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!

Newcastle

I’ve live in Hastings, various parts of London, Edinburgh and Glasgow

Hastings and Glasgow has some genuine amazing artists, gritty sure, but interesting people comparable to London. Hastings is definitely the kind of place that some of the more interesting artists have made a home

Edinburgh is really nice but sort of vanilla, mainstream art and more theatre than the kind of art I find as interesting. Good for high culture tho, good galleries. Feels like a very ‘safe’ world

London has both high culture and interesting innovation in art, I think Glasgow is more similar in those respects

Hastings, I lived their for 15 years, has a lot of issues and I wouldn’t want to bring my DC up there but if no DC I’d live in a big house near the old town, as they have a great community and I do miss some of the people. I have family there

Lewes definitely has everything you're looking for; good, comprehensive schools, gorgeous South Downs on the doorstep, very arty/bohemian - tons of social groups for a small place, small but vibrant shopping area,farmers markets etc plus close to Brighton and the sea. Easy to get to London. Only drawback is that it's not racially diverse but there is more diversity than, say, Stroud imo as there are language students, day trippers from Brighton/London.

Hebden Bridge has a nice feel so does Totnes but again, neither are diverse areas.

We were in Hebden Bridge last weekend (Sat afternoon). We saw at least 4 different hen and stag groups which was off putting as two of the groups were very drunk and there was anti social behaviour. However, I think they stick to certain pubs. It's a small place so I guess more noticeable than other towns. Still a nice place though on the whole.

Folkstone is up and coming.
Hastings - nice seafront but always seems a bit rough to me.
Margate - up and coming but not there yet
Whistable - nice little town, lots of art shops, not so cheap
Brighton - passed it’s best
Ramsgate - saw a headline recently that it could be the next place to improve
Broadstairs - nice little seaside town, lovely atmosphere

Just realised, I’m very south east coast based.

Actually my husband is from Hereford and we were just there visiting his friend's art exhibition a couple of weeks ago. Lovely cathedral and some nice architecture, independent shops and venues (his friend runs a small independent arthouse type cinema for example). No idea what the art class etc scene is like but it might fit the vibe you seem to be going for (you seem to be after something a little smaller than some of the suggestions like Bristol?). Might be worth looking into at least!

Oh and his dad lives in nearby Ludlow which is small but full of nice little independent shops and restaurants etc (plus an actual castle!) - again no idea what the art scene is like but I really liked it there when we've been

Endorse a lot of previous suggestions - also Totnes in Devon and Penzance in Cornwall

Belfast! A bit out of your comfort zone I'd imagine, but it has a really vibrant art scene and the film industry is booming at the moment. If you wanted out of the city you could live in one of the commuter towns nearby like Holywood - on the shores of Belfast Lough, 10 min train into the city, 10 mins from Belfast City airport and property prices that will make you feel like a millionaire if you are used to London prices.

Also Falmouth! Really lovely place.

If you care about education, think long and hard before moving to Bristol. The primaries are generally good but for secondary it is less good. Most people have no choice of school - DC have to go to the catchment school, all are run by academy chains and are educationally lacklustre. My sense is that the options for secondary in Stroud are much better - and it is a gorgeous place, with views to die for and the most amazing countryside.

@Turmerictolly I don't think the OP actually mentioned diversity in the criteria.

I do think the poster who mentioned places like stroud as somewhere that has an arty middle class feel rather than somewhere where artists actually move to has a point- I would say the same here in Bath too- although we actually do have a lot of creatives here and lots of activities and groups connected to the arts. We don't know the OP so can't really second guess if it's more the vibe that she's after or somewhere that's full of arty people - Glastonbury has tons of arty people living there, but personally I think is a bit rubbish to live as it has rather a lack of much practical stuff- would rather live in Wells if down that way.

Bath

Cheers @Crikeyalmighty No place like Bath

Come to Bristol if you're after street art

Leigh on Sea has a thriving art scene and lots of independent stores in the high street. The art scene sits alongside the commuter / Essex scene. Education is grammar system though so definitely not progressive.

Bath is beautiful (I grew up there) and has lots of arty stuff going on but it's SO expensive. Very 'middle class hippy' as well in general so it depends if that's the kind of thing you're looking for. Also as a teenager I found it so incredibly dull and couldn't wait to escape although things may have changed in the last 20 years haha.

I think it's hard to beat as an all rounder -

@Whichwhatnow but dull compared to what? Certainly not compared to other 80k places population size. It has 3 good venues for music , including a big one, comedy club, lots of sport stuff, restaurants, bars, good pubs, lovely walks , nice parks, more festivals than you can shake a stick at- - all the students here seem to like it and find enough . It isn't cheap though I agree

Hi OP,

What kind of 'arty'? There's so many lovely places around the UK! But all with a slightly different feel. I agree with several other posters that Norwich is a lovely city, with a great cultural scene. There's always lots going on there in the arts, music and theatre scene, and the house prices as of yet don't seem to have the premium that lovely, artsy cities outside of London usually do.
Oxford is a beautiful city and has a really lovely feel and there's always lots going on culturally there, but it's $$$$. However, I'd live there in a heartbeat if I could afford to! Bath is lovely too, with lots going on, but very moneyed and very establishment. I agree with @Chewbecca about Leigh on sea, and Southend on Sea down the road has a very up and coming arts scene, although that whole swathe of Essex is dyed in wool Tory- I'm not sure if that's an issue for you, but it makes the place feel artsy rather than bohemian if you know what I mean? Bristol is buzzing and vibrant, I worked there for a while and loved how cultural it was was- although house prices definitely reflect that now.

Glasgow and Edinburgh are both fantastic- I've worked in both places (I move around for work a lot!) and loved the culture and arts scene in both. I agree with other posters about the weather though! I'm sure some people get used to it eventually, but I never did quite manage it!
I've never quite got the hype about Margate, I've got family that live nearby and yes its nice enough, but other than the contemporary art gallery and the fact you used to be able to buy an amazing Georgian house for not much money (not so much these days!) I never quite got the appeal. However a lot of people that got priced out of the artsy parts of East London have moved out there, so if that's your tribe it might be worth a look?

I'm probably being overly harsh - like I say I'm sure things have changed over the last two decades haha. I think I'm influenced by the fact that my friends who still live there never seem to do anything but go to their local pub and I'm comparing it to Bristol (which is far more suited to me personally).

I agree. It’s a gorgeous area.

Edinburgh is rather unadventurous and pedestrian in my view. There are other places which are much more interesting and eclectic.

There are loads and loads of actual artists in Stroud.

Leeds
Manchester
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Cardiff

for the big cities

York
Lancaster
Bristol
Oxford

for the smaller cities

Definitely look at Folkestone.

www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/folkestone-triennial/

I would wager it's actually more arty than Margate, less rough and less up its own arse. Only issue is that the market down here is like London now, very cut throat. We bought our house in 2019 and its value has increased by nearly 30% (lockdown accelerated the London influx).

In terms of politics, Folkestone is actually on a list of constituencies that could actually swing Labour in the next election. It used to be a safe Tory seat but the artists and families from London have really changed the political landscape here (much to the chagrin of some of the... ahem... old school inhabitants).