Please help me find a city - not an easy one

[icecreambrownrice]

I've been thinking about this for months. I'm indecisive and suffer from acute anxiety. I tend to ruminate and second guess my decisions.

I know no one can objectively say which location is 100% ideal but I'm open to suggestions and recommendations.

I have twin DDs in sixth form, am a single parent. Family in South, not close to them. Currently renting a three bedroom house in a village near Cambridge.

Have saved up a healthy deposit looking to move to a city. I love love love London but I can't afford it, at least not in the SW areas that I want.

DDs will be at different unis, I'm in my 50s, my no.1 priority is location and amenities. I just want a little house with shops and excellent transport links.

Max budget £400k for 2-3bedroom home. I'd be so happy in a cottage-style home with a patio garden.

My criteria:

I need hustle and bustle
I hate living in the suburbs
I need excellent public transport (phobia of driving)
House as close to the bustling city centre as possible

No flats due to leasehold, service fees etc
Multi-cultural - I'm mixed race
Safety is key as I'm alone most of the time.
I commute to Farringdon, London once a month.

I've thought about Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham, and Reading. I just don't know if they're right for me. Not keen on Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Leeds. I spent most of adult life abroad so I still see these cities as foreign places.

I can't even narrow it down. Help.

Oh if you want Hong Kong vibes, then only London will fit. Or possibly Manchester. But I would look for a cheaper area of London.

All the other cities mentioned are too small. I have lived in Hong Kong, also pre 97, and only London gives me the same big city feeling.

I think you'll struggle if you insist on a house. City centre hustle and bustle usually means living in a flat. Liverpool is definitely gritty. This would be right in the city centre.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135993914?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

I also endorse Cardiff. Lots of very multicultural areas, compact bustling city, plenty of properties in your budget, decent transport links.

Hi op, i’ve liver in both Nottingham and Reading.

Out of the 2, Nottingham sounds better for your needs. Generally much more to do than Reading as it’s bigger. Areas next to town where you can buy houses like Mapperley park. Nottingham is better suited to your budget, and it also has the best public transport of anywhere i’ve ever lived.

Reading is boring. Public transport not as good and is often late and doesn’t run as often. There is absolutely bugger all to do in the town centre.

Oxford!

For Manchester, most city centre properties are flats or new build leasehold houses with service charges. This one is freehold, looks quite central, and you could definitely walk into the city centre. I don’t know how gritty/safe the area is though…
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142570733#/?channel=RES_BUYwww.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142570733#/?channel=RES_BUY

Nottingham public transport is excellent - trams are every 7 minutes, buses every 10, lots of trains to London, and there are some good suburbs in walking distance to the city centre. It sounds like you would like Sherwood.

I've lived in Nottingham, Leeds and Newcastle. Leeds is enormous but doesn't really have a unique culture/identity. Newcastle is a perfect city...it's just so far away and not that racially diverse.

Nottingham is about 40% POC, lots of pretty buildings and parks, and it's very walkable

I know you said you wasn’t keen on Liverpool but I’d have a look at the Allerton Road area of Liverpool. Lovely shops and excellent bus routes into the city centre. Very affluent area.

OP I know it was on your “no” list but from what you’ve said I really wouldn’t rule out Leeds! It has that gritty feeling, v multicultural. great transport links and the centre is all very walkable.

I'd say Leeds/Manchester would both be a good fit.

Nottingham ok but I found it felt a bit more of a small city

Also came to say Cardiff based on your list. Here's a cottagey house, Canton is multicultural, you can walk to the city centre from here:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140515490

HOWEVER... based on your undertones I think you might actually want to stay in London. Are you sure you don't want a flat in an area of London as yet undiscovered for you?

Ds is living in Sandyford in Newcastle bit more edgy than Jesmond but interesting enough. I liked that area a lot.

Glasgow has better options for getting to London than Newcastle etc. I used to pop down twice a month for work and even living outside the city it was never too much fuss. Regular flights and trains (current storm aside). Glasgow weather more akin to Manchester than Aberdeen of that makes sense too.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140711579#/?channel=RES_BUY

Cracking location!

Brighton.

The Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham might be a good bet? Great transport links to London - you could get from your front door to Farringdon in less than 2.5 hours.

Lots going on in Jewellery Quarter and even more in city centre, which is quick walk or metro away.

Challenge will be that a house there will be £500k plus. Are some beautiful apartments in converted Victorian factories, but can imagine they go quick, esp if freehold.

I do like Reading myself (dp is from there and I've spent a lot of time there for the past 5 years) but I really don't think its for you, personally. It's not actually a city (much to its residents' disgust) and I can see why - it's like a town on steroids. It can be a lot of fun, the shopping is not bad at all and the rail/air connections are brilliant but it's quite spread out and the centre is a bit chain-store.

I would definitely look closely at Manchester. To me it's the most 'big city' place in the UK outside London. I don't know it in enough detail to advise on areas, but there is so much going on and it's incredibly lively. I think after Cambridge it would be a shot in the arm.

Following my earlier post about London maisonettes, an example in Walthamstow: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143884376#/?channel=RES_BUY

Brighton
Bristol

If you want HK feel needs to be London/Manchester/Birmingham. Other places mentioned are all small in comparison.

Reading has been the top destination outside London for Hong Kong BNO passport holders in the past couple of years & there are lots of community groups popping up for that population, plus increasingly good restaurants! So it might be a good location if you still want to tap into the HK culture, although as a town it won't give you the gritty feel you mention.

Jumping on to echo what @paranoidmumdroid1 says....

If your MH can handle not moving just yet, I would sit tight. "Home" can be very, very important to first/second year students for all sorts of reasons.

Clearly you need to prioritise your future happiness but if you feel able to stick it out for a couple more years, your DDs may be grateful.

(Totally accept they may not give a monkeys and be perfectly happy to move!)

What about Brighton?

Thank you so much. So many suggestions and I appreciate it. I can't look at Cardiff as it's too far away from work.

My girls are ok with me moving whilst they're starting uni. They can stay with their dad temporarily. I moved to our location for them and it's been great for them growing up. But I'm dead inside. Every time I get a train back from London, my heart just sinks.

I thought of Reading because of the Elizabeth line. That's the only thing that I like about it. That and their house prices.

I will look at London maisonettes again. The Walthamstow one looks good. Service fees only £300 per year? That's not a typo I hope. The ones I've seen have expensive service charges and I cannot afford it.

I have made a list and notes from all the suggestions. So far, Manchester is in the lead. I have been there years ago, in my 20s! I liked it then but it was a hazy, heady place in the early 90s and I don't remember the place at all. Just a couple of pics to tell me I was there!

I think Manchester would be the best fit from what you've said. I prefer the centre and some suburbs over Birmingham or Nottingham. Reading is dull. Leeds would definitely consider.