London or Bristol?

[Steeley]

I'm moving to the UK in a few weeks but I'm still tossing up about where to live. I've created a short-list of London or Bristol based on the closeness to family and friends.

London's the beating heart of the UK and the gateway to continental Europe, but I hear the rent and cost of living can be prohibitively expensive. I hear Bristol is a beautiful city with a much cheaper cost of living, but I'm not sure of the job prospects or connections to the continent.

So I guess I'm throwing this out to the Brits. If you were going to start a new life in the UK which would you choose?

[MightyJordan]

Go for Bristol. You'd have to be really loaded to live in London. It's also quite a hellhole. I went there 3 years ago, and it looked terrible. I was in West London, though, so not the best example to go by! :D

Bristol is much nicer, and from my experience, the people there are much more friendly. Then again, all of us from the South West are friendly, *south west voice* my luvver! */south west voice* :D

BTW, I am from the South West, very South in fact, so don't have a go at me! :p

[Timelimit]

I'd say go for london...but i'm a bit bias in my suggestion :)

yup, the city can be expensive, but if you look round you can get a flatshare or a one bedroom for a decent price (on the edge of london a one bedroom flat wouldnt be too bad that is). Also the renting market is pretty good at the moment as supply is far higher than demand so land lords seem to be finally offering some good deals. Bristol is a very nice city, but transport links from london are damn good, be it by plane, train or car and it would be a good base from which to see the rest of the UK and Europe. As I said i'm a bit bias being a londoner, but some parts of the city can be scummy (same for most cities around the world) but the city itself is such a melting pot of culture and history that it's definately a great place to live.

You can check sites like www.gumtree.com and www.rightmove.com for flats and flatshares etc, and just google areas of london to look for comments from locals and visitors. Even though the financial markets may be quite rocky at the moment there are still jobs to be had (you didnt mention which field you work/plan to work in).

Good luck in your decision, and wrap up warm! its freezing over here at the moemnt :(

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

I love London, but would probably live in Bristol out of the 2.

[BGM]

I would say Bristol, it's a really really nice place and pretty much everyone I know that has done more then just visit for the day loves it

why not try renting for a few months in both??

[richardsim7]

Brighton ftw! :D

-Rich-

[Lee G. Veteran]

Bristol.

My family home is in the south of London, but I am from Bristol, and my extended family live there. Although it's convenient to live near or in London, I still prefer Bristol, it's a very nice place.

[chrismaddern]

What is it that you do?

I live in Bristol; attending Bristol University and am about to finish my degree in Computer Science. I'm looking for jobs and there seems to be plenty of work / opportunities around here. London wages are higher, but the cost of living is also higher so it tends to just be a higher 'throughput' as opposed to more cash in your bank account :).

Good luck in your search....

Chris

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

Are you renting or living with someone? Are you going to be working here? If you can, then try some time in both.

I think London probably has a lot more going on, more things to do, more shops, bigger and more everything than Bristol .. a lot depends on your general lifestyle and plans for when you get here.

I spent some time living in Bristol. I think it's a beautiful place, at least in the central areas where the university and residences are situated and I'd choose it over London for a permanent home. I guess I am quite biased, London just doesn't appeal all that much to me.

[Steeley]

I'm in finance so I'll be working in a fund manger's company, a bank, or an IFA office. I've heard they've just brought Wraps to the UK and a lot of Wrap providers are making Bristol head office. London is the finance hub though...another dilemma.

I'll be renting, probably in share accommodation until I'm more certain of income and expenses.

Certainly some interesting views!

[kernatch]

lundun