Is Bristol the best place to live in the U.K?

[Southeastdweller]

According to readers of the Sunday Times it is:

here-PAYWALLED

Short Independent version of article here

Another survey by the Independent also cited the city as the most liveable place in the country. I also understand that a very high proportion of graduates from the two uni's stay on indefinitely.

I fell in love with Bristol on a mini-break a few years ago and have been back about six times since (some of you may remember my 'Isn't Bristol lovely?' thread from 2012). I don't think it's fair to compare it to London (or any other British city) but my God it has pretty much everything:

Spacious city centre where you can hear yourself think

Culture

Superb variety of shops, independent and chain

Strong foodie scene

Not too touristy

Strong sense of community

Nice contrast of the old and the new

Beautiful Harbourside

Relatively buoyant job market

Generally friendly, diverse and warm people

Street art gives the city a unique dimension

Easy access to the capital and other parts of the west country

Shame it's so expensive but then everywhere that's desirable is.

What does everyone think? Am I romanticising the city? Or was John Betjeman right when he said of Bristol it's 'the most beautiful, interesting and distinguished city in England'?

I'm vaguely thinking of moving there from London, if I can sort out a job, but aware that living somewhere and visiting it are two very different things. Can't wait to go again in June.

Have lived in Bristol for 15 yrs, I like it!

Transport could be better, it's very congested, but I've recently got back on my bike which helps (the hills are good for my fitness levels!).

My children are at primary school and I had choice of 2 good schools within 500m of our house. Secondary is a different matter, but I do have friends with older children who are happy with their school choices, so I'm not angsting just yet.

Cardiff

The rudest most unpleasant drivers in the country live in Bristol.

We live just outside and I am not a fan. There are a couple of things I love - Ashton Court, the bridge, the balloon fiesta, kite festival. The rest, nah. I've been here 12ish years, we're just looking to move away now, I'm looking forward to it. On the other hand, my OH is bristolian and heartbroken about moving away.

I grew up in Bristol and moved out 40 years ago to bring my children up because of the traffic and fumes! It's a diverse city with plenty going on, some good areas and some awful bits. Like any other city I suspect. Traffic can be awful.

Love going there sometimes, but glad to get away as I live 20 miles south of Bristol and love the area. Great transport links for weekends away in Cornwall/Devon/Dorset/Wales/Cotswolds etc. and the airport for going further afield.

A lot of places around Bristol are nice areas to live in but I would not live in the city again. Within the city there are affordable areas as well as unaffordable ones, if you choose carefully.

I like going to Bedminster, Zetland Road/Gloucester Road area, Park Street, the Downs, Clifton village, Ashton Court, the Corn Exchange, the harbour festival, food festival, flower show....

I've been in London almost a decade but lived in Bristol for five years and had a great time there - there are good bars, decent shops and you can have a nice lifestyle. But I would never move back. For me, it just feels too small and parochial.

Like others above, I like visiting Bristol but wouldn't want to live there.

Both DS1 and DS2 have chosen to go to university there, so we do visit a lot now and enjoy going into the centre. DH and I also chose it as a place for a day out to celebrate our Silver Wedding a few months ago. Shopping is good, there is the theatre, the harbour, museums and so on (good hospitals too I believe). DS1 loves it and deliberately chose it as a place to study because the music/club scene is so good there. He graduates this year and is certain that he wants to stay there.

But I would go mad trying to drive round it every day! It takes so long to get anywhere although they are becoming increasingly bike-friendly and are introducing cycle lanes where possible. Where I am now (also Gloucestershire - Hi Pat and Wolfie), I can get anywhere I need to go in half an hour (Stroud, Cheltenham, Gloucester, countryside and even north Bristol). In a city, it can take twice this sort of time.

missconfig.com/2014/03/24/10-things-i-hate-about-bristol-and-why-you-should-stop-relying-on-journalists-to-tell-you-whats-best/

An alternative view point!
(I live in Bristol so allowed to mock)

Bristol is great if you have money, which lots of people there do. You can even access good state schools if you can afford to live in an expensive location. The city is horrifically divided, which means that if you live in the nicer areas, which are large, you can go about your whole business without ever having to see or even drive through the less desirable parts. This gives some residents a rather scewed sense of what normal life is like in a city and could be why the ST likes it so much. It would be easy to think of the city as some kind of exclusively middle class paradise.

If you aren't well off you'll be stuck with expensive and poor quality housing (loads of Victorian housing stock - needs expensive maintenance which doesn't happen if it's in poorer areas), reliance on absolutely dismal public transport and problem schools.

I think that's a very fair comment Shoocat. My parents weren't particularly wealthy but sold a house in Herts to move back and bought a wreck to do up. We lived close to the Downs, I went to a Grammar School, spent my life hanging around Sneyd Park, Stoke Bishop, Westbury, Clifton, Redland etc and generally had a great time as a teenager.

My cousin had a very different experience however living in Knowle. She had a gun pulled on her at school and life in general hasn't worked out particularly well for her.

After University i came back for a year and worked on a research project which involved home visits to people who couldn't make it into the clinics. I spent a lot of time visiting places in Hartcliffe, Knowle West and round there and it was a world apart at that time to the places I usually went. I found London strange when I lived there for a bit from the point of view there were expensive areas right next to much cheaper areas which didn't happen as much in Bristol.

I grew up in Bristol & my brother still lives there. I think in some ways it's cool & trendy & has some beautiful bits but in many ways I think it's overrated. It's socially divided, has terrible transport links/congestion, is expensive & now it's 'trendy' it tries too hard.
I moved away 16yrs ago to Newcastle which although it has problems (mainly to do with historic unemployment issues) is a better city for me. It was friendly & welcoming as a student, with loads to do as a student & even more once I had a family, it's affordable with beautiful architecture, amazing transport links & fabulous access to Coast & countryside. It has good schools both state & public. Brilliant hospitals should you need them. I love Newcastle 24/7, Bristol is nice for a visit.

Bristol is great for students and people with money. DD lives in Clifton Village as a student. She used to live in Stoke Bishop. Great places but obviously expensive.

What cities are not congested? I doubt if drivers are more rude or unpredictable than those in London. I could live there but only in the expensive areas and I don't have children to think about.

Congested and schools are a major issue. I got out before the kids left primary. Don't miss it at all.

As a resident of Bristol,I read that Independent article with some incredulity

Best schools? Only of you go private. Some of the Bristol state schools are amongst the worst in the country.

Beautiful housing stock? In some areas possibly e.g. Clifton but a lot of it is just plain Victorian terraces or modern estates. Nothing special there.

Strong transport links? now that did make me laugh as Bristol has very poor roads eastwards of the city, not helped by the fact that one road is now closed indefinitely due to a recent landslide.

Its got the new Cabot Circus shopping centre but all thats happened is the stores have moved in there and left empty premises elsewhere.

I really dont understand all these accolades that are being piled on Bristol these days.

The article that told the unpleasant facts could also have added:

The railway station is quite a walk from the shopping centre

What passes for the city centre is ridiculous with fountains for the pissed up clubbers to fall into and metal pillars why? These will shortly be replaced yet again. I think the city centre has been remodelled at least 4 times over the past few decades.

Its one of the few major cities that does not have a large concert venue.

The hospitals make the news for all the wrong reasons.

House prices are ridiculous.

The nearest seaside is a muddy estuary.

The balloon festival is only worth going to if you have 3 hours to spare to get out of the car park afterwards.

Cabot Circus has to be of the worst shopping mall layouts ever I refuse to go there now.

It really isnt that good.

Thats it Im moving.

Very interesting comments, thanks everyone. Lots to chew on!