As a Leeds almost-local I can tell you it's a lovely place with a great nightlife, but it is getting a bit gentrified as of late and most places charge you far more than they deserve to be able to. I can also testify than most of the residential areas are complete unmitigated shitholes, full of the kind of chav you thought had gone extinct at the close of the last decade. Video related.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK-okdwv09g

I can only assume Manchester is the same, if not worse.

I've not moved up Norf, but I have lived in both Leeds (natively) and Manchester for the past 5 years.

It depends what you want, really. There's not a huge difference between the two; Manchester is a bit bigger and is starting to gentrify at an alarming rate, cereal cafés and the lot.

That said, there is a lot to do here and you're not for from Leeds, Liverpool, or Sheffield if you want to visit. There are likely also more jobs here, depending on your field.

Manchester's dead nice, the cycle lanes are all over the shop though. I, likewise, don't know a thing about Leeds.

You could go absolutely mad and pick a city at random.

They're both very pleasant cities. Manchester has a bit more crime and a bit more traffic, but it's in a different league to London. Liverpool is very much worth adding to your shortlist - it's markedly friendlier than either Manchester or Leeds if you can tolerate the unique quirks of the People's Republic. If you're running away from yourself, there's a lot to be said for renting a cheap room in L7 and descending into bohemian degeneracy.

If you've been living in the London area, it's worth bearing in mind that Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are relatively well connected. Liverpool and Manchester in particular are progressively merging along the M62 and City Line corridor. Warrington is an extraordinarily boring town, but it's pleasant, affordable and within reasonable commuting range of both Liverpool and Manchester.

>>3435
I currently live in south hertfordshire but it may as well be Skye frankly.

I'm from a village in South Cambs and spent half a decade in Brighton (which I dearly miss, despite the lefty madness), since then I've just been floating between places in the east/southeast. I have no connection to anywhere. I have two friends in London but it may as well be a different planet, I just want someone not inordinately expensive in which the prospect of building a social life exists.

I've lived in Manchester and Leeds, they're both pretty similar. I prefer Leeds but not for any real reason other than I prefer the West Yorkshire countryside that surrounds it. You'll likely enjoy either more than the south, unless you're from a twee little village somewhere and have no street smarts, in which case you'll either be murdered or trafficked pretty quickly.

Edinburgh seems like the standout choice to me, It's a lovely city, but rather expensive.

I've been thinking of escaping London and moving within commuting distance to a small city surrounded by nice, unpopulated landscapes. Which places should I consider? Inverness seems like the only place that ticks all those boxes.

>>3438
Inverness is the only place wkth unpopulated places nearby.

>>3436

Try Liverpool. The housing is ludicrously cheap and the people are irritatingly friendly.

>>3440
Seconding. Liverpool is the only place I've been where you walk down the street and random people will smile at you and say "y'aright la?"

Liverpool is the best place I've ever lived.

>>3440
>>3441

I think that makes a huge difference if you're socially awkward. It's like interacting with people after everyone's had a few drinks.