@@wendywolfmanwash your mouth out with soap and water Bath is much cleaner and built by real stonemasons from Rome. York city is a shambles compared Norwich is nice though.
@@dorkbrandon4422 I'm from the Lake District and now live in London, and I love it. I moved back up North briefly during the pandemic, but couldn't wait to get back. As it says in the video there are good and bad bits, but overall it's a fantastic city. Definitely better than Carlisle, which is a dump and somewhere I hated going when I was a kid.
@@robinj6137 I wouldn't go that far, some other parts of the UK are perfectly livable, but the thing with London is that once you're used to it anywhere else seems pokey and a bit lifeless.
I like the railway station in Carlisle. It has the be the only railway station in the whole of Britain that I actually don’t mind sitting and waiting to change trains. The atmosphere is pleasant and it’s never crowded which is always a bonus!
The only downside is that it's a bit light on facilities. It could do with a decent cafe or bar (there's meant to be one near the entrance but it never seems to be open). Tbf, Botchergate is only about a minute's walk (and more low key areas not much further again) so whiling a long evening connection with a pint of two is no hardship
Have to agree with you it is a nice train station & the big bonus it's completely covered by a massive glass roof,many train stations up & down the country are pretty much open to the elements!!
@@patrickchampion8179 Always nice to have a pint whilst waiting for a train. Only issue I have (being over 60) is that if you need a piss, and you will after 3 pints, you have to hope there's a bog on the train, it's not shut nor smeared in excrement ...
The airport was commercialized right before lockdown and ended up going back to private use. We also have a grounded Vulcan bomber available to view without having to pay an entry fee. I often slate Carlisle but it is actually a really nice place to live and it's good to see it get some positive recognition as we're often so overlooked up here.
Living in London and being from the Lakes, I seriously considered starting to use Carlisle airport for visiting family, especially considering how expensive the train can get. Shame I never got the chance before the route closed again. Was that because of the pandemic then?
I don’t know if I ever make it to Carlisle, but it’s uplifting to know that there are still nice places. Perhaps subscribing to this channel makes a bleak sentiment creep in in the long run.
Carlisle is a good place. Fantastic bookshop and cafe called Bookcase and the amazing Alexandros Greek restaurant. Most of the people are friendly too. The cathedral is beautiful too. Your on the mainline to Glasgow and London too.
Myself and my partner moved to Carlisle less than a year ago from Cornwall. Best move we ever made, Carlisle has been great. Amazing history, great transport links, a high street that still has something going for it and some great places to eat out. The locals are great as well, very welcoming. Genuinely good people. Special mention to Hereford as well, very similar to Carlisle.
Norwich is a pretty nice place to be too. Lots of history, a Norman castle, two cathedrals, the original 900 year old one with the huge spire, and an RC one that's about 150 years old. At one time there were more than enough churches for a different one every Sunday. Then there was the pub situation, with around two pubs for every day of the year. And that was within the old city walls. Plenty of nightlife, and the University of East Anglia has a lot of really good gigs, with some pretty large bands playing the Student Union venues.
I have lived in Carlisle, Reading, Hounslow, Chester and Caernarfon during the past 40 years. I can without a doubt place Chester as the nicest place to live with Carlisle being a close second and Hounslow a distant last place.
A very fair survey of Carlisle. I would also rate York and Norwich. The Carlisle accent isn't soft Geordie - it is a Scots / Lancashire mix, genuinely "north country."
I've heard loads of people with a soft Geordie accent in Carlisle, especially in the outskirt towns like Dalston. It most definitely does not sound Scottish other than Scots coming across the boarder for shopping. Which most from Gretna Green and Lockerbie do. Where are you getting Lancashire accent from have you even been???? Parts of penrith do but Carlise certainly does not!!!!!
I'm born and bred on Carlisle and still live here 59 years on. I would agree with you. Our accent isn't soft Geordie it's more as you say a mixture of a few accents that blended to make in my opinion a very unique Carlisle accent😊
@@trish8765 It is certainly unique. Having lived in the NE for on and off for nearly 50years (originally from Lancs) and my wife from Dumfries I can vouch for the numbers of people from Carlisle who have worked in Newcastle and North Tyneside who retain their distinctive accent, much closer to mine than Geordie, but not in any way the same. Certain inflections are similar to lowland Scots and, thinking about it, there are several similarities with Northumberland. It is a fine city and prosperous - the Carlisle Golf Club was packed on Sunday morning when I drove past a few weeks ago. The shops in the city have suffered from Covid but seem to be recovering better than in Newcastle.
Wells is beautiful and for those who want larger city facilities Bath and Bristol are handily close along with Bristol airport and loads of beautiful countryside and places like Cheddar Gorge and the Somerset coast are handy. Somerset people are also lovely I have lived here for past 35 years and will never leave now.
Despite the lack of railway station (Wells used to have three IIRC), the bus links to Bath and Bristol are actually decent for those who don't fancy driving
We moved to Bath 20 months ago after 45 years in east London and we just love it. We've met more folk since we've been here than all our time in London. Pubs are great, very safe overall, buildings lovely, surrounding countryside beautiful. And Mr Turdtown's accent is now pretty familiar to me, lol. Don't think it's "barf" though. We never stop saying what a fantastic move it was and how we can't imagine living anywhere else (in the UK at least).
If you went to Carlisle on a Saturday night you might have a different opinion. The last trains from Carlisle to the Cumbrian coast are dry trains (no alcohol) and need the police force to screen all the passengers before they get on! Lovely
Carlisle indeed has some grotty bits like everywhere else, but overall seems a pretty nice area to live in. An historic city, a pleasant town centre, good parks, excellent transport links (there are 6 rail routes converging on the city, a similar number of long distance A roads to and from the city and even a motorway heading north and south). As an important regional centre, it also has all the retail outlets and services you might expect. The place also had it's own regional ITV station (Border tv, now broadcast from Newcastle) and an airport (mothballed since covid). Property is relatively affordable (beware of floodable areas) and there would seem to be jobs here, with half the average joblessness of the region.
Lancaster is the best city! Smallish (for a city) so nice and quiet but loads of amazing food places still. Has the Uni so not just full of angry old people. 5 mins from the M6, less than an hour from Manchester and only just over 2 hours on the train to London. The river lune goes right through the middle and that and the canal has endless lovely walks or cycle rides. Easy access to the lake District too. Perfect!
Personally I like Cardiff. Plenty of independent shops right in the centre, the bay is nice. Decent transport links though buses can be a bit funky. The valleys are pretty. The people here are actually really friendly though there's always some nobheads. It's easy to walk around most of the best bits if you're reasonably able. It has plenty of things that could improve of course but I've lived here nearly 3 years and I love it.
Not a fan of Cardiff. I have lived there. The City cannot handle the amount of people when it holds a big event at The Principality Stadium. The Transport system is rubbish too.
Thanks for this video, I've lived my whole life here and I've come to realise that while Carlisle is relatively isolated from other parts of England and the UK, that's actually not a bad thing at all and I do like where I live. P.S. please delete the part where you talk about house prices before everyone moves here and I get priced out of buying one myself lol.
Interested to hear about Carlisle, shame the location is so inconvenient. IMO York is the best city in the UK, just simply gorgeous and the best pub crawls in the country
@@Martin-88i do understand, but tbh outside of the shambles it can be very peaceful and quiet. And the only times I head there is when I want be in a busy and thriving area!
Chester is the best city in the UK. Long history, nice looking, close to beaches, hills, nice countryside- and big cities. 2 hours from london. A scene of its own. And you can afford a house.
@swifts6879 3 bed terraces can be got for for between 250k and 300k in walking distance to the city centre. In a city nice as chester? depends on your frame of reference like all things but I thing bang for buck it I hold it beats almost anywhere on cost/benefit. Maybe this exposes my biases I dunno
Lived in Carlisle for most of my 61 years. Carlisle people are on the whole welcoming and friendly. Although the town centre has lost many shops over the last 3 years ( like many places i would imagine) it still has a decent selection of High street staples like M&S, Primark, House of Fraser etc and a good selection of independant shops and cafes. It is an attractive city with many historic buildings and reasonably priced housing. Wouldnt want to live anywhere else!
I've only lived in Carlisle for 15 months,but I've never understood how M&S manages to stay open, bizarrely it has 2 stores next door to each other (I'm assuming one of them was an old Littlewoods store?) and a foodhall tagged onto the back of one of the stores....no matter what 'section' of store I go in,it's universally 'dead' and I'm assuming probably running a massive loss year in,year out judging by the unsold food & reductions in the food section!! Maybe M&S keep it on regardless because of its strategic importance in being 'the border city'.....although that seems a little far fetched tbh?!!
The people of Carlisle have had historically bad hair, so it's good to see the council encouraging the opening of dozens of Turkish barbers in the last few years.
Really appreciate your videos. As someone (obviously) living in london, slaving away to capitalism with limited time to leave the city, it can be hard to get any kind of feeling of how the rest of the UK looks like. Definitely rightmove-ing this one now!
Loads of great towns to be fair, but with you on the cities. Most are post industrial and look it, not to mention destroyed during the war and hastily and cheaply rebuilt. That said, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, York, Canterbury, Wells, Bristol, Winchester, Brighton, Norwich, Exeter, Truro and, of course, London are all nice cities and well worth a visit. As for towns - I'd be here all day. Most market towns are nice and typically surrounded by gorgeous countryside and villages. I love driving the A Roads in the Cotswolds and South West, in particular. Stunning places.
Consistently good content. I love that you flip the commentary occasionally to praise the good. Its crucially important when town councils too often sell out public spaces to private developers in exchange for some modest amenity they promise, to recall the best spaces are still publicly owned and developed organically, gently adapted to collective desires. We all need to notice what we have got and work to keep the good. Great use of drone footage. Pan a little bit slower with the phone, though. The walking shots would be better with that smoothing algorithm available on some phones. Subscribed!
IMO Sheffield is the best city to live in England, it's ome of the largest cities yet is both full of nature and isn't only close to the Peak District, it crosses into it, so you can actually live in both Sheffield and the Peak District. The city centre itself is mid but the surrounding areas are varied, independant, and have a great sense of place. It's also the greenest city in europe woth approx 5 trees per person. Despite being the 4th biggest city im england (by single city limits population) it always feels small, accessible, and friendly.
I just moved form London to Carlisle , the people , business's and location are all great . You are so right about the food its so much better up here .
FUN FACT: Carlisle actually used to be a part of Scotland before King William II invaded and moved the border northwards. I always loved the walkability of Carlisle's city centre, especially when coming in by train and walking out of its grand interchange of a station, being greeted by the stunning castle turrets of its citadel as you walk along spacious pedestrianised streets, which run right through its main shopping areas all the way to the main castle. What's more, the majority of the city's tourist attractions (cathedral, museums, tourist information centre) are within this central pedestrianised zone so everything you need when visiting is within easy reach. To be fair, a population of 77k isn't too bad for a city (it's getting close to 100k anyway) given how many cities are much smaller than this (quite a handful around 20k and some even the size of villages) and especially compared to the rest of Cumbria, it definitely holds up. Given its geographic and historic importance, as well as being a key hub for Anglo-Scottish transport (you saw how amazing its railway station looked), this is one of the few smaller cities that makes perfect sense being called a city rather than a town. I can say the same about the similar-sized Chester, which is a major hub on the Welsh border (there are actually many similarities between Chester and Carlisle) and people in North Wales actually see it the same way we see Liverpool and Manchester.
Great video. It looks like heaven. I think there's lots of nice towns but it's the people that make you either feel welcome or not. If I think of all the places live lived it's the association with friends rather than necessarily the scenery that stands out. It tends to be friendly up north, people are more open and socialable towards strangers. Liverpool, The Wirral and the surrounding area (like Formby and The Moss) is scores pretty highly I'd say. I liked your piece thanks.
I'd go with best big city as Newcastle (epic setting on the steep banks of the Tyne and bridges to suit, wasn't bombed bad in war so central areas aren't boring and cookie cutter, random little metro system, notably cool green areas like Jesmond Dene, good regional identity and not overrun with crime). Small city: Bath (prettiest urban environment in the UK no contest). For 'large town', Huddersfield, also pretty and cute and rich in historical heritage. Durham, Norwich, Sheffield, Carlisle all underrated. Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Teesside, Glasgow a mixed bag. London hard to evaluate fully. The best and (very often) the absolute worst of UK urban environment to be found there. Everywhere else: dull as dishwater.
I'm an Edinburgh fan as I live nearby but my work hq is carlisle so I've spent a good few weeks training there and visit regularly and I have to say I love it too.
It is also worth noting that Carlisle is a place with an amazing football heritage. There’s a quiet revolution going on with Carlisle United. There new American owners are competent and have commitment to the cause. Carlisle United are a coming force in football. It’s amazing to enjoy standing. The new owners have good plans for the ground. So close to Lakeland! So good for getting to Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds and Lancashire. The M6 is indeed a joy past Lancaster
Favourite cities: Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, York, Canterbury, Wells, Bristol, Winchester, Brighton, Norwich, Exeter, Truro and, of course, London. As for towns - I'd be here all day. Most market towns are nice and typically surrounded by gorgeous countryside and villages. I love driving the A Roads in the Cotswolds and South West, in particular. Stunning places.
I've been to Carlisle twice & it's wonderful. Superb Victorian railway station that still retains its uniqueness, the citadel and the castle also well worth a visit. Definitely agree about the football club. Proper old school. Wouldn't mind moving up there if I could afford to. Miles better than that absolute pile of turd called Bristol I once lived in.
Been there a couple of times and I'm going there again this weekend. I look out for the Carlisle Utd away fixture when checking my team's fixtures. I make a long weekend of it and do something on the Sunday as there is a huge amount of places to visit nearby.
Carlisle I think is more like a mini-York than a mini-Newcastle.....it has all the good bits of York without the over-tourism and high prices. Newcastle is also underrated as a city....but my favourite might actually be Inverness...it has the odd rough bit but it's lively, welcoming, bustling and surrounded by some of the wildest and loveliest scenery in the country. Inverness has great pubs and restaurants, arts venues and lots of independent shops including a pretty Victorian-era arcade in the centre of town.
You could add another plus if you like scenic railway journeys. From Carlisle there are the following options: North on the West Coast Main Line over the Scottish border skirting (kilting?) the Southern Uplands; South on the West Coast Main Line and on to Windermere in the Lake District via Oxenholme near Kendal; South-west on the Cumbria Coast Line; East to Newcastle across the North Pennines near Hadrians Wall and Northumberland National Park; Most famously south-Eeast on the Settle to Carlisle line through the North Pennines and into the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Fun fact: for one week at the start of the 74-75 season, Carlisle United was top of the old First Division. It finished the season bottom, was relegated and has never returned to the top flight.
I’ve yet to visit Carlisle, I’ve only ever heard good things about it and from what I’ve seen in the video, it looks great. Other cities that I have visited that are steeped in history, full of occupied shops, have great pubs and restaurants are Salisbury and Shrewsbury. They are very intact and haven’t been the victims of mass demolition and bad town planning in over the years. In fact, I think you would struggle to do a turd towns for Shropshire as all of the towns I’ve visited there have been so nice.
That’s a good point I’ve tried to do Shropshire and Herefordshire but there really wasn’t much to say. Similar to Dorset it doesn’t make for good content.
Funny you should mention this.... about 15 years ago I really thought about moving to Carlisle (even though I have no roots there) for many reasons. Really wish I had have done now.
Hmmm - I know it has got some interesting buildings in the centre and there is nice countryside...reasonably... close. But I always thought that most of Carlisle was not that great - another declined Victorian industrial town full of rundown terraces. Sadly for the residents its got a major flooding problem as well.
I've been thinking about moving north for a while. I live in a town just outside London, which I am expecting to see on this channel at some point, and it's just shite. It's busy, expensive, everything is so London dominated, I just hate it down here. Carlisle was one of the places I was thinking of moving to. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the place.
I've visited loads of cities, and if it wasn't for location and practicality, I think Portsmouth would win hands down - actually quite a lot of the points you identify here fit. It's sort of two cities in one with Southsea being similar to Brighton (but with just about reasonable housing costs) whereas the more traditional centre in Portsmouth has the national chains. The downside is that getting anywhere other than London takes ages. As cities to practically live in though, I think Sheffield edges out Leeds as my top pick; both are fairly well connected, lively places, friendly people, and easy access to good scenery - but Sheffield is a little more central and slightly cheaper. Certainly much nicer than Newcastle where I'm from, which has a constant vague atmosphere of aggression and is really isolated with a lot less work!
Best part of Portsmouth is definitely Gunwharf Quays, which is perfectly located right in front of Pompey Harbour station, if you're coming in by train, and the Hard Interchange, if coming in by bus or coach, with its shopping outlet and its pinnacle landmark, the Spinnaker Tower. It's definitely worth the tenner to go up that tower and enjoy views of the entire city and even the Isle of Wight, which can be seen clearly enough to make out the town of Ryde. You can even watch the ferries shuttling between the city and the island, plus PMH is one of the few remaining stations with integrated train/ferry connections still operational.
My vote would go to Bath. Yeah it's eye-wateringly expensive for literally everything and often full of posh helmets, but it is a stunning place, you can walk everywhere (and get fit at the same time if you live up one of the hills), food and drinks opportunities are numerous and generally excellent, surrounded by beautiful countryside and easy to get to other places thanks to being close enough to motorways and having a mainline railway. Lived there for a few years and wish I hadn't had to move away. It has got it's more run-down, stabby areas, but what city hasn't?
Can you please make a video on Surrey and Windsor England ? Worst and Best for family to live. Alos make a video on cheapest towns to live with family in West , South or WS in Egland please.
It’s incredibly sad that any place he talks about whatsoever is on a gradual slide to rot and degeneracy and having its culture crushed due to immigration. It’s creeping into smaller towns and cities now.
Having grown up in Edinburgh, I'm perplexed by everyone who thinks it's some kind of Narnia. It really is just turning into London-Lite wrapped in a saltire. A vampire that sits in the south east of the country and is the sole focus of the government (sound familiar?), it gets all the investment and all the jobs yet somehow still falls miles short of what it could and should be. The property market has gone utterly insane and surrounding commuter areas aren't much better, everything is screw you expensive, people are _definitely_ becoming snippier and rude as if the entire city is just burned out, it's overrun with tourists and managed with them in mind, lots of things are grubby and falling apart, traffic is terrible all day long (rush hour never really ends) and the bus system was definitely better when I was a child. And some of the suburbs are really bloody awful. Not necessarily dangerous per se, but definitely grim and impoverished. There was one area so bad they just gave up and levelled the lot of it. Redevelopment work is ongoing. When I was a child and teenager, nobody ever moved out of Edinburgh for a better and cheaper life. Nowadays it's just as commonplace as with any other city because so many can't afford to live in Edinburgh proper. It's a city that's done well cosmetically with pointless new developments but otherwise feels in decline. I'm far happier in the much smaller town I now live in. Cheaper, more laid back, has everything I need.
As someone who lives in the countryside near Carlisle, I can confirm that Carlisle quite a nice place to go to for a day out, nobody i know who lives in the actual city part of Carlisle is disastisfied with it
I've always liked Carlisle; although I've never lived there, only stopped over. Very pleasant city. I've lived in Kingston-upon-Hull since 1997, and watched it go downhill. Fortunately, Hull still has some of the most stunning architecture around, and it's steeped in history too. There are some excellent parks but sadly, in the time I've lived there, the whole population demographic has changed - and not for the better! I'm planning to move out soon, but maybe you should visit and draw your own conclusions.
Hard agree ... I've been saying this for years as someone who goes round the UK a lot ... Carlisle or Portsmouth (especially Eastney) are where I'd move to if I was starting my life up again. Value for money and a great future to be had in both.
Southsea/Eastney have got a whole lot less interesting in the last few years with almost all of the funky little (and not so little!) pubs closed and many knocked down and flats built or re-purposed into co-ops or whatever. Very few left now 😢
I love that, for most here, this is way too north for them. It's in the northern wilds, cut off from the 'civilised' world. And yet, for all your videos (this one included) this is SO south for me and, I'm sure, others. When will you venture to the other half of the UK?
I live just up from Botchergate and it's not at all that bad. Yeah the drunks Friday Saturday night are to be avoided but there always seems to be plenty of bouncers around and at least it's just pissed up fisty-cuffs rather than the general unease of knife-crime and hard drugs you get (having fled from Brum).
This may be borne of a little bias, but I really like Hereford (albeit mostly for the magnificent cathedral). There are bad bits, but many good bits. Plus it's in my favourite county
Can I ask all you southerners before you migrate up here en mass that you wait a few years until I've managed to buy the wife and I a house before y'all drive up the prices beyond what our northern wages will stand! 😁 Carlisle is very handy for going to Glasgow, Edinburgh or Newcastle. There' all about an hour and 20 mins by train.
Carlisle had three government-owned pubs until the 1970s, when Ted Heath privatised them. IIRC, they were nationalised in WW1 to better control the drinking hours, but they didn't get around to privatising them until the 1970s.
