Bristol and Cheltenham - best areas to live?
Discussion
I'd welcome some advice from the SW crowd.
I currently live in Asia - quite likely to be returning to the UK (on-off) from next year .
I'm thinking of getting a base in either Bristol or cheltenham - looking for a period flat quite close to entertainment / restaurants / culture etc.... That could be rented out when not in UK.
Any thoughts on relative merits of the 2 places, and what are the good areas ?
I prefer to live in a town which is quite lively , has good food/ culture / entertainments - and close to nice countryside / outdoor activities ( and my family live in the north Cotswolds so don't wish to be far away when in the UK .
Any advice greatly appreciated
I currently live in Asia - quite likely to be returning to the UK (on-off) from next year .
I'm thinking of getting a base in either Bristol or cheltenham - looking for a period flat quite close to entertainment / restaurants / culture etc.... That could be rented out when not in UK.
Any thoughts on relative merits of the 2 places, and what are the good areas ?
I prefer to live in a town which is quite lively , has good food/ culture / entertainments - and close to nice countryside / outdoor activities ( and my family live in the north Cotswolds so don't wish to be far away when in the UK .
Any advice greatly appreciated
The rental market in BS8 and BS6 is very strong. Rental flats go before they're on the market or at the first viewing. Great place to live for pubs, bars restaurant, events, things to do with Ashton Court and Durdham Downs.
Most property in the area are flats, houses with parking and a garden are hard to find and cost £500k as a minimum, more typically £700k. A decent 2bed flat is around £280k
Bristol has a very good entertainment culture. There's always something on especially busy in the summer with all the festivals and neighbourhood street parties and fairs on the parish greens. there are significant developments for the city in the future too
Most property in the area are flats, houses with parking and a garden are hard to find and cost £500k as a minimum, more typically £700k. A decent 2bed flat is around £280k
Bristol has a very good entertainment culture. There's always something on especially busy in the summer with all the festivals and neighbourhood street parties and fairs on the parish greens. there are significant developments for the city in the future too
Edited by SpagBog on Sunday 16th November 21:58
Edited by SpagBog on Sunday 16th November 21:58
miniman said:
For me, the downside to Bristol is that when presented with the opportunity to have traffic-free Sundays, this happened:
Oh aren't we all so alternative. Some manky sofas in the middle of the road. Smash the system etc.
Surprised the council would allow that - makes the street look like the local tip!Oh aren't we all so alternative. Some manky sofas in the middle of the road. Smash the system etc.
Thanks for suggestions
Any views on cheltenham?
msduk said:
miniman said:
Bath 
Yeah this! It does sound prefect given your wish list.Sticking to the question though. I don't know much about Cheltenham.
But Bristol areas you might like are -:
redland
clifton
cotham
I'm an agent in Bath so I'm biased!
Plenty of tourists of course and yes, at c80,000 people, it isn't big....but you can get around most of it on foot so no need to get snarled up in the constant traffic.
Huge choice of property, plenty of apartments either period or modern and strong letting demand. A lot of blocks here and elsewhere I imagine have restrictions on short term rentals (less than 6 months)as they're considered business use.
No shortage of culture, shops, eateries and stuff to do. A half decent rugby team based in the centre, reasonable and regular railway links to london (90 minutes average). By car, Heathrow about the same on an average day with J18 of the M4 being the nearest motorway link.
It can be expensive in parts and easy to get carried away with postcard locations.
HTH, Duncan.
Plenty of tourists of course and yes, at c80,000 people, it isn't big....but you can get around most of it on foot so no need to get snarled up in the constant traffic.
Huge choice of property, plenty of apartments either period or modern and strong letting demand. A lot of blocks here and elsewhere I imagine have restrictions on short term rentals (less than 6 months)as they're considered business use.
No shortage of culture, shops, eateries and stuff to do. A half decent rugby team based in the centre, reasonable and regular railway links to london (90 minutes average). By car, Heathrow about the same on an average day with J18 of the M4 being the nearest motorway link.
It can be expensive in parts and easy to get carried away with postcard locations.
HTH, Duncan.
Edited by LFB531 on Tuesday 18th November 10:33
Depending on your circumstances if you are aiming to travel out of the city...I'd recommend NOT Bristol.
For commuting unless you are locally situated to work, then its a shocker.
Yesterday morning I ran SWMBO into work leaving at 0600...I queued 20mins to go less than a mile at 0600 in the morning! Last week it took best part of two hours to go four miles on the commute home (half a mile covered in an hour), and SWMBO came home in a total grump last night after attempting to catch a bus at 1517 which turned up at 1650. She got home at 1810...best part of a three hour commute for 4 miles. Had she not be recovering from surgery she'd either walked or cycled it. Rush hour is pretty much between 0600 and 1000, 1500 and 1930 or any other time spans you can think of.
Bristol doesn't have many convenient rail links compared with UK major cities where as Bath on comparison a smaller city seems better served.
Central Bristol is seeking Residential Parking Zones (on the back burner I believe) but something to factor in especially if you are looking around the Clifton area.
If you are staying centrally then great, if you are commuting out of the city on a daily basis then I'd give it a wide berth. It would do your head in,...
For commuting unless you are locally situated to work, then its a shocker.
Yesterday morning I ran SWMBO into work leaving at 0600...I queued 20mins to go less than a mile at 0600 in the morning! Last week it took best part of two hours to go four miles on the commute home (half a mile covered in an hour), and SWMBO came home in a total grump last night after attempting to catch a bus at 1517 which turned up at 1650. She got home at 1810...best part of a three hour commute for 4 miles. Had she not be recovering from surgery she'd either walked or cycled it. Rush hour is pretty much between 0600 and 1000, 1500 and 1930 or any other time spans you can think of.
Bristol doesn't have many convenient rail links compared with UK major cities where as Bath on comparison a smaller city seems better served.
Central Bristol is seeking Residential Parking Zones (on the back burner I believe) but something to factor in especially if you are looking around the Clifton area.
If you are staying centrally then great, if you are commuting out of the city on a daily basis then I'd give it a wide berth. It would do your head in,...
If you want to live close to the action (such as it is!) in Cheltenham, then Montpellier is the place to be.
There are also some fairly decent places in Pittville, although this is much nearer the hoi polloi
There is an estate a mile or so out of town called Battledown that has some nice houses.
There are also some fairly decent places in Pittville, although this is much nearer the hoi polloi
There is an estate a mile or so out of town called Battledown that has some nice houses.
BristolRich said:
Depending on your circumstances if you are aiming to travel out of the city...I'd recommend NOT Bristol.
For commuting unless you are locally situated to work, then its a shocker.
My experience is different, fortunately. I can commute from six miles out, to the centre in less than 20 minutes even at rush hour. Although I suspect that the Mayor responsible for that Baldwin Street bFor commuting unless you are locally situated to work, then its a shocker.
ks up thread would dearly like to change that for me.BristolRich said:
Bristol doesn't have many convenient rail links compared with UK major cities where as Bath on comparison a smaller city seems better served.
Each and every train that stops at Bath also stops at Bristol Temple Meads, no matter where its coming from or going to. Bristol also has express trains to the north (Brum, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Scotland etc)whilst Bath has none, and one every half an hour to the south west (Exeter, Plymouth etc) whilst Bath has just a few per day.
Bristol also has more trains to South Wales than Bath does.
I would therefore respectfully suggest that your comment falls into the category of "misinformation."
rs1952 said:
I would therefore respectfully suggest that your comment falls into the category of "misinformation."
I think we are all intellegent enough to understand that by catching a train at a station you are able to travel further afield. That is, believe it or not, how transport systems tend to operate.The point I was making is that the distribution of stations across Bristol is not favourable for commuting from all locations like that compared with major Cities.
There are high population areas that are not served by rail or other means of transport.
Investment and change is coming but not overnight.
Not sure how that is providing a misinformed opinion?
Edited by BristolRich on Wednesday 19th November 09:22
BristolRich said:
Bristol doesn't have many convenient rail links compared with UK major cities where as Bath on comparison a smaller city seems better served.
The way I read your sentence is that Bath is better served by trains than Bristol. This, as pointed out above, is manifestly not the case by any means.If you are now saying that Bristol Temple Meads station is inconveniently sited compared to Bath Spa station, I would have to agree up to a point because Bath station is slap bang next to the city centre, whilst Temple Meads is three-quarters of a mile away from the centre of Bristol. However, if you live in one of those cities and want to go somewhere by train then you will be starting from your front door, and generally not from the city centres, and that will involve getting to the station in the first place by some means or other. Therefore, whilst proximity to the city centre might be important to visitors to either city, for residents it makes precious little difference.
Given that Bristol is 5 rimes the size of Bath then you would realistically expect there to be some areas of it that are farther away from railway stations than others. However, the way this thread has been going is suggesting to the OP that, if he is thinking of Bristol for his relocation, then Clifton, Cotham or Redland might not be a bad idea. It just so happens that both Clifton and Redland have railway stations and, the last time I was on a train up there (about 4 months ago) they seemed pretty well patronised, especially Clifton.
Thanks for the comments everyone
Rail links would not be critical most days - though occasional good train times to London are useful ( i would prob be semi retired / retired ).
I guess all 3 places have individual merits(?)
Bristol : bigger , more going on - but maybe hassle on roads and possibly a few rough areas (?)
Bath : lovely architecture and art scene ... Good property looks rather pricy (like Bristol?)
Cheltenham: also good architecture and some nice parks/ squares. Property seems better value than the other 2 (?). Is there enough 'going on' socially and culturally - maybe...( probably easier to get in out of than the other 2 by car?)
Rail links would not be critical most days - though occasional good train times to London are useful ( i would prob be semi retired / retired ).
I guess all 3 places have individual merits(?)
Bristol : bigger , more going on - but maybe hassle on roads and possibly a few rough areas (?)
Bath : lovely architecture and art scene ... Good property looks rather pricy (like Bristol?)
Cheltenham: also good architecture and some nice parks/ squares. Property seems better value than the other 2 (?). Is there enough 'going on' socially and culturally - maybe...( probably easier to get in out of than the other 2 by car?)
evenflow said:
If you want to live close to the action (such as it is!) in Cheltenham, then Montpellier is the place to be.
There are also some fairly decent places in Pittville, although this is much nearer the hoi polloi
There is an estate a mile or so out of town called Battledown that has some nice houses.
Hmmm. Have seen some nice flats n houses on Rightmove facing Pittville park.There are also some fairly decent places in Pittville, although this is much nearer the hoi polloi
There is an estate a mile or so out of town called Battledown that has some nice houses.
( a huge 4.000+ ft2 one sold recently for 650-700 ... Seems kinda cheap for the size and location)
What areas in cheltenham rent out easily? ( if u are familiar with that)
And what areas do the hoi polloi live in? ( I would want to avoid 'ok ish' or rough areas... Stick to better areas)
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