The problem with answering these sorts of questions is that I've not really lived in the places I imagine living in would be nice - and I suspect reality may fall short of the fantasy.  Still, to answer the question - if I was to live in a city in the UK (with no questions around cost/work) it'd be Edinburgh - easy access to the coast, a beautiful city, decent enough facilities, history, culture etc etc.  Of the towns - probably Alnwick in Northumberland.  Similarly historic and beautiful, not far from the sea and the countryside, just off the A1 so easy to get to elsewhere when needed, and it has my favourite bookshop in the country.

However, these are, as I say, both pretty much tourist answers - and those on here who actually live in Edinburgh are probably rolling their eyes slightly at my description...

I guess, given those caveats, it might also help to talk about the place I do live (particularly as you're vaguely eyeing up Yorkshire).  It's a place called Ripon, which is technically a city, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a small town. It's nice. Loads of surrounding countryside, a world heritage site, and again just off the A1 for easy access to other places.  On the flip side, it's incredibly parochial (currently the city is tearing itself apart over an argument about whether the cathedral should be allowed to cut down some trees to build an extension.)  You asked about racists - Ripon's one of those places that I would describe as English middle class racist.  Little overt racism, but lots of "where do you come from?" questions, and subtle reminders that you're different. Often well meaning, but othering none the less.

I'm relatively near York and Leeds - both cities I love, and both quite different from each other. York is the smaller of the two by far, steeped in history, and with quite an eclectic, fairly academic feel to the populous, but it's not particularly diverse. (Again, quite white middle class, but more left leaning than the more rural towns and villages in this bit of Yorkshire.). It doesn't quite match Leeds for venues, but does well for food and drink, and there are some incredible restaurants tucked away in the snickets and side alleys. The road network was designed by Romans and not much updated since, so driving can be a challenge. (Cycling is popular as a result). Rail connections on the other hand are really good - you can be in London or Edinburgh in 2.5 hours. Oh, and if you do move to York for God's sake don't buy a house by the river unless you like spending a month year wading through flood waters.

Leeds is bigger with all the good and bad that comes with it. I went to Uni in Leeds and will forever love it as a result. Cultural opportunities are more varied - decent theatres, gig venues, clubs etc. (The Brudenell Social Club being my favourite place to see a band in the country.) It's a more diverse population than York, and events around Leeds tend to reflect that. It also means however that in some of the more deprived parts of the city, the racism switches from the polite middle class stuff of Ripon/York to overt hostility. 
Despite that last sentence, I'd say the people are generally really lovely and friendly. (As a southerner who lives in the north, I'm embarrassed to say that my experience is that all the cliches about northern people being friendlier are sadly true.) Leeds is maybe a bit more "proper Yorkshire" in that respect. 

So, yeah, that's York and Leeds for you. Hope it's vaguely helpful.

acemuzzy wrote:

May I suggest the London Borough of Enfield? Truly Eden on Earth.

Yes, because I'm here.

nick_md wrote:

There are no pound shops in Poundbury.

acemuzzy wrote:

There are, they're just all underground

And Yes.  A rare occasion where you actually made a good joke.  Relish it.

Ards Peninsula over here is a beautiful place and close enough to Belfast to commute.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ards_Peninsula
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangford_Lough

JonB wrote:

I'm thinking of moving back to the UK, probably around 1.5-2 years from now, and seeing as my wife and I both work from home, we can pretty much pick our location. Due to the rent costs and our modest budget, we're thinking of heading North. Maybe Yorkshire or as far up as Northumberland, where you get more for your money. Scotland is probably too far away from family, unfortunately. We'd like to be near a city - York, Leeds, Newcastle, perhaps - but it could be a small town, as long as it's a decent area. We're open to alternative ideas, too. Is there anywhere not North that would be worth considering and doesn't cost silly money? Or, to make it a more general discussion, where would you live if you could pick your spot in the UK, regardless of budget?

Where are you moving from?

I've lived in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire for over 10 years now. Might be worth a look since you mentioned York and Leeds. It's a market town known for its independence, art scene, left-leaning politics and high % of lesbians per capita (highest in UK). It's quirky, extremely scenic and hilly, has great schooling options. It's touristy, which means the weekends get busy in town and effectively, Monday is Sunday here. The tourism leads to many amenities, lots of cafes and more importantly a very impressive number of bars and traditional pubs where you can get a great pint. We have a council run cinema (currently being extended to include a 2nd screen), an amazing independent music venue called The Trades Club, small theatre and loads of local groups. If you like the outdoors it should definitely be on your radar. Big mountain biking scene here, plus loads of ultra-running.

I work from home and am not required to be in an office, but Manchester and Leeds are both commutable. In fact, I take a trip into Manchester every week or so to spend a day in a co-working office and doing City stuff. It's Northern Rail, which is a bit shit, but the fastest train to Manchester is only 28 mins I think.

My pitch for Glasgow and it's suburbs is that here, on your doorstep you'll have probably the most vibrant and diverse cultural scene, amazing architecture, amazing food/nightlife etc but then also the fact that, you can literally drive for about an hour north and you're in prime Visit Scotland tourism movie scene postcards, real LOTR stuff. It's crazy how small Scotland is sometimes.

Something to look out for and take advantage of is postcode snobbery.
My place is equal distance to Leeds and Bradford, doesn't really feel like actually being in either, it is its own place. Leeds council but Bradford postcode.
Those two letters in my address probably saved me 10-15% on my house. Its stupid but a lot of people don't want a Bradford postcode.

There will undoubtedly be similar elsewhere in the country.

I should probably move at some point. Aberdeen, Hull, Leeds again, York would all probably suit.

tin_robot wrote:

I guess, given those caveats, it might also help to talk about the place I do live (particularly as you're vaguely eyeing up Yorkshire).  It's a place called Ripon, which is technically a city, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a small town. It's nice. Loads of surrounding countryside, a world heritage site, and again just off the A1 for easy access to other places.  On the flip side, it's incredibly parochial (currently the city is tearing itself apart over an argument about whether the cathedral should be allowed to cut down some trees to build an extension.)  You asked about racists - Ripon's one of those places that I would describe as English middle class racist.  Little overt racism, but lots of "where do you come from?" questions, and subtle reminders that you're different. Often well meaning, but othering none the less. I'm relatively near York and Leeds - both cities I love, and both quite different from each other. York is the smaller of the two by far, steeped in history, and with quite an eclectic, fairly academic feel to the populous, but it's not particularly diverse. (Again, quite white middle class, but more left leaning than the more rural towns and villages in this bit of Yorkshire.). It doesn't quite match Leeds for venues, but does well for food and drink, and there are some incredible restaurants tucked away in the snickets and side alleys. The road network was designed by Romans and not much updated since, so driving can be a challenge. (Cycling is popular as a result). Rail connections on the other hand are really good - you can be in London or Edinburgh in 2.5 hours. Oh, and if you do move to York for God's sake don't buy a house by the river unless you like spending a month year wading through flood waters. Leeds is bigger with all the good and bad that comes with it. I went to Uni in Leeds and will forever love it as a result. Cultural opportunities are more varied - decent theatres, gig venues, clubs etc. (The Brudenell Social Club being my favourite place to see a band in the country.) It's a more diverse population than York, and events around Leeds tend to reflect that. It also means however that in some of the more deprived parts of the city, the racism switches from the polite middle class stuff of Ripon/York to overt hostility.  Despite that last sentence, I'd say the people are generally really lovely and friendly. (As a southerner who lives in the north, I'm embarrassed to say that my experience is that all the cliches about northern people being friendlier are sadly true.) Leeds is maybe a bit more "proper Yorkshire" in that respect.  So, yeah, that's York and Leeds for you. Hope it's vaguely helpful.

It is. The wife was looking at Ripon, along with Knaresborough and Harrogate, although the latter seemed too expensive and the traffic is apparently awful there. I don't know if that's your experience. But yeah, Ripon is likely to stay on the list.

drumbeg wrote:

I've lived in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire for over 10 years now. Might be worth a look since you mentioned York and Leeds. It's a market town known for its independence, art scene, left-leaning politics and high % of lesbians per capita (highest in UK). It's quirky, extremely scenic and hilly, has great schooling options. It's touristy, which means the weekends get busy in town and effectively, Monday is Sunday here. The tourism leads to many amenities, lots of cafes and more importantly a very impressive number of bars and traditional pubs where you can get a great pint. We have a council run cinema (currently being extended to include a 2nd screen), an amazing independent music venue called The Trades Club, small theatre and loads of local groups. If you like the outdoors it should definitely be on your radar. Big mountain biking scene here, plus loads of ultra-running. I work from home and am not required to be in an office, but Manchester and Leeds are both commutable. In fact, I take a trip into Manchester every week or so to spend a day in a co-working office and doing City stuff. It's Northern Rail, which is a bit shit, but the fastest train to Manchester is only 28 mins I think.

The hills and outdoors stuff might be a negative, but otherwise that sounds interesting. I'll keep an eye on it on Rightmove.

Stratford on Avon

Loads of Northumberland is ace, Alnwick as mentioned for Barter Books, the gardens and castle. But it's a funny old shank to Coventry from there isn't it?

If I were you, Jon, I’d draw a big circle around Coventry and use that as a ‘place I have to be near to’. Look north towards Leicester and Derby and south towards Stratford-upon-Avon and Northampton.

Southwards being more expensive but posher/nicer. Northwards being more diverse and friendlier.

As much as I’d rather recommend Central Scotland or the north of England, you’d be a long way from the parents if they needed you.

Re: distance to family, one of the things I like about living near Edinburgh (and previously in Edinburgh) is that if I plan ahead, I can be in central London for £100 by 0830.  It's an extremely well connected city, with lots of flights, an accessible airport, and both east and west coast train lines passing through.

Halifax. It's still cheapish, for now. Beware anywhere that's likely to flood. Climate change should be a factor if you're planning on buying.

Just to make sure you'll look at Halifax properly I'll try and sell it some more. I don't live there but I will when the boy grows up.

Great links to Leeds or Manchester. All the nice Yorkshire and Lancashire stuff isn't far away and a direct train to London if you need it.
Cheap for a reasonable old stone house.
Great views of the surrounding Calder Valley.
Friendly and full of Northern charm.
Village feel but great pubs and places to eat.
Wonderful Victorian market bang in the middle - although not as good as Kirkgate in Leeds.
The Peace Hall - google it.