Lincoln vs Newark, and is Lincoln very slow paced generally?

[CatAndHisKit]

Thinking of moving to either but would be nice to hear from the locals or ex-locals. Schools not an issue, its more about which is nicer and also train connections.
I know Newark is better connected but Lincoln now has a better line to London though it's not hugely frequent. Elsewhere trains are SLOW - i.e. to NOttingham and Sheffield, is ther any talk of speedingthese up?
Otherwise Newark just isnt that nive from what I've seen, less to do than in Lincoln?

Finally has been viewing and made an offer (lower than asking) in Lincoln and everything seems veeery relaxed there - vendors seem to take ages to decide, buyers not booking vieings immediately so viewings aer stretched out overa few wek - whereas in the West of the region it's handbags at dawn! Lots of viewings and fast offers. The agent in Lincoln saying 'it's only been on the narket a week (no offers apart from mine) but where I am anything comparable has a crowd of FTB and downsizers as it's a lower price bracket - offers within couple of days.

sorry for typos!

Lincoln is a city and a growing one at that. Newark is a small market town so you are comparing apples with pears.
Depends what you want. Unless you live in the desirable uphill area of Lincoln, you might as well be anywhere. Traffic in Lincoln is awful but the ring road around Newark is blocked most rush hours. If you want to feel connected to the rest of the country then Newark is better.

Thank you, Beakyok. Do you you know of any plans to speed up Lincoln trains to 'proper' cities (Nott and Sheffield)?
I know it's a city but a very small one and slow paced, so I thought they were comparable...but as you say Lincoln will be growing.
I will be using town centre amenities wherever in town I live so I wanted to know which centre offers more - Lincoln looks great but I wouldn't know in terns of activities.
You d think if it is a city it should have - or aim at - better trains in the region.

Yes they are very different, but only 25 minutes apart. Newark is a lovely little town, some lovely villages around it if you prefer somewhere quieter to live.

Lincoln has developed hugely in the last few years due to the expanding university. When I lived there I always felt safe and would have walked home late at night alone. I wouldn’t do that now. My last visit there were a lot of homeless people and it has the usual city drug issues.

I’ve lived and taught in both Newark and Lincoln for many years so just let me know if you have any specific questions.

thanks, Snail!
Well the drug/homeless/begging issue is everywhere now tbh, especially in town centres with shops etc. In our small city it's not a huge issue as they are not aggressive and police is present on/off so I wouldn't say it bothers me unless it's really bad.
As it's small, taxi is an option at night.

How about activities / any cultural stuff or groups going? I think the cafes/indie places ar much better in Lincoln from the first impressions - I like that. I thought Newarks was very dull but it may have been a Monday - and Lincoln is not hugely buzzy but seems a lot nicer. I would want to be in town rather than a village (don't drive atm), but can be in close suburbs.
Also, what about climate - is it true that Lincoln is very cold in winters?

I don’t think there are any plans to improve the line between Lincoln and other cities apart from London.
I agree with Snailsetsail that there is a prevalent drug problem in Lincoln. I too used to live there and would feel safe walking home. We returned to the area 4 years ago and were shocked at the visible drug issues.
But if it’s amenities you are after then Lincoln wins over Newark just because it’s a bigger place.
Good luck!

I live 15 miles north of Lincoln in Market Rasen. We are on the train line to Nottingham, which is about 1 1/2 hours, so just over an hour from Lincoln. London is about 2 1/2 hours from where we are and LNER now run direct trains from Lincoln to Newark. Lincoln is lovely as is Lincolnshire as a whole. Not so keen on Newark.

@CatAndHisKit Newark has a few newer bars and restaurants but obviously no where near as many as Lincoln. It does have a lot of lovely cafes though, some on the water front so the setting is lovely.if you use Facebook then look up a few of these places in Newark and nearby to get a feel for them.

Tambo Lounge
Maddison’s
Waters edge
Oscars
Ashiana
Farndon Boat house
Riverside Farndon
Bromley Fiskerton

Lincoln has a lot more in the way of restaurants, but it’s more chain type places popular with students really. Up hill in the Bailgate area there are some lovely independent bars, restaurants and shops.

Cinema wise, Newark and Lincoln both have an Odeon. Newark’s is cheaper than Lincoln’s!

Climate wise, not really much difference between Newark and Lincoln, Lincoln does tend to get more snow though some how!

I've lived in both but have since relocated. Newark was a bit too quiet, hardly any shops in the centre, not much going on. I enjoyed living there but found it impossible to make friends as there was hardly anything going on. The A1/A46 grinds to a halt at certain times of day.
Lincoln has more going for it and more things to do, go to etc. Transport links not quite as good.

thank you, Snail for such a thorough advice on Newark. Don't think I can try out these cafes on short visits but if I do end living either there or in Loncoln, woll keep the list!
What about climate compared to the rest of E.Midlands? colder in Lincoln? I did see testats that it's drier than the average but 'bitterky cold' in East wind, not sure how true is that.

Beakyok drug isue is everywhere in towns and cities of E.Midlands (and generally) - when visiting Lincoln I've noticed thisl around the lower HIgh St but no more than anywhere else. I can't go by that - just try to avoid walking through any town after dark on my own tbh.

Riding when you say 'more gouing for it' - what kind of things to do? I know of course it very good in terms of eateries / shops but wouldn;t know about the social side / hobby groups etc.

popandsqueek sounds good - nice to hear from someone who'd happy in their location! Bit too far for me from the rail station but I can imagine there are nice villages in that direction.

We live in Lincoln and love it. It has all the shops we need, good schools, history in the uphill area with the castle and cathedral, good mix of housing, cycle routes etc.
Interestingly we went to Newark today for a couple of hours. Bit of shopping and a walk by the river was lovely. Not sure there is enough going on though for us to live there.
We often get the train from Newark to London. Can drive to Northgate station in 20 mins from our house. Direct fast trains to kings cross.
Hykeham station has trains to Nottingham and links to other places.

thanks MrsStarWars - I do like Lincoln from what I;ve seen so great to hear it's 'what you see is what you get'!
But why train from Newark if there is now a direct one from Lincoln itself? I'm now a bit worried as another poster mentioned that trains are terrible.

@CatAndHisKit I just found Newark rather limiting - more choice of things to do in Lincoln (stuff I was interested in eg church or a social group, or sports or arts there's only one or two examples in Newark and if it's not a good fit then there isn't an alternative, whereas in Lincoln there's different theatre and concert options (obvs not at the moment!), art galleries, museums etc.

I haven't done it recently but the direct Lincoln/London train only used to run once or twice a day so it depends whether the timing of it was convenient. Most people seemed to drive to Newark to get the train from there.

I don't know the area too well, but a friend from University I see once or so a year lives in a village east of Newark (so in Lincs) and repeatedly praises the rail link down to Kings Cross.

Ex local. Definitely Lincoln 100%. Why are you moving there do you mind me asking? How often will you want to visit other big cities?
Haven't lived there for a long time so I'm not very aware of the increase in drug related issues.

I lived in Newark when I was in my 20s. I had a good time but it was a bit small and dull. My friend has lived half way between the two towns for years so I’ve visited a lot and I’ve come to much prefer Lincoln.

I live in one of the Newark villages. Don't know too much about Lincoln, but have a couple of friends there and visit a couple of times a year.

Newark is pretty good. Aside from the amazing train link to London (I can be in kings X in 1h15h, it's got loads of great stuff. Lots of independent shops and restaurants/cafes, castle, riverside, steeped in civil war history ('new' civil war centre is in Newark, which is good, and the cafe there is great). Vibrant market, lovely old buildings, and the council do organise loads of community events (the riverside festival, Christmas markets, civil war weekend). The countryside around Newark is lovely, and all the villages around it have their own quirks and plenty to investigate.

I live in a small hamlet between Newark and Lincoln. Tbh, unless I need to go to a 'big' shop, I head to Newark for day to day things. The choice for sure is bigger in Lincoln, but I think Newark in general is more pleasant. It has its downsides, but for a market town, it's quite sufficient. The the train links are brilliant.

Lincoln is OK but I wouldn't move back, I grew up there and then moved to a small town about 25 mins from lincoln nearly 4 years ago and I couldn't move back. We visit regularly to see family etc but the traffic is always horrendous. Not much left in the city centre either and issues with drug users and homeless have definitely increased recently.

Which area of Lincoln are you looking at?

As others have mentioned, the train links from Newark are great. We can get to Newark station from the south side of Lincoln much quicker than driving to Lincoln station depending on time of day.
The direct Lincoln-London trains were very limited on times, haven’t looked recently though.

I went to Lincoln for a holiday last summer. Choice of a friend. I was surprised how far it is from anywhere else! I therefore can see why the trains are slow and take forever. I know I can read a map and should have realised how far it is from anywhere! There is not much around, culturally, that you can easily get to. It wouldn’t attract me as a place to live due to it being remote. Stamford might be better regarding connectivity.

I found Lincoln ok for a weekend but it didn’t do much for me, apart from the cathedral. The restaurants were not remotely inspiring and choice wasn’t great. The hill up to the cathedral is steep! It doesn’t feel like a city. It feels like an average town with a university. I guess it’s cheap to live there but culturally it hasn’t got much variety. It certainly isn’t Bristol or Sheffield or Newcastle.

@CatAndHisKit

thanks MrsStarWars - I do like Lincoln from what I;ve seen so great to hear it's 'what you see is what you get'! But why train from Newark if there is now a direct one from Lincoln itself? I'm now a bit worried as another poster mentioned that trains are terrible.

Lincoln-London trains are limited. There is much more choice from Newark.

For example if you want a direct train then there is one from Lincoln at 7:30am, but the next one isn’t until 11:30am. There are a few more if you are happy to change. Most involve getting the train from Lincoln to Newark Castle, then walking to Newark Northgate and getting on one of the trains below.

Newark has direct trains at 7:30, 8am, 8:30, 8:40, 9:20,10:20, 10:55, 11:20 etc. Loads more! Also quicker; fastest one here is 1 hour 14 minutes whereas fastest Lincoln one is 1 hour 56 minutes.