What's it like to live in Bristol?

[fixitfixit]

I live in a small town near Manchester. I want to relocate in July/August. Looking at a few places like Liverpool, Nottingham, Newcastle, Preston, Bristol. Not sure how to decide where to move to. It won't be completely upto me as I have to relocate to where I will be offered a job. I will only move after I get a job.
I read in quora that Bristol has high knife crime. Is it true? I read the same thing about Liverpool. Not sure how true it is. Have you lived in any of the cities I mentioned? I think it's best just to move as whatever city I google- there are a lot of negative comments.
What are the good areas of Bristol?
Does it have a huge student population?

Bristol is expensive but has lots to do. Depends what your lifestyle is like. Do you go out and do stuff? Stay in? Commute for work? Have kids?

Bristol is very expensive for renting and buying especially in the better areas so it would depend on your budget. Lots of traffic and poor public transport.

Bristol is very expensive. You’d get much more for your money in any of the other places on your list!

I've lived in a few of those places - all except Nottingham. Liverpool is the best all around.

I wouldn't say Bristol has a high rate of knife crime but it is expensive and public transport is not great at the moment

And yes it's got a lot of students

I have lived in both Bristol and Liverpool, loved both. But they were vastly different for cost of living, at the time.

Exactly what @NooNakedJacuzziness has said. If you have kids (or are planning to have them in future) then you might want to have a look on the city Council website about school admissions and the admission distance for local schools.

I used to live in Bristol. If you want somewhere cheap to rent/buy then you could try Knowle. It’s got a really bad reputation but if you buy/rent a house nearer the Bedminster end then you’ll be fine. Knowle up by the Tesco Express is pretty rough. St Paul’s and Easton are the areas to avoid for knife crime I hear. The most expensive areas are Clifton and Redland.

@TickledCrimson - how long ago did you live in Bristol because Knowle is not cheap to buy or rent? Knowle West doesn't have a good reputation but I wouldn't describe Knowle as pretty rough. Which Tesco Express were you referring to? The one in Totterdown (three lamps) or the one off Redcatch Road?

I moved about 18 months ago. Where we lived would probably be classed as Knowle West and you can definitely get some bargains still there. As for the Tesco, the one in Redcatch Road.

Parts of Bristol (Sneyd Park, Clifton, and Westbury Park) are as expensive as parts of London. On the flip side there are less favourable areas like Lawrence Hill (one of the most economically deprived wards in the city) , Southmead and Hartcliffe.
There's a massive student population due to UWE (University of the West of England) and Bristol University.

Knife crime is no better and no worse than any other major UK city.

Good points
-open spaces like The Downs, Ashton Court (actually in North Somerset just across the suspension bridge) and Blaise Castle.

• the harbourside. Loads of pubs and restaurants.
• Most of the big retailers at Cabot Circus Broadmead and the Mall. Gloucester Road for independent retailers.

-Good mix of state and private schools

• major events like the balloon fiesta and the st Paul's carnival.

Bad points
Transport- the airport is about 20 miles away. There's no underground or tram system and a Clean Air Zone came into force just before Christmas. If the M5 is blocked (as happened today) then traffic has to divert into Bristol to cross the river Avon.
Roads - the Ring road isn't a ring. 20mph zones are a council favourite.
Nearest beaches are an hour away. Severn Beach is a bad name for a muddy estuary river bank.

FYI - Bristol is a county as well as a city. Some streets have one side within City of Bristol and the other in South Gloucestershire, for example. Important to know when it comes to council tax, schools and other services.