Aridh1

Hey guys,

I finish my degree in one year and plan on going to the UK on an Ancestral Visa. I was born in Australia but my grandma is English. I am a bit naive on a couple of things and would appreciate it if people are able to offer me some advice.

I want to avoid London. I've been there multiple times, and I want to try somewhere new. Information for people moving to the UK seems to be fairly limited to information about London. I have not been to any cities aside from London so I am unsure about where to go.

I work with mostly British people, and they've all said things like "avoid Birmingham", "be careful in Manchester, it's very rough", "Leeds is dangerous", etc. It's given me a preconceived image that I wanted to avoid.

I am looking to spend time in a large city with good nightlife and activities, and also fairly safe (pretty broad term to use, sorry). What would people recommend for me? I was looking at Glasgow, Manchester or Newcastle.

Cheers for any help / suggestions.

Amazulu

Opinions are like assholes on this I'm afraid

Go and have a look round for yourself and find the place that you like

Personally I like Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Newcastle

Geordie George

Newcastle is a great city. Small enough to be able to get around easily, but big enough to have a decent nightlife. As the uni campus is central, there is lots of share accommodation available (and not just for students! Lots of people stay on for work after graduating).

BritInParis

A lot will depend on personal preference. I would take a look at Sheffield though.

quoll

Not big cities but plenty of young adult life in Cambridge and Oxford - close enough to London for the day, pretty safe as far as I can see. I guess it all depends on what you do for a crust as to where the jobs are. The world is your oyster really!

bcworld

I'm pretty sure Glasgow is probably more 'dangerous' than all of the other ones you've mentioned...however it's a fun place to live if you can tolerate the weather!

Beoz

I also liked Newcastle. That said the weather was stunning the weekend I was there which was part of the appeal.

Aridh1

Thank you for the help guys, much appreciated. Going to have a look into some of the cities suggested.

Bermudashorts

I really don't think any city in the UK is particularly dangerous, of course like all cities there are less desirable pockets, same as with any in Australia.

Manchester is not rough, it is a great city and absolutely thriving. I have never heard anyone say that Leeds is dangerous and I know little about Birmingham but I know I would feel perfectly comfortable visiting or living there if the need arose.

The northern cities will be substantially cheaper to live in than southern ones, so Manchester or Leeds seem like great choices for someone young and starting out.

JoeBloggs80

Bristol or Brighton would be my suggestions.