Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

If you left London and you liked living somewhere arty…

206 replies

Longdrive89 · 23/02/2023 23:24

… 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!

OP posts:
Lollzi86 · 28/02/2023 17:14

I’d still say it was cheaper than London by a country mile though. Plus lots of work opps for the professions op mentioned

Kafkascat · 28/02/2023 18:28

Well yes of course it's cheaper 'by a country mile'. And obviously lots of opportunities for loaded wfh london 'bohemians'. Just sad that ordinary folk are being priced out and the place just revolves around trendy coffee shops and those full of expensive
lifestyle tat.

bagelbagelbagel · 28/02/2023 18:43

I feel the attitude to Londoners moving out of the cities with their families is pretty cruel really. We had absolutely no chance of being able to afford to buy in London, so moved while I was pregnant with second child, renting to get to know the area for a bit, then buying.

Lots of people had the same idea, the covid hit and LOTS more people had the same idea.

I moved back to the county I was born in, is that not allowed? Are London-dwellers supposed to stay stuck in a cycle of endless renting and moving? Can we not decide where we want to live for ourselves?

I don't give two shits about coffee shops either, happy to get my tea and coffee from Aldi like most people.

purplehair1 · 28/02/2023 18:45

Bristol. I live just off the Gloucester Road, near Stokes Croft and it’s arty (graffiti/Banksy) and rough round the edges but friendly! And very creative, with the window wanderland and all sorts of front room art show festivals. Great place.

TwoInABubble · 28/02/2023 19:31

Those replying with 'Whitstable'... are not from Whitstable haha!

AnnaZofia · 28/02/2023 20:22

Aberystwyth - but you need to learn Welsh first!

winningeasy · 28/02/2023 20:37

@TwoInABubble what's up with Whitstable? My friend just moved there

winningeasy · 28/02/2023 20:39

@tiger2691 cannot see Silverhill or Ore becoming bohemian hot spots anytime soon

watcherintherye · 28/02/2023 20:49

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.

I don’t know what you mean. Stroud’s as gritty as it comes!

Cordlesscushion · 28/02/2023 21:08

Bristol. I'm a Londoner born and bred and I much prefer Bristol, we'll never leave now.

ShillyShallySherbet · 28/02/2023 21:11

Totnes in Devon

allthegearandnoideaatall · 28/02/2023 21:37

Freemantle, WA

morningtoncrescent62 · 28/02/2023 23:07

Chichester first (well, a little village just outside, only a few minutes away on the bus) and then Edinburgh. I was a single parent of very small children in Chichester and studied at the uni there and I have fond memories of it. Love Edinburgh, my daughters had most of their schooling here. It's a wonderful place to live, with a lot of the advantages of London without the downsides.

Kafkascat · 01/03/2023 08:48

@bagelbagelbagel I think some people are rather tone deaf. So many posts about 'moving up north with £900k', 'chance to buy a massive house in a desirable area and be mortgage free'. And ignoring the irony that you can actually choose where in the north to live whereas I can never entertain the hope of moving south for example.

Lollzi86 · 01/03/2023 12:25

Yes it’s true people are getting priced out, but that’s not the fault of people moving in….it’s the lack of affordable housing and that’s something which could only be solved by a radical housing policy from the government which seems unlikely given the current situation! I am Yorkshire born and bred and there are some areas of Yorkshire I could never afford to live in, for me leeds is still affordable in most areas and it’s really diverse.

tiger2691 · 01/03/2023 19:36

SRS29 · 28/02/2023 07:34

OP my eldest DD has just moved to Hove.....it's absolutely lovely, very arty with loads on independent businesses and such really nice vibe. Big wide sweeping roads leading down to the seafront ....would highly recommend (no idea on schools though...)

My son rented a shithole in Hove, for years, the rent was a fortune, looked at buying a place, couldn't afford a rabbit hutch and he earns decent money. Hence, he bought a house in Tredegar. what a place to move to, i was flabbergasted, he said it was all his girlfriend and himself could afford. That or Burnley or Blackpool I suppose.

KiwiMum2023 · 02/03/2023 07:10

Drove through Stroud once and couldn’t get out of the place quickly enough. Gave odd incredibly unpleasant vibes.
Brighton is grubby and vastly overrated.

Madoz · 02/03/2023 09:01

KiwiMum2023 · 02/03/2023 07:10

Drove through Stroud once and couldn’t get out of the place quickly enough. Gave odd incredibly unpleasant vibes.
Brighton is grubby and vastly overrated.

That's a very strong reaction given you didn't even stand on the street - does it happen to you a lot? Do you think you were feeling ok that day?

Wonderfulcheapfalafel · 02/03/2023 14:04

Norwich fits your brief perfectly!

sociallyawkwardz · 02/03/2023 14:32

Kafkascat · 01/03/2023 08:48

@bagelbagelbagel I think some people are rather tone deaf. So many posts about 'moving up north with £900k', 'chance to buy a massive house in a desirable area and be mortgage free'. And ignoring the irony that you can actually choose where in the north to live whereas I can never entertain the hope of moving south for example.

Most people don't have £900k spare. Don't tar us all with that brush.

Arapawa · 02/03/2023 15:24

Not Brighton. Scruffy, dirty, too busy. I live here

Arapawa · 02/03/2023 15:27

allthegearandnoideaatall · 28/02/2023 21:37

Freemantle, WA

Awww...I used to live there Pakenham Road. Love Fremantle (not so keen on the rest)

sueelleker · 02/03/2023 16:13

JaffacakeJanine · 24/02/2023 00:09

100% Brighton

I live in Brighton, and I'd agree. I don't think we're any cheaper than London though.

Greenfairydust · 02/03/2023 20:01

''@watcherintherye · 28/02/2023 20:49
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.

I don’t know what you mean. Stroud’s as gritty as it comes!''

You haven't been to Margate recently then or Dalston/Shoreditch in the 90s long before they became trendy...

I can assure you that Stroud is nothing compared to that on the scale of grittiness...

KiwiMum2023 · 04/03/2023 08:24

Madoz · 02/03/2023 09:01

That's a very strong reaction given you didn't even stand on the street - does it happen to you a lot? Do you think you were feeling ok that day?

Show quote history

I was absolutely fine, thanks. DH felt similar, though not as bad as me - I am prone to exaggerate! Just an odd feeling from the place, it’s inexplicable but there you go.

Swipe left for the next trending thread