Liberal / diverse places to live to outside of london for family

[Littlecelticswan]

Pretty much what the title says. We’re a family of 3 (7 months old DS) and two dogs. My partner and I met working in social care in london and when we finally bought our first home we ended up just outside of the M25 in a home county town. Whilst we love our house, the nature on our doorstep and being close to his family, I’m going a little crazy living in Tory heartland. I never imagined I’d live in the Home Counties 😱It’s distinctly lacking in diversity around here (I’ve overheard overtly racist remarks in town) and is a bit of a cultural nowheresville. I’ve lived all over Uk as well as overseas and I value independent shops/cafes, green, open spaces, second hand bookshops and cultural events/activities. I know I sound snobby, but I know that this is not where I want to raise my son long term.

Any suggestions for liberal/artsy areas which have lots to offer for families? Before people suggest it, we can’t unfortunately afford anywhere decent in london on our salaries unless we massively downsize. We currently have a 3 bed terrace with a garden and would ideally like to have something similar in a area where we can find likeminded people. We have a budget of about £550k. I really like the look of Bristol, Cardiff or possibly Brighton but I would like to have my kind opened to other areas.

Cardiff and Sheffield

You could still get a house in London's outer zones. Have a look at places on the end of the Central line like Woodford or in the South in Bexley and so on.

You ask for “diverse” in your title but I think what you’re really looking for is a naice creative town with a farmers market on the high street every Saturday where you can purchase chia seeded bread for £6 a loaf; DC can attend circus skills workshops with other Polarn O. Pyret clad toddlers and you can support the occasional showing of a left wing satirical play at the local theatre (“tickets were a steal at £17, really it’s just as good as the Old Vic”).

Really you should stay in london but I guess Lewes and towns of that ilk fit the bill.

Other definitions of diversity noted in this thread: Labour voting; Lib Dem voting 🤣

Wivenhoe is very mono cultural, very white very middle class. There is not much to do there, one very good bookshop and that's about it. It is lovely but so not diverse

@PegasusReturns

You ask for “diverse” in your title but I think what you’re really looking for is a naice creative town with a farmers market on the high street every Saturday where you can purchase chia seeded bread for £6 a loaf; DC can attend circus skills workshops with other Polarn O. Pyret clad toddlers and you can support the occasional showing of a left wing satirical play at the local theatre (“tickets were a steal at £17, really it’s just as good as the Old Vic”).

Really you should stay in london but I guess Lewes and towns of that ilk fit the bill.

LOL. I wondered about this as well.

We're in a big city and my DC attend schools that are genuinely diverse. My DC's friends who've visited my house are kids from white families, muslims, Hindus, African/carribbean heritage and Sikhs. There are Eastern European families whose kids are at an early stage of learning English. There are gay and lesbian parents and kids. There are people who own family houses and people renting flats from housing associations. Lots of kids with additional needs.

However because of the genuine social and cultural diversity of the area, academic results are mixed and the classrooms are not without challenges. I strongly suspect that most MNers would run a mile from these schools in real life, and send their kids to the white MC dominated grammar schools in the next borough along.

Charlton, Altrincham and Levenshulme in Manchester
Hebden Bridge (and it's surroundings)
Bits of Newcastle.

Something that people never seen to consider on these threads is the weather. It varies hugely over the country, much wetter in the West, much colder in the North. Just something to bear in mind

Yes, and as Met Office figures show (Times today), the west of the UK and upland areas of England, have become much wetter over the last 30 years - Glasgow for instance has 12 extra days of rain - and will become more so.

I have a relative in Cambridge city and it has always seemed genuinely diverse where they live in CB4 and the politics (in the city) seems to be very left-leaning. But it is now very expensive.

@TheMagiciansNiece

Something that people never seen to consider on these threads is the weather. It varies hugely over the country, much wetter in the West, much colder in the North. Just something to bear in mind

When we moved from the home counties to Cardiff a couple of years ago I compared the stats pretty carefully.

Near-identical in terms of temperatures and sunshine (if anything, fractionally more sun, milder winters and cooler summers in Cardiff, but not really differences you'd notice).

Also very similar in terms of the number of rainy days.

The only difference worth mentioning was the amount of rainfall, which is a full 85% more in Cardiff. When it rains, it rains harder!

The problem with your criteria is OP is that to get those things pretty much universally means bad compromises have to be made - not family friendly areas, high crime, poor schooling options etc.

Bristol is exactly what you have described that you are looking for! It has lots of city parks and you only have to drive half an hour from the town centre to be in the countryside too.

Alternatively, Manchester gives me Bristol vibes and your money would go a lot further. Not so sure about the green space though.

*We're in a big city and my DC attend schools that are genuinely diverse. My DC's friends who've visited my house are kids from white families, muslims, Hindus, African/carribbean heritage and Sikhs. There are Eastern European families whose kids are at an early stage of learning English. There are gay and lesbian parents and kids. There are people who own family houses and people renting flats from housing associations. Lots of kids with additional needs.

However because of the genuine social and cultural diversity of the area, academic results are mixed and the classrooms are not without challenges. I strongly suspect that most MNers would run a mile from these schools in real life, and send their kids to the white MC dominated grammar schools in the next borough along*

My DC attend schools exactly like this- primary and a true comprehensive secondary (we don't have grammars in Scotland). Here kids tend to attend the school in their catchment area and that's it (or a small % private). It does mean people can kill themselves to move to certain areas, but generally kids are mixed. O work in another school which is exactly the same and love it there. This is, indeed, the true nature of diversity.

Oh St Alban's, I've never been, is it worth a visit?

The west end of Glasgow. 4 hours on a train to London so more accessible for trips back than most of England.

Dozens of independent cafes and second hand bookshops.

Diverse population due to established Pakistani and Indian population from the post war decades. This century asylum seekers being mass housed in the north of the city has meant that when many have achieved refugee status they have stayed in the city so many people from Africa/ the middle East too. Then there's the university which is the heart of the west end which attracts students and staff from across the globe. It's more globally mixed than anywhere I've seen outside London.

You could get an outstanding Victorian townhouse in dowanhill for £550k.

There's a huge cultural scene around Finnieston because of the hydro.

Transport links are also great and there's a subway!

Do a long weekend and see what you think.

@felulageller

The west end of Glasgow. 4 hours on a train to London so more accessible for trips back than most of England.

Dozens of independent cafes and second hand bookshops.

Diverse population due to established Pakistani and Indian population from the post war decades. This century asylum seekers being mass housed in the north of the city has meant that when many have achieved refugee status they have stayed in the city so many people from Africa/ the middle East too. Then there's the university which is the heart of the west end which attracts students and staff from across the globe. It's more globally mixed than anywhere I've seen outside London.

You could get an outstanding Victorian townhouse in dowanhill for £550k.

There's a huge cultural scene around Finnieston because of the hydro.

Transport links are also great and there's a subway!

Do a long weekend and see what you think.

Totally agree about everything here, except the townhouse in Dowanhill. I was shocked recently to see the prices. The OP could still get somewhere fabulous, though, just not Dowanhill (my dream!).

We're in a big city and my DC attend schools that are genuinely diverse. My DC's friends who've visited my house are kids from white families, muslims, Hindus, African/carribbean heritage and Sikhs. There are Eastern European families whose kids are at an early stage of learning English. There are gay and lesbian parents and kids. There are people who own family houses and people renting flats from housing associations. Lots of kids with additional needs

I live in a large town in one of the whitest regions of the country. Despite that I work with people of all colours, sexualities and nationalities in my job. And my children too have managed to have friends of different colours, sexualities, nationalities and economic backgrounds. In fact my children know people from a larger range of backgrounds than their London cousins who live in a rich multiethnic bubble and think they are poor because they don't travel by private jet.

@SoftSheen

Cambridge would certainly tick every box, though your budget would limit your choice of area.

We bought a three bed detached in a very good area of Cambridge, under a mile from the centre, near the river, for just under 600k in June.

Yes beware the rain in Wales, we've had a particularly depressing few weeks here even though the forecast keeps telling me it will be dry

I don’t see it as a huge benefit for children to know other children from a wide variety of backgrounds. For me, it wouldn’t trump decent schools! Many people cannot ensure their DC mix with other ethnicities because there are simply not the variety in the neighbourhood. Just because children meet other nationalities at school it doesn’t mean they might not choose friends based on other attributes later on.

I would love to see what evidence there is about the benefits or otherwise of diverse “friends”. Other than personal preference and parents being pleased. What added value is it? How is it quantified by research? Why do some think it’s desirable but not others? Why do people live in diverse ethnic areas but still don’t mix? Even when they are neighbours?

I love the idea from pp above that you “send” your DC to a grammar! There is a selection test. Many never can access a grammar even if it’s in the next street!

@SimonedeBeauvoirscat

Other definitions of diversity noted in this thread: Labour voting; Lib Dem voting 🤣

To be fair, the reason I mentioned Labour voting, and I'm assuming others did, was that the OP complained her current area was too Tory voting, not because of the diversity question.

Well she could go Nationalists in Scotland! The one party state!

Other than personal preference and parents being pleased.

Well exactly, it's a bit look at my children with their rainbow friends, how liberal am I letting my children mix with them.

I grew up in the back of beyond and didn't even see anyone that wasn't white until I visited London as a teenager. And yet I appear to have been able to make friends with people from other countries when I went to University.