If you left London and you liked living somewhere arty…

[Longdrive89]

… Where did you go? I am starting to feel very restless and London is making me cynical!

We’re going to check out Stroud and surrounds this weekend hopefully.

Where else should we look?

We both have very in demand jobs (healthcare / education type things) and have that freedom. We’re also considering abroad because of this!

I really liked Margate when we went last year. It's going a bit Hackney on Sea maybe, but it has the galleries and I like what they have done with Dreamland-plus there are some decent restaurants.

If you own a large house in London you might just be able to afford to move to Frome.

We had dinner at Buoy and Oyster and it was great!

We moved to Norwich last year and it's fabulous - houses are still cheap, there's a buzzing food scene and art scene - always something going on. It's well kept secret - people automatically think Alan Partridge 😂go visit and be amazed.

I'm from Norwich and agree - it's got a very creative, arty vibe. Has a university well known for its creative writing course and art school, loads of independent shops and cafes, lots going on for children. I miss it but unfortunately have to live elsewhere for work.

I agree that Ramsgate and Margate are both worth a look, although Ramsgate is definitely the nicer town to live in. Both have tons of galleries, workshops and opportunities to make / show / see art.

Margate has better restaurants (I sat next to Julie Bindel in Angela's just the other week 😉) and the arts scene is more 'obvious' (ie it's full of fucking hipsters talking loudly about their latest projects when you just want a quiet cup of coffee) whereas Ramsgate is more laidback and less pretentious...and has the nicer beach!

But undeniably both have significant issues with poverty and deprivation. Again, Margate's issues are more obvious and gives the town an edgier, less welcoming vibe (imo). Ramsgate has a wealth of incredible Victorian / Georgian properties, especially on the West Cliff, which are still very cheap compared to similar in London.

Bristol is nice but arty? It's just really expensive to buy and very hard to secure rentals. Coastal Somerset is more up and coming though, lots of artists (particularly jewellers) in my area, we have a lovely shop selling their work. Lots of craft people too, but prices are up 20% since 2020 due to the influx of londoners

If you like your music the greater Bristol area is amazing though. We see live bands most Fridays and Saturdays, up & comings and covers, all free at ones of 6 venues in our town with live music (all walkable) but it all depends on your definition of art

Oh, and DH and I are both in healthcare / education roles and have both walked into new jobs locally with no issues.

I think places like Stroud is what middle-class people see as ''bohemian'' and ''arty'', rather than the slightly grittier places that actual artists move to.

Yes, that's a good distinction.

Hastings is great, the old town in particular. Wouldn't touch Margate with somebody else's barge pole. I've got artist friends who have relocated there and it's got a couple of nice streets and a couple of good restaurants, the rest is just abject poverty and drug problems. I lived and worked in Brighton for 10 years so I'm used to druggies but this is on a different scale.

Definitely Edinburgh

Manchester
Glasgow
Newcastle
Hebden Bridge / Slaithwaite

Brighton.

I'd say Norwich as well - studenty and arty vibe, loads of nice housing, a decent city centre, you are 20 minutes from the sea as well. Really nice bar and restaurant scene as well.

Hebden Bridge

Wirksworth

Saltaire

Come and join us here in lovely Bath!

My other choices would be

Frome
Stroud
Norwich
York
Canterbury
Winchester

We lived in Bristol for quite a while and personally I much prefer living in Bath. Bristol is very sprawly with terrible public transport , fine if you like cycling everywhere but we didn't. I prefer it to visit for a day in Clifton and round the docks. I got fed up of the smell of weed everywhere and general grimyness- same goes for Brighton which I like but enjoy more for days out.

The good thing with the Stroud/Frome/Bath triangle is they are all easy to get from one to the other if you drive, Frome and Bath are connected on the train. Bradford on Avon is also lovely and cheaper than Bath but only 15 to 20 minutes drive and also connected on train.

Of the places you've mentioned Hastings isn't bad- Folkestone has some nice houses and not too bad, Broadstairs has great beaches, but I personally think Margate is horrible.

I'm going to throw West Yorkshire into the mix. A very different vibe from London but there are some fantastic art hubs. Hebden Bridge is basically an arts town which has a fantastic community and a workshop for anything you may want to try. Holmfirth is filling up with galleries. Saltaire is a craft cluster village in the midst of suburbia.
Leeds for all the big city stuff and Bradford for film, media and the best food.
There are plenty of great market towns which are being gentrified all over the area, so you'll get great value too.

I'm fairly near Hebden Bridge and not known it for stag dos. That's surprised me. I'd suggest a trip up and a long weekend visiting Hebden Bridge. Good connections to Leeds & Manchester. Look on Facebook pages, it's certainly arty & crafty, got a music scene, all sorts of classes, scenery, walking, canal, dog friendly. Etc.

I've lived in London and found it polluted and expensive. I've moved about a fair bit but settled in North Yorkshire. Loads of art classes and there's the Open Studio events. A lot of local artists, yoga classes. York is lovely and there's lots of rural places if that's more your thing.

How about places in Kent, still can get to London quickly

Whitstable
Margate
Folkestone

Also Deal

We considered Stroud but so thought it felt quite rough to be honest, anti-vaxxers shouting in the street and smell of weed everywhere. Love Bristol but wouldn’t live there now (maybe I would if I could afford to live in Redland or Henleaze though). Frome is very nice, as is Bradford-on-Avon. BoA is better connected I think, only 12 mins train to Bath and about 30 mins to Bristol. Think Frome is more like an hour to Bristol.

Abergavenny very Liberal and arty or Totnes