BRISTOL

[bodycolder]

Nicest area to live if money no onject?Not for me but a relocating friend.Doesn't need schools etc just nice social cafes etc Thanks xx

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Clifton without a doubt.

Clifton, Cotham, Redland, Westbury Park, Westbury-on-Trym all nice (which is reflected in property prices).

Have a look at the harbor area too....

thank you Thanks thats so helpful All very sudden move from london!

Depends what you want - areas are all fairly defined.

Clifton - lovely area, expensive, lots of students in term time, nightmare for parking!

Montpelier - 'bohemian' feel - if I wanted to live in the centre, I would live here, as is little oasis. However, quite close to St Pauls/Stokes Croft which isn't so great. But easy access to trains (has its own station on branch line). Close to Gloucester Road for shopping (lots of indie shops, not so any chains), and also centre (including new Cabot Circus - which is nice).

Redland - leafy, green suburbia. Has train station for link onto branch line, but I've never felt is has much 'community spirit' there like some other areas have.

Henleaze - familyish area - nice, local shops, rubbish public transport links.

Waterfront - lots of 'glass flats' - lots going on, festivals etc, lots of pubs down there. Not beautiful houses though.

Sneyd Park/Stoke Bishop - the 'posh end' of Bristol. Big houses, moderate gardens, trees.

If schools really aren't an issue I would go for Montpelier tbh. I love it down there, but schools would mean it wasn't an option for us atm.

totterdown

Cliftonwood...ooooh baby,posharola...near the downs,zoo,suspension bridge..has all that cafe stuff.can walk to the main shops,near th edocks...some spectacular housing..great views of the city.all great.

Montpelier is also lovely...soem great houses,very individual.has an urban village community feel (thats a twunty thing to say,but i know what i mean and its a good thang!)...it would be where i would like to live. i have great memories of montpelier going through the years.

quite alot of burglaries though..

this has really been helpful.

Clifton Village
Clifton Wood
Leigh Woods
Abbots Leigh
Sneyd Park
Stoke Bishop

Clifton
Redland
Long Ashton if you don't mind being out a bit
Cliftonwood
Hotwells
Cotham
Westbury Park

This is like Mornington Crescent!

Abbots Leigh

Is it ok to resurrect/butt into this threat?
Does anyone else think that there isn't much community feel in Redland? Is it better in Cotham end?
Henleaze - we looked at here but couldn't find the heart of the place. My husband thought it seemed too suburban with not much going on - what do people who know it properly think??
If you live in montpelier or St Andrews what state secondary school do people end up going to?

I don't really know about community feel but I find Redland a bit 'blah'. I'm not sure if it is the fact that there is no real centre to it (the Gloucester Road shops are a strip of shops to one side of it).

I did live briefly on Chandos Road and I would imagine there would be a better community feel going on at that end as there are shops and people milling about.

I like Henleaze, I like the High Street and shops with the park at the end. It isn't far from the Downs/Clifton/Westbury On Trym.

There were kids from St Andrews and Montpelier at Cotham Grammar when I went there. You could apply for Redland Green but probably won't get in. Otherwise it would be Fairfield.

Westbury on Trym gets my vote!!Westbury village excellent for cafes, shops etc and also not far from Clifton for the Clifton shops/cafes

Waterfront is lovely in the day BUT a nightmare at weekends as drunken people walking up and down the area - I wouldn't live there

Clifton - very studenty but fab for cafes, restaurants, shops, train and bus links but the parking is awful and I've found the street lighting very bad - not ideal if you are using public transport and have to walk home

Redland - nice family area but not too much in the way of cafes/shops, unless you live in a part of Redland bordering on Clifton. Cotham is very nice but close to the Bristol Royal Infirmary so there is a spill over of parking there and its hell to park - think they are even talking about residents permits..if they haven't already

I'd say St Andrews area & Montpelier = colstons for girls, Cotham or Fairfield. If you like those sorts of areas I'd say Bishopston is along a similar vein but some parts are int he catchment for Redland Green (thinking Bishop Rd, Cornwall Rd side of things.) the thing is with Redland and CLifton is that they are so havily populated with students that there really does seem to be no heart. Henleaze has a good community feel IMO as does Westbury & Westbury On T.

If I had all the money in the world I'd live in Sneyd Park and pay out for a private secondary. [dreams]

I'd live in Leigh Woods if I were minted, just a short stroll across the Suspension Bridge to Clifton Village and a stones throw in the other direction to Ashton Court and countryside.

LOL

But, yes, I see your point, not for everyone!

I did it once...had to stop several times and sit down, ashen faced and sweating while DH sniggered and drivers looked at me with puzzlement...I even had to stop eating the ice cream I had bought!!!

I would definitely feel wobbly on the bridge. Even driving!!
Do you think you would really notice the students if you were trying to live a family oriented life there?
I did notice that in cotham gardens and redland park there weren't actually that many children playing (certainly not compared to london parks which can be more crowded than the tube!)

I thought St Andrews / Bishopston area seemed nice, but then secondary does seem a bit more limited - Fairfield doesn't look that good on paper - what's the local view (often more interesting than results or ofsted alone?).

You do notice them, I mean the first few weeks of uni term, the Sainsburys in Clifton down is just filled with them, stocking their baskets with more alcohol than food!

But, I lived in Clifton for over three years and I never had any problem with it and I have to say, I quite liked the studenty vibe about the place - its quite open, accepting and chilled out. Its more of a cafe culture than getting hammered and baring arses in the street I've found so I didn't feel too unsafe, although petty car crime is a problem in Clifton

The danger is buying a house in a road where there are a lot of buy to let student properties - the houses in Clifton/Redland are big and can hold minimum of 4/5 students, which is ok if they are studious post grad types, but not if 1st time freshers and party types! That's something worth checking out.

Also, the Downs and Ashton Court have a lot of festivals - ballon fiesta, kite festival, fairs at Easter etc, all of which put a strain on the parking and traffic through Clifton - all worth bearing in mind

As for that bridge - I wind my window down when I go across it after a friend told me that if a car falls into water, an open window will allow water in and equalise the pressure so you can open car door and escape. DH thinks I'm nuts when I do this