Bath - what’s the demographic like?

[Hellohello765]

Considering moving to Bath. Wondering about the demographic. I know there are a lot of students but - students aside - what sort of person does it attract? Is it liberal? Friendly? Arty?

(I’ve noticed lots of private schools... so thinking maybe it attracts wealthy, establishment people?!)

It’s expensive, so a good base of middle class professionals. Some commuters to London. Older middle aged retirees. It’s not very diverse at all.

I grew up there, when it was a bit parochial. The student population has grown a lot since then so there’s a lot more going on, although I’m still not sure I’d call it especially vibrant. It’s nice to go back and visit but I couldn’t live there again. It’s nice enough but whether you’d like if totally depends on what you’re looking for - but if arty, liberal and diverse are important then I’d focus on Bristol over Bath.

I love Bath to visit for shopping/theatre/a day out for a potter with my mum but it's never struck me as overly diverse and I'd say fairly well to do/middle class demographic. I live about 10 miles away between Bristol and Bath.

I have a mate who lives there (Oldfield Park) who loves it. She's much younger than me and finds lots to do in terms of shops/activities/places to eat. but I'd agree Bristol has more going on and generally has a younger faster vibe if that's what you are looking for.

This is helpful!

Which are the more arty / bohemian / liberal areas, would you say, littleoverwhelmed?

I know Bristol a little bit, I will take a closer look at it as well!

Where are you coming from hellohello765? If it’s London - you will be amazed by how tiny bath is ... so the question which bits are liberal, arty doesn’t apply as much as it would in a bigger city. You don’t stick in your area in the way you do in a bigger city, so choosing the area by kind of people isn’t so relevant as you can be across bath to visit friends in 10 minutes. As a generalisation - my sense is that Larkhall/ Landsdown is where the wealthy London meedja types end up (it’s very pretty and villagey, but also quite expensive for what you get), Widecombe also very pricey and there is/was a premium because of proximity to bath spa train station for those commuting into London a lot. bear flat is less ritzy and very family oriented but also lots of London commuters. Oldfield park a lot more down to earth and less full of ‘down from London’ types - more full of bath natives (but still really close to the centre and has its own villagey feel because of good high street). Other areas like twerton, odd down are much less popular with people moving into the city - and are further out. Overall Bath is definitely not cool and edgy - bristol wins hands down there - but that’s also part of its appeal. I was really torn bout which one to choose between bristol and bath. I sometimes miss the buzz of a lively city, but Bath won because we just wanted to be somewhere beautiful and that is a constant pleasure every day. I still pinch myself living in such a gorgeous place. Bath is also surrounded by beautiful countryside - so if you want a beautiful city with lots of nice bits to potter in and easy access to beautiful countryside ( lovely pubs, villages, farm shops a-plenty) then it is really a lovely place to live. I think the quality of life is hard to beat.

Bristol is a big place. There is a mixture of nice, OK and not nice places. The nice places are usually very expensive. The schools are hit and miss. Most places in Bath are nice. It is mostly expensive. Traffic can be terrible in both.