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What's the BEST city in the UK?
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Hi guys!
I'm a 19-year-old student in Washington DC, USA majoring in International Affairs and minoring in Modern European Studies and British Media and Communication. I plan on getting my undergraduate degree on a fast track in three years and going on to do a one year master's programme in Modern European Policy Studies. I also have been working part-time at Starbucks for the last two years and plan on doing so until I finish school here.
From there, though, the plan is to move to the UK and live there for the rest of my life. It's been my dream since I was five years old, my parents and friends have always been really supportive and there's so much I love about the country. Between the NHS, the BBC, the less conservative government, the culture and proximity to Europe, it astounds me why anyone would choose to live anywhere else.
See, now the problem for me is deciding what city is right for me. I've been to London twice and love its cultural diversity, cleanliness, fast-paced atmosphere, fashion scene and the idea that I could go see some of my favourite TV shows like Top Gear, The X Factor or Graham Norton. The only problem I have is that I feel like it's too expensive for someone right out of school to move to. I'd already be dealing with immigration, moving to a new city, making new friends, finding a job and finding a flat that the last thing I need is worrying about my bank account balance too much. Then again, there could be different neighbourhoods that aren't too sketchy and are affordable. I stayed around the High Street Kensington tube station when I went to London and loved it, but I think that might be a bit out of my price range.
Newcastle seems like a charming, less expensive option. I think the people there are lovely and have the sweetest accent and attitude, just don't know much about the city itself.
Manchester seems to have a sporty image over here in America because of Manchester United, but surely it can't be all that way? The BBC building their huge Media City centre up there could be an amazing way to get into the media.
My grandparents love Edinburgh, but I don't know much about the city other than the fact that they say it's 'the most gorgeous and historic city they've ever been to'
Finally, I'm really intrigued by Bristol because Josie Gibson off of Big Brother seemed to talk about it like every five seconds, saying it was voted the 'happiest place in Europe in 2008'. Any truth to that?
Don't know much about Wales or Northern Ireland, unfortunately. It's not that I've heard anything bad about them, just never heard much that make them stick out over bigger cities like London or Edinburgh.
Anybody have any suggestions or comments? Who wants to represent their home town?
Thanks for any help you can give!
I'm a 19-year-old student in Washington DC, USA majoring in International Affairs and minoring in Modern European Studies and British Media and Communication. I plan on getting my undergraduate degree on a fast track in three years and going on to do a one year master's programme in Modern European Policy Studies. I also have been working part-time at Starbucks for the last two years and plan on doing so until I finish school here.
From there, though, the plan is to move to the UK and live there for the rest of my life. It's been my dream since I was five years old, my parents and friends have always been really supportive and there's so much I love about the country. Between the NHS, the BBC, the less conservative government, the culture and proximity to Europe, it astounds me why anyone would choose to live anywhere else.
See, now the problem for me is deciding what city is right for me. I've been to London twice and love its cultural diversity, cleanliness, fast-paced atmosphere, fashion scene and the idea that I could go see some of my favourite TV shows like Top Gear, The X Factor or Graham Norton. The only problem I have is that I feel like it's too expensive for someone right out of school to move to. I'd already be dealing with immigration, moving to a new city, making new friends, finding a job and finding a flat that the last thing I need is worrying about my bank account balance too much. Then again, there could be different neighbourhoods that aren't too sketchy and are affordable. I stayed around the High Street Kensington tube station when I went to London and loved it, but I think that might be a bit out of my price range.
Newcastle seems like a charming, less expensive option. I think the people there are lovely and have the sweetest accent and attitude, just don't know much about the city itself.
Manchester seems to have a sporty image over here in America because of Manchester United, but surely it can't be all that way? The BBC building their huge Media City centre up there could be an amazing way to get into the media.
My grandparents love Edinburgh, but I don't know much about the city other than the fact that they say it's 'the most gorgeous and historic city they've ever been to'
Finally, I'm really intrigued by Bristol because Josie Gibson off of Big Brother seemed to talk about it like every five seconds, saying it was voted the 'happiest place in Europe in 2008'. Any truth to that?
Don't know much about Wales or Northern Ireland, unfortunately. It's not that I've heard anything bad about them, just never heard much that make them stick out over bigger cities like London or Edinburgh.
Anybody have any suggestions or comments? Who wants to represent their home town?
Thanks for any help you can give!
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Comments
Do it! I've lived here all my life, and I love it. Its so varied across the City, the driving can be a bit of a nightmare, but then I would imagine most of the cities you have mentioned are a bit bad for traffic at times.
Shout if you want specifics, but I would recommend it.
Manchester would be my first choice if I were looking for a trendy, cheaper Northern city.
York is a lovely historic city.
Dudley isn't a city.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone 'trendy' in Manchester
I went a while ago and some people still had shaved heads with a fringe!
Now I think Glasgow holds the Scottish title.
York is beautiful and very old world English.
Newcastle is popping - lively and friendly.
Carlisle (oddly the largest city in England - yep, fact!) - the start of Hadrians Wall, topping the stunning Lake District, but under the Scottish Borders.
It might help to work out which part of the UK you want to live in, the distance between different parts of the UK might not seem much to you living in the US but our public transport and road network isn't up to much (i've lived in the US aswell). Just a thought.
beautiful, historic, vibrant, culturally buzzing capital of Scotland. World Heritage Site - not so big as to be uncomfortable, easy access to Glasgow ( if you really must go there) good railway to get down south ( should you want to go there too)...every time I go to Edinburgh I ask myself why I dont live there....
Manchester - fantastic industrial heritage.
Bath - beautiful architecture in the heart of beautiful countryside.
Edit to add Edinburgh of course. Fantastic city.
I live in edinburgh and it really is great, this might sound so silly, but iv been to a lot of cities in the uk, and the bus service i have experinced has been dreadful.
The buses in edinburgh are by far the best i have ever experinced, on time, nice clean buses and friendly drivers and quite cheap compared to some places iv been.
They aslo have tartan seats which i think is just cute!
so yeah, best bus service i have seen in the uk.
Are you not able to come over and spend a couple days in a few cities around the country before deciding?
However, outside London I'd say Manchester. It's a mini-London (not as much of it but you can do pretty much the same shit there). Newcastle is nice enough but it's not that great in my opinion.
I've never been to Edinburgh long enough to say how good or bad it is
But, to be fair, the UK is about the size of a state in the USA so it's not that difficult to travel around (well, unless it snows!:p)
By the way we have thousands of media students in this country who can't get a job. Don't hold your breath.
All i can say to that suggestion is "lol"
Amen to that, I'm a journalism grad and it has been very difficult to get a paid writing job. If you have lots of experience then go for it.
I'm also a huge fan of York, full of history and so many interesting things to do.
Good luck with your studies
On the upside, though the OP may degrade our NHS budget until he starts earning, they won't actually be entitled to earn above a certain amount on their Visa until they become a UK citizen I think?
My colleague worked here for 3 years before she was entitled to her full wage. God knows how she survived!