Leftie places outside of London??

[katerinaemalina]

Out of interest are there any leftie/arty Guardian reading non daily mail places to live within reasonable commuting distance of London? Can only think of Brighton. Rest more DM zone e.g Sevenoaks, TW etc. where do the lefties go??

[Viviennemary]

There are a few little leftie outposts in Derbyshire and Cheshire amongst all the true blues.

[SleepyCatOnTheMat]

Clarendon Park in Leicester is full of lefties and it's only about a mile from the station (10 minutes on the bus), from which the fast train to London takes just over an hour. BUT I read just recently that people routinely underestimate the amount of misery a long commute will add to their lives. They think living in a nice area will make up for the unpleasantness of commuting, when actually people with a short commute tend to be happier regardless of the area or type of house they live in. So leave both your house and your job in London! Come live where it's cheap and you can be in the countryside in 25 minutes. London isn't the be-all-and-end-all many people seem to think it is.

[UptheChimney]

Oh please!

There is more civilised culture & society than ever you dreamed of (given the evidence of you writing a question like that!) outside of London.

But if you can't see it, please just stay in London, because really, we don't want you where the rest of us are.

[UltimaThule]

It is nice to live in a leftie type place, though, if one is a leftie type.
Otherwise it's a bit boring.

[usualsuspect]

Do you think that lefties only live in London?

What a bloody stupid outlook you have.

[BewitchedBotheredandBewildered]

Lewes.
I think lentil weaving was invented there.
An hour from Victoria.

[Toptack]

Is Clarendon Park not still full of students? Leftie maybe, but not always ideal neighbours .

[OddBoots]

I know it's a place of horror to many MNers but Luton is very left in my experience and there's been a huge expanse of artyness the part couple of years and an emerging Creative Quarter, not particularly Guardian though.

[Bowlersarm]

You need to exclude Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Essex, Berkshire, Bedfordshire in your property search, OP.

[AllBellyandBoobs]

Liverpool is very left, although probably not middle class enough for you. It's only 2 hours on the train

[Bunbaker]

Does it really matter if your neighbours vote differently from you?

[usualsuspect]

Clarendon Park is still full of students.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

The North East of England is about as left wing as you will get. But I think you are looking for places like Jesmond rather than Sunderland (disclaimer, born and bred Mackem)

[SleepyCatOnTheMat]

I lived in Clarendon Park until just over a year ago and it's not all students. I always thought it had a good mix of people - working class, middle class, white, Asian, students, permanent residents. There were more permanent residents than students on my street. Unlike the St Andrews estate at the back of the Royal Infirmary - now that's all students.

[usualsuspect]

It's very nice Clarendon Park.

Some nice shops and bars on Queens Rod.

[usualsuspect]

road*

[Coconutfeet]

Norwich. Lots of arty Guardian-reading types.

[Goodwordguide]

I live in Essex and am the archetypal Guardian-reading type bowlers. I also live in a 'transition town' so there are plenty of hippy/left-leaning types - far more than our neighbours in London, which was full of Telegraph-reading bankers.

Why would I seek out a place with people exactly like me though?! I think your question is quite odd.

[exexpat]

I'm not the OP, but to answer the questions upthread about why someone might be asking for 'lefty' areas - I don't feel the specific need to live entirely surrounded by people like me, but I do find that the areas I like tend to be near universities, which tends to mean there are also bookshops, interestingly quirky cafes and shops (including things like health food shops selling all the lentils I need to weave ), nice real-ale pubs, and lots of arty, literary, theatrical and political events going on. I like all that stuff. And that sort of atmosphere tends to attract people who don't read the Daily Mail or vote Conservative. So while I don't choose my neighbours by their voting or newspaper-buying habits, it tends to work out that we have similar habits.

And vice versa - there are a number of suburbs, even in Bristol, which I find unspeakably boring and would never choose to live in. It just so happens that they mostly return Conservative MPs/councillors, and the piles of Telegraphs and Mails are much higher than Guardians in the newsagents...

[LynetteScavo]

Leeds is leftie, but about as un-comutable as Hebdon Bridge.

Leamington Spa is just commutable, and reasonably leftie.

[LynetteScavo]

My research tells me;
Norwhich
Lewisham
Bristol

[lljkk]

Depends what you call reasonable commuting distance.
Norwich yes, but the rest of the county is blue & purple.

[charlieandlola]

South Shields ?

[Hassled]

Norwich was Leftie, back in glory days of Charles Clarke and Ian Gibson.
Now Norwich North is Tory and Norwich South is Lib Dem.

Norwich is very, very Green, however.