Liverpool. Ended up here for work then eventually stayed as my partner is from here.

I do love it; there’s great history and culture here, the people are lovely, cheap house prices, easy access to the lakes/snowdonia/Peak District. Loads of national trust places reasonably locally, museums, great theatres/concert venues/sports in the city and very close to Manchester if you want a bigger city (although I’m personally not a massive fan). Four decent universities. Close to Chester for a nice day trip.

A good local airport that services European flights well, and then Manchester international is still a reasonable commute.

Town is great, very easy to walk around and probably some of the best nightlife in the UK without London/southern prices. Weather is slightly better than other places up north (rains less than the Pennines region and it’s not nearly as cold due to its proximity to the sea). Regular ferries to Ireland. Frequently a stop for cruise ships if that is your vibes.

Downsides? If you work in commercial law, finance, government or banking, job opportunities won’t be as great. However, Manchester is commutable which mitigates this. There’s two beaches, but they’re not comparable to aussie beaches. Also, I’m approaching the stage of having kids, and the lack of good quality high schools (with the exception of the grammar school) is worrying. Primary schools are fine though.

The more I go back to australia, the more I appreciate public access to leisure facilities in Aus; obviously beaches, but also the development of parks (down to details such as runnable footpaths), even in large cities like Sydney and Brisbane. The council has massive funding issues here and a high burden of social welfare spending, so far less money is spent on roads and public infrastructure. As an example, in the same time that a whole tunnel and huge public parklands has been built in Sydney, my local (smallish) roundabout is still currently under construction in Liverpool. I guess that’s what you get for affordable housing though.