29F, family all dead/estranged, suggest me a place in the UK for a new start

[BubbleLily]

I’m looking for a new start after a difficult few years with bereavement and family estrangement. I’ve only ever lived in two places in my life so I have very few points of reference to go by!

I’m 29, single, no children, not in touch with any family/relatives, friends scattered across the UK. I work from home full-time and have excellent job security, so I could go pretty much anywhere.

I would be renting initially but am in a good position to buy once I’ve found an area I like enough.

I’m looking for somewhere that’s young, dynamic, left-wing and open minded. Somewhere that’s friendly and not too difficult for a transplant like me to make new friends in. I’d ideally like for the flat itself to be somewhere with cafes, parks etc within easy reach, somewhere with a bit of a buzz around it without being too loud at night.

On paper, Bristol and Brighton/Hove seem like a good fit, although I’ve never visited either. I also want to live alone, which rules out London as that’s too expensive on my current salary - but I think I could manage in any other city.

As a former Bristolian I would suggest Bath instead

I live in Frome and have done so for 25 years but it's not the quickest place to get out of

Sheffield: so many green spaces (and very easy access to countryside for more), very left, great bars, and still pretty affordable. Oh, and everyone is really friendly.
What's your budget for housing?

Depends if you want a city or somewhere a bit smaller - Bristol fits on paper , but we didn’t like it at night at all- I never felt safe on my own , live in Bath and much prefer it - but it’s horses for courses, slightly cheaper on flats too.
in your situation I would probably pick Brighton -much prefer it to Bristol although can be a bit wild and woolly in winter weather wise.

I like Liverpool , Newcastle, Cheltenham, York and Norwich , Leeds and Cardiff too as city’s, they all to me seem friendly with good scenes.

Another vote for Sheffield! Great food, loads of green spaces, very active and outdoorsy city with a general friendly, relaxed attitude. Park Hill, Kelham, Sharrow Vale and Crookes would be good areas

I live in Bristol OP. It is a vibrant city with loads going on in music, arts, culture, festivals etc and politically left/green. We are also blessed with lots of green spaces and a great independent food/cafe scene. It's a friendly and safe city. In fact, it's lovely. But be warned that it isn't that much cheaper than London to rent or buy property - or anything else for that matter. It's also a bigger city than people imagine and there's no guarantee of making friends but I guess that goes for anywhere.

I've lived in Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, London, Oxford and Manchester.

I personally would go for Bristol, Brighton or Manchester. Bristol and Brighton are much more expensive and a bit more middle class left wing but also have quite significant and open drug and alcohol issues.

Manchester is cheaper and has lots of different areas with very different vibes. I would look at old Trafford, Stretford or Chorlton. Close to the city centre to be able to go into town and access all the wonders of a massive city but not too noisy.
Great access to the lakes, Wales, the peaks etc. most people are left leaning without being in your face trustafarians that did my head in.

Do some weekends away to get the vibe. Brighton is great but it’s very touristy and sometimes grotty with a lot of heavy partying (which may be your scene, but puts me off).

Norwich is lovely for families but I wouldn’t recommend it for someone in your position - not even in the same ball park socially as Bristol, Brighton, Manchester etc.

I am just going to throw Birmingham in there as a city that I prefer to Bristol or Brighton.

Cardiff, my Dd2 29 lives there, she goes running , theatres , sports, great cafes , shopping, gyms , beaches within a few miles . Airport and the bay . Great parks. Some really nice areas there to live in too.

Another vote for Cardiff - it's a great little city and lots going on. Lovely flats especially in the Cardiff Bay area. And welsh people are really friendly ☺️

If you want a city, Sheffield. Nowhere better in England I don't think.

Certainly cheaper than Bristol and Brighton. Has the old industrial areas transformed into new venues in the city and much more scenic on the doorstep. If you're an outdoorsy person it's right up your street.

Norwich or Edinburgh. Brighton is London prices and the "right-on"-ness is quite superficial. Some of the other towns along the coast are better value and nicer vibe.

@Endofyear yep I really like Cardiff - we do the reverse to lots of Welsh - they seem to all come to Bath for weekends- we get out of Bath and go to Cardiff for odd weekends!! Nice vibe, great indoor market and lovely arcades- bit lairy at night for us ( but then we are early 60s) so tend to go to Pontcanna or Whitchurch for meals/drinks at night - I do think it’s underrated- very good shopping too

No real advice but as you don't have any restrictions, I'd opt for somewhere with less expensive housing where you could get a lovely flat in the best/safest area rather than a more expensive city where you might have to compromise more on location.

I have the best of both worlds. I live slap bang in the middle between Bristol and Bath (a market town called Keynsham). It's close enough to be in the centre of either city by train (10 minutes) or bus (20 minutes) but far enough away to retreat to for some peace and quiet.
Both cities and the surrounding areas are very expensive though. Due to them both having two universities they have massive student populations and rents are high.

Have you thought about doing a stint abroad? New York, Paris, Berlin, you could have such a great time and you’re at the perfect time in your life to do it.

Up north alot cheaper xx

What is your budget?

Does it have to be a city? I was going to suggest Totnes in Devon which is often known as the Brighton of the south west.
If I were in your shoes I’d be tempted to put things in storage for a few months and travel about the Uk a bit and see if anywhere clicks. Assuming your work set up is easy to transport?
you could rent Airbnb for a few weeks and get to know potential areas without huge commitment.

Third it

Bristol is good, but depends on your budget, as not cheap, and it can be difficult to rent as places are snapped up quite quickly. Even the cheaper areas to rent are longer cheap!

Leamington Spa is lovely.

If I were in the same position, Manchester, Edinburgh or Cardiff.

I was wondering that too! So many deleted posts.

So sorry that you have been having such an awful time.

You say you have friends all over, where are they and also what sort of places do you like?
I have to say that Norwich is nice. Lots of history, also wide open spaces close by, decent train links and the beach is 20 miles away, also with good train links.

I lived in Cornwall, loved it with a passion, but the ex husband’s needs bought me up country. The south coast is fabulous.

What an adventure for you. I wish you the best.