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.

I agree with other posters saying Cardiff. It's not particularly gritty I don't think but it is multicultural, has lots going in and a fascinating history. I moved near Cardiff just before the pandemic in my mid 50s. Settled really easily.

Sorry if I've missed it, but have you thought of Brighton? I absolutely love it but have never lived there. Access to the south Downs is great and also near the sea. Definitely edgy, multicultural and liberal.

Brighton is definitely not multicultural though

Actually yes I have thought about Brighton as I love the sea. But Brighton feels very much like a big town. And as someone mentioned, it's not as diverse some other cities.

Ideally, I'd spend a week every month staying in these cities. But I don't have the money or the time to do so. I used to have a sense of adventure when I was younger, working overseas, but parenting solo and a difficult separation has made me a bit of a coward. Buying a property alone at my age is daunting. I should be mortgage free now if I had common sense years ago. Oh well.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and opinions. I have written done all the places and ideas. I've now ruled out Reading and Nottingham. Feels good to cross them off my list. That's progress.

I absolutely loved the very first house linked on this thread, the one in Newcastle, so I looked for similar further afield
3 bedroom terraced house for sale in Clarence Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 9LA, B17 (rightmove.co.uk)
Not that I know the area, but it's fairly close to the city centre. Others may have more useful comments.

Evening Standard property pages today

If you aren't keen on Bristol, Sheffield, Liverpool or Leeds- don't want look at smaller attractive cities like Bath or Norwich or York or Colchester etc -ruled out Nottingham and Reading- then it isn't leaving you with much- personally I'm not over fond of Manchester on your budget or Birmingham- have you actually been to any of these places out of interest?

I would say your best bet is probably Cardiff or Oxford- but Oxford isn't huge - it is multicultural though - I'm not sure what you mean by that though - bath where we live isn't particularly multicultural based on long term residents- but we have 20,000 students here and my friends son has quite a few black,Asian and Chinese/hong Kong students in his class as well asa few Eastern Europeans

Check SE London for slightly better prices! This is a decent size and right near station/trendy/gritty

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142700771?utmcampaign=property-details&utmmcontent=buying&utmmedium=sharing&utmmsource=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Or this?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142032365#/?channel=RES_BUY

Is there a particular reason you’ve ruled out Liverpool. It’s just been voted as 7th best city in the world by Time Out magazine. It’s got absolutely loads going on and definitely isn’t quiet. Aigburth (L17) has loads going on in its own right, but it’s really easy to get into the city centre too. Lots of really nice terraced properties with courtyard gardens.

Newcastle! You'd get an amazing place in Jesmond for that amount of money... 10 mins walk into the city or 2 mins on the metro. Incredibly safe area

Honestly the horrible shooting of the little girl in Liverpool. That was it that put me off. I know gangs are everywhere. But that story has stayed with me. Expected that in America. I know it was it the suburbs of Liverpool just made wonder if the bustling areas are dangerous. My hairstylist highly recommends it as her son goes to uni there, she loves to visit.

I haven't ruled out Birmingham but no one has said anything positive about it.

I wish Glasgow was closer. It's grittier than Edinburgh. I love the New York style grid street designs. I love the tenement flats. Downside is I I do not understand the Scottish housing market, paying over asking price and if SNP gets their way for independence...also the distance and weather is huge question mark. I tend to overthink.

Thank you! I I thought Leytonstone is gentrified and popular. Out of all the places recommended, Hanwell sounds promising.

You could do London on that budget but would probably have to live somewhere south east or east. Somewhere east near the Thames, with Canary Wharf as the backdrop might give a slightly Hong Kong like vibe.

A relative is in Birmingham and loves it. Your house budget would stretch to somewhere a lot nicer than in London:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139963340#/?channel=RES_BUY

Ex HKer as well. Go see Cardiff, I loved my two years living there, lovely vibe. Glasgow - the Scottish property system is so much better than England, straight forward and transparent, I echo the comments re sleeper train and flights. But definitely Glasgow over Edinburgh for the vibe you're looking for. Leeds would be my third choice to investigate but only because I lived there, Manchester would be a close choice too.

Definitely not Oxford in my view. I love Oxford but it's a village with delusions of grandeur not a city....

A bit left field but what about Dublin? Although it sounds like you really just need to be in London!

Hmm what was the reason for ruling out leeds? We did 14 years there and really
Liked to as a city. Lots of water (canals and river) and parks . Just over 2 hours on the train to London. I went down once every 6 weeks for work and it was fine. Lots of culture events going on and they're spending a fortune making the city centre a nightmare for motorists but great for pedestrians lol perfect for you!

This is leasehold but not the scammy new build type. My brother lives in this complex and the ground rent has been peanuts for years and I believe he was offered the chance to buy freehold for less than £2k

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143480066

Leicester, near the station, Clarendon Park is also good. Mixture of eco conscious families, students and people commuting to London. Budget is adequate for a decent property. Station has trains direct to St Pancras, ideal if you're needing to get to Farringdon though they aren't cheap!

Alternatively Bristol, budget is more stretched though. Not quite what you asked for but out on the n Somerset coast we've had an influx of ex HK residents, who seem to find it a good match. Budget wise you'll get a townhouse (just) by the marina, and it's 25 mins by car/50 mins on the bus to the city centre, only 15 mins once they complete the train line (that's supposed to be finished but they are due to break ground this summer). Great social scene, well especially if you like live music

I think the problem is OP- that gritty cities and areas don't tend to have lots of very central pretty cottages in areas that are safe . What you said you would like and the kind of places you are interested in kind of don't match. I'm not the worlds biggest fan of Bristol but based on what 'you' like and are after- it seems to fit the bill nicely and yes they do have that kind of thing quite close in and it definitely has 'an edge' and is very multicultural - same applies to Liverpool .

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142271510#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143969753#/?channel=RES_BUY

I think you're being too picky if I'm honest OP. British cities have grown organically and are very old world with smatterings of modern city design in them.

Another vote for Manchester here!

Could you maybe narrow it down to 3 top choices for location and do a weekend in each just to test things out?!