ( greater Malvern) being very prosperous with humongous houses and wealth, and the other ( Malvern link) run down, rough and impoverished. It always appears to me that the locals live very separate lives, with the wealthy lot never mixing with the ' commoners' and you can feel that tension in the air, making social cohesion impossible. I witnessed this in its entirety one summer's day when 2 music events were being held at the same time- with one in the park in the posh bit, where Waitrose picnic hampers, bottles of champagne and straw hats were aplenty, and the other was down the hill in the common, where locals were getting smashed on cans of woodpecker they'd snuggled in, fights broke out and the police got called. I scampered between the two ( there were loads of great bands on in both events), but it just left me feeling sad really - that the divide between rich and poor was so evident and that there was a real separation between different communities, so much so that neither side had consulted with the other when planning their events to avoid clashing schedules. I got the impression that the Malvern linkers wouldn't have felt welcome at the posh event anyway and the great malverners wouldn't have sullied themselves with mixing with the ' riff raff' down the hill. It's not somewhere I'd feel comfortable living.

Show quote history

Yikes I wonder why the greater Malverners wouldn't want to mix or have the Malvern linkers at their event when you describe them as 'getting smashed on cans of woodpecker they'd snuggled in, fights breaking out and the police getting called' at their event.

It's pretty obvious with that behaviour why they wouldn't be welcome - although obviously unless they came with a sign on their head no one would actually know where they lived. I know which side I'd want to be living in though!

I'd say Hungerford, Marlborough, Winchester, I agree with slightly controversial Newbury too. Wantage I've heard is quite nice but never been.

parkrun500club · 27/04/2024 16:59

Mummyoflabradors · 27/04/2024 15:37

North Berwick in East Lothian is where I would move to, if I could afford it!
(im in Edinburgh)

Yes it was voted best place to live in the Times this year.

Previous winners have included places like Wokingham and Fleet.

Guildford is still ok and has decent shops.

Belfast still has plenty of shops as well.

parkrun500club · 27/04/2024 17:01

cassiatwenty · 27/04/2024 16:53

@Roaminginthegloaming Bridport in Dorset, yes!

My dad lived there for a bit, I thought it was the least child-friendly place in the world. But it did improve while he lived there. Last time I was there it still had a Waterstones. Any town with a bookshop has some level of civilisation!

parkrun500club · 27/04/2024 17:03

determinedtomakethiswork · 27/04/2024 16:27

So where is that?

Show quote history

North Berwick.

I'm trying to remember some of the regional winners. I know Cirencester was mentioned last year.

KimberleyClark · 27/04/2024 17:06

I live in Penarth by the sea and although it’s a lovely town, it can be a bit grey and every single bank has closed. The high street is struggling, it’s 50/50 between a couple of nice restaurants and shops and a dearth of charity shops and empty units (and barbers). Think it suffers from proximity to Cardiff tbh, it’s not far away enough to develop a thriving high street in its own right.

It is also madly expensive property wise as is nearby Cowbridge. The Vale of. Glamorgan along with Monmouthshire is the most unaffordable place in Wales.

ShelfShark · 27/04/2024 17:07

sobercuriouskind · 26/04/2024 22:47

I live in Cheltenham and although it has its not so nice areas, it is mostly lovely, scenic and fairly low crime rates. Great schools and culture. Expensive though.

I was shocked at how run down Cheltenham town centre was last time I visited. Loads of empty units and charity shops on the high street. Generally tattier than it used to be.

twistyizzy · 27/04/2024 17:08

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 27/04/2024 14:44

You need a thick jumper, a wind proof coat and a bobble hat though.

( DH and DM both ex Northumberland, for similar reasons)

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Whats wrong with thick jumpers and woolly hats 🤣? I spend 9 months out of 12 dressed like that! I love not having to have a summer wardrobe.
I love Northumberland and the East Coast from Bamburgh upwards. However please all concentrate on Southern towns and keep the truly beautiful places for us Northerners 😉 what keeps them beautiful is not being well known!

saveforthat · 27/04/2024 17:09

Lj8893 · 26/04/2024 22:46

Bath is still lovely (although the price reflects this!)

York didn’t seem to have many issues like those you mentioned when I visited, however I’m not sure of the suburbs.

I think most places have bad areas and good areas.

Mmm, I live fairly close to Bath and visit often. I would disagree, it's gone really downhill compared to pre covid.

GogoGobo · 27/04/2024 17:10

I live between Bath, Wells and Bristol and over the last 5 years have gradually spent more time in Bath and Wells and less in Bristol…something I thought I would never do.
Bath and Wells have so much to offer and feel quite insulated from the general feeling of decay across the country, and that which I see more evidence of in Bristol (Clifton aside!)

There is access to lots of arts/cultural events, sport, parks, markets, foodie events, non chain restaurants and shops and neither are fully dominated by out of town shopping centres. They’re both pretty, and have a good mix of housing. Lovely villages around the outskirts. Good train links from Bath into London.
No personal experience of schools in these Cities but I drive through often and see all the children spill out of the schools in Wells and it looks, well, just normal! No fighting/vapes/police sirens/overt evidence of antisocial behaviour!
Nowhere is immune, but there is a sense that both Bath and Wells are nice places to grow up/live.

Alfreddoeblin · 27/04/2024 17:11

Who knew. Posh areas are nice but expensive. And those desirable areas attract even more folk with money pricing out poor people. And those areas are full of chi chi coffee shops and interior designers and artisan bakeries and seem even nicer to live in. Hence the cycle continues.
Tbh the only time southerners are interested in the north is when they want to move to York or Harrogate and get a cheaper property and that ‘quieter pace of life’ 🙄

ScottishScouser · 27/04/2024 17:13

Live in Balirgowrie

tesco
screwfix
2 butchers
fishmonger
2 banks
2 coops
hairdressers
3 chinese
2 kebab shops
independent hardware shop
numerous cafes

16 miles from Dundee and perth
50 miles from Edinburgh
60 from Glasgow
Edge of cairngorms

whats not to like

Okeydokeyroo · 27/04/2024 17:14

EmmaGrundyForPM · 27/04/2024 13:38

@noideabutstilltrying the market in Bury is definitely still running, don't know why you say its not. I bought a fab pair of earrings from a stall there a couple of weeks ago. I think BSE is lovely.

Norwich is lovely but a very long way from anywhere else.

We used to live in Cambridge which was fab but very expensive houses. We moved to a small market town in East Suffolk last year and its lovely. Loads of good shops and near the coast. the downside is our nearest big town is Ipswich, which is a dump.

Edited

Woodbridge?

JenniferBooth · 27/04/2024 17:16

taxguru · 27/04/2024 13:28

In lots of places the rot set in before online shopping due to the huge out of town shopping centres and retail parks and anti-car councils! In our town, our town centre was dead 20 years ago - that was before online became so popular!

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Posted this on the other thread...

Well i doubt the millions sitting on NHS waiting lists waiting for hip and knee replacements are able to wander up and down pedestrianized high streets. Someone im close to has been waiting five years for a knee replacement and hasnt been into his local town centre for years, Cant park Cant get a blue badge because despite the long wait the situation is seen as temporary

coffeeplease16 · 27/04/2024 17:16

Guildford if you like posh! Or Putney

APurpleSquirrel · 27/04/2024 17:18

I live in Wellington, Somerset - it has definitely deteriorated over the past few years (more vacant shops) but does seem to be making efforts to improve & it has a lot of the desirable things mentioned on this thread:
A Waitrose & a Lidl
Cinema
Independent shops
An independent bookshop
Butcher
Close to M5; railway station reopening in next few years
Close to all the attractions etc In Devon, Somerset & Dorset & Cornwall is only 2hrs away. We're going there for a long weekend next week.

Our last bank closed earlier this year BUT we've just had a banking hub open instead which is run by the Post Office & will have banking reps from the major banks each day - seems a much more sensible idea than the current set up.

Idontfinkso · 27/04/2024 17:18

Belfast. Lovely city, friendly people, easy to get around, great schools, great nightlife… no bloody potholes in the roads, great parks, everything is clean, well looked after…
Spent Easter there with the kids and even THEY commented on how nice everything was compared to our city in England!

Idontfinkso · 27/04/2024 17:18

Actually, all of N.I. Is really nice - they clearly have more money in their councils than we do in our county in England…

DisorganisedMummyTurningOrgnaised · 27/04/2024 17:20

Winchester! But you need deep pockets. I’d move back there in a flash if I could!!!

cassiatwenty · 27/04/2024 17:20

parkrun500club · 27/04/2024 16:59

Yes it was voted best place to live in the Times this year.

Previous winners have included places like Wokingham and Fleet.

Guildford is still ok and has decent shops.

Belfast still has plenty of shops as well.

Show quote history

How do you feel about Fleet? Surprised to see it included there!

Idontfinkso · 27/04/2024 17:21

My DS lives in Belfast and keeps sending me links to beautiful houses that cost about 2p!

User135644 · 27/04/2024 17:22

Big cities are vibrant but still have the social problems