Exile

Cheltenham's High Street is pretty grim and depressing, as it happens.

brits1

I knew watching relocation,relocation would come in handy...lol....that Kirsty is a mine of information and good advice.....!!

sallysimmons

The high street was what sold us on Kendal. Not a closed store in sight. Nice mix of independent and national retailers. Lots of restaurants and pubs. Lovely architecture - and we arrived on a sunny Saturday so it was just buzzing with market stalls, street musicians and tons and tons of shoppers.

I had pictured myself in a small village or a rural area off the beaten track, but once we saw that I realized that I do need some level of bustle around me. It doesn't have to be Manhattan but there does have to be life.

I think going to each place is definitely the key because you don't have those kinds of realizations on Google Streetview.

between two worlds

I love Cheltenham--it's my home town, we moved there when I was 14 and I feel it is home, though I left UK right after graduating from college...mother, brother and sister still live there, and another brother is nearby.

American DH and I have a teeny property there, not just because of family ties but also because we like it so much.

Yes, you could say the High St is a bit depressing--though it is nice that it's pedestrianised-- but the Regency arcade is well done, and there is every shop you could want; for a more aesthetic (and expensive!) shopping experience there is the famous tree-lined Promenade which is beautiful. There are also many small, charming, expensive little shops in the Montpellier area and the Suffolks.

Cheltenham's Regency architecture is a delight and the town has many lovely parks. There there is the brilliant Literature Festival, plus jazz, science, classical music festivals as well.

Cotswold countryside at your doorstep, ravishing.

Bristol, Bath, Oxford, and Birmingham are each only an hour away, if you want more citified stuff.
Great train connection (though pricey) to Paddington, also National Express coaches to Victoria; there's a coach direct Chelt to Heathrow as well.

The property prices are indeed very high in the nice bits of Cheltenham, and have stayed pretty stable despite recession, it seems to me; but you should be able to find something in the range you mention.

There is a bit of a yob element connected to the pubs etc, plus a couple of grotty council estates on the edge of town.

But I have walked through town centre at night and feel safe enough.

Well, there's my two cents, but in terms of comparison, I can't help, because I don't know York, which I imagine is lovely, or Chelmsford either!

LisaP

Nobody's mentioned Brighton yet.