Which objectively nice UK city just doesn't appeal to you and why?

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The Fringe Festival The military Tattoo Book Festival Beltane/Samhain events Hogmanay street party A dormant volcano and 7 other prominent hilltops The riding of the marches On the edge of a national park (pent lands) The most iconic three bridge water span arguably in the world Dolly the sheep More historical museums than anywhere outside of London Rich areas merely streets away from poor areas.. A beachfront Many Michelin star restaurants

And yet there's no character?

Id love to hear you expand on your reasoning (of which you've given next to nothing)

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GeeCeeSlay7@reddit (OP)

A lot of that is for tourists and not for me. When it comes to nightlife or cheap and simple good times it is lacking for a city in it's size and god help you if you're on a low income (which I was). Edinburgh weather also makes doing outdoor activities torture for 4-5 months of the year. Also most people can't afford to eat at michelin star restaurants or they don't have the interest. A lot of this stuff is for tourists and comes with a big paywall. I do like the National Museum of Scotland though.

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Solsbeary@reddit

That is a limited understanding of what the city has to offer. It's a capital city, what do you expect cost wise? The weather just changes the activities you can do, I love having the rotation of indoorsy and outdoorsy things. For example whisky drinking, never in the summer, essential in the winter. The greenery is amazing all year around. No city in the UK matches the green space. I just dont agree that there is limited stuff to do.

Solsbeary@reddit

Wouldn't that be the same as literally anywhere?

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NibblyPig@reddit

Nah I live in Lincoln now and there's always festivals, concerts, etc every week plus day-to-day stuff, nice places to go and do stuff that aren't touristy. Even the touristy places are nice, I live right by the cathedral/castle and I hang around there a lot, go to pubs, coffee shops etc even the one inside the castle. It's just a great vibe and good feel, you get loads of tourists but it doesn't feel like everywhere JUST caters to them and has rip-off prices.

Op is a Glaswegian

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GeeCeeSlay7@reddit (OP)

Surprisingly no, I'm from Edinburgh and moved out.

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Bennjoon@reddit

Suspicious.

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gpeccadillo@reddit

Probably Glasgow, although that depends whether it's considered "objectively nice".

I find it hard to navigate cos of the fragmented/confusing public transport network, loads of derelict land and buildings, a massive motorway right through the city, an ultra-consumerist vibe (see and be seen), edgy stag do chaos atmosphere at the weekend, loads of visible rough sleeping/aggressive begging/open drug use.

Some of those factors are not exclusive to Glasgow, obviously. In combination, it just makes the place feel so grim and unpleasant whenever I visit family there.

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holly_100@reddit

I swear every time i walk out of queen st train station theres either a drunk man laying on the ground police around him or a bunch of teenagers screaming and running around half naked

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GeeCeeSlay7@reddit (OP)

I can imagine transport has probably been stressful for a lot of people after how badly the train station was damaged.

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gpeccadillo@reddit

Expensive and unreliable buses, and the lack of ticket integration with the subway and the trains is annoying.

Forgot to mention I find many of the locals hostile and quite obnoxious. Lots of reverse snobbery and distrust of outsiders. For a place that likes to brand itself as friendly, so many people are really intense, loud and intrusive, and the performative hard man types are hard to avoid.

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Low-Cauliflower-5686@reddit

Pretty accurate, it's the big man or hard man attitude that grates me .

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noodledoodledoo@reddit

I found locals very friendly when I visited, it's a shame that hasn't been your experience.

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Hame_Impala@reddit

Aye, for as much as we overdo the slightly cringe “people make Glasgow thing” I do think there’s a reason we have a rep of it being a fun city for a night out/to interact with people in.

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Snappy0@reddit

I lived in Glasgow for 7 years and after a while, I genuinely felt like I belonged.

As soon as I moved away however, any time I've been back, I agree that there is a level of hostility that I don't experience elsewhere in Scotland. Maybe I was used to it before and partook myself? I don't really know.

Very grim though as you say, but it has its moments.

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ilovebali@reddit

The train station wasn’t damaged

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LeatherandLatex9999@reddit

We've also had one of our major bus arteries closed due to a sewer collapse.

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Quiet_Taste7983@reddit

I’ve never heard Glasgow has an ultra-consumerist vibe before, that’s interesting. Is this specifically a Glaswegian thing or does it apply to other Scottish cities?

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noodledoodledoo@reddit

The apparent total lack of night buses/other night transport was really strange to me when I was there. Well maybe there is something, but not to where I was staying. I only went out one night and did wholesome daytime tourism the rest of the time, but there was absolutely no nighttime transport to where I was staying. Not even something bad and infrequent! Very weird for a city of that size with a big nightlife scene.

World’s largest arts festival every year, the Six Nations Rugby, loads of stadium concerts (Oasis, Springsteen etc).

Whisky drinkers paradise.

New things opening every year and barely a boarded up or closed shop in sight across the city centre.

Hearts could be about to win the league and Hibs play some good stuff if you like football.

RenegadeUK@reddit

Ah now this is the answer 😄

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steve7612@reddit

It’s also one of the best connected cities outside of London in the UK (both international and domestic travel, and access to wider Scotland)
It has well paid jobs and not too bad housing cost (but it is getting worse and more expensive relative to some parts of England)
It’s small enough to be quick to get around with excellent public transport, yet packs a lot on in terms of events and quality of restaurants/bars etc
It’s internationally diverse but still has a good sense of history/local pride
The weather is genuinely not bad in my view, it’s drier than the west and while spring/early summer can feel cool compared to rest of the UK it doesn’t get unbearably hot.

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RenegadeUK@reddit

If you are from Scotland or indeed any Scotch person would you mind explaining why Edinburgh is often described as "An English City" - I've heard this quite a few times ?

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Frequent-You369@reddit

'Scotch' means whisky.

Using 'Scotch' to describe Scottish people is old-fashioned and is nowadays considered slightly derogatory.

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RenegadeUK@reddit

Never know Scotch was old fashioned or derogatory (and certainly didn't mean it that way). Sounds a very nice word to me TBH.

The only term I've heard that may or may not be derogatory is the term Jock. I'm sure you will clarify this or where it came from ?

Thanks for explaining with respect to the Englishness of Edinburgh.

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Hame_Impala@reddit

not too bad housing cost

Compared to England maybe, but in Scotland it's widely considered astronomical now if you're not earning a really good salary.

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RenegadeUK@reddit

Apparently Dundee has the best weather in Scotland so i'm told.

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Delicious-Being-6531@reddit

Has to have something going for it.

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Same_Grouness@reddit

As someone from Glasgow (that lived in Edinburgh for a few years) it does feel to me like it lacks in identity in certain things.

Like in Glasgow there is a big techno scene, and loads of clubs and pubs (and illegal parties) catering to that subculture. In Edinburgh it's few and far between, and many of the pubs would rather put on a folk band to impress the tourists than be part of an underground subculture, which makes it feel a bit fake.

Same with most cities no? Most people don't live in the city centre, as that's where retail, hospitality, businesses and universities often are, they live a commute away where there's more space.

It also doesn't help that the stereotypical Scottish accent people are looking out for is either Glasgow or West Highlands, whereas the Edinburgh native acccent is much more subtle, it's not going to pierce through the crowd of a busy city centre.

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modfever@reddit

Says a lot about Edinburgh that sadly. It does seem the working class locals are pushed out to the schemes on the outskirts and if you hear a local accent in the old town it’s most likely from a beggar or addict.

York has a beautiful city centre but the rest doesn't feel like it has much to it, and feels like a cultural bubble within Yorkshire.

I don't even know what that culture bubble really means is but I just don't feel like I'm in Yorkshire when I'm in York, which for a Yorkshireman myself is kind of jarring.

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SpiceTreeRrr@reddit

I find it somehow unfriendly, even outside the centre. Kind of judgemental. I couldn’t ever imagine living there. It’s definitely not Yorkshire.

Leaving aside the overtourism, the centre is obviously very old so it’s always cramped and takes ages to walk anywhere.

I used to catch the bus from the station to Fulford and god the traffic, never experienced anything like it outside of London.

And I’ll admit all the people I used to know who went to York university (and stayed to live) were insufferable.

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caislade0411@reddit

I’m originally from Scarborough but moved to York as my partner is from there. It took a few months to adjust to people just not talking to you (and I’m an introvert). In Scarborough, you’d always have random encounters with people and everyone is very talkative and generally friendly, however in York people just didn’t want to know, and weren’t bothered at all in getting to know you. So I definitely agree with you on that point.

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SamTheDystopianRat@reddit

Yeah, I'm student there originally from Manchester and I hate it. I love the uni itself and my mates but the city is a nightmare. Just chain shops or overpriced rubbish, packed with tourists, nothing really that fun or practical to do outside of two retail parks on the north east and north west points or the city respectively. I don't even think the city centre is all that beautiful.

CaptainVXR@reddit

Not been to Yorkshire, however you could basically be describing Bath vs Bristol to me!

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Springyardzon@reddit

York does have some nice old houses, nice modern flats, and even some pretty nice suburbs though.

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luciesssss@reddit

Came here to say this. I'm from York. Live in the midlands now and would never move back. Even when I visit my parents monthly we very rarely go into the city. I actually much prefer Hull

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Sorbicol@reddit

My brother lived in York for nearly 15 years. Visiting him in the Summer was a total nightmare - the traffic would be solid and going into the city centre was an exercise in futility, just shoving tourists out of your way. Towards the end of those 15 years it largely didn’t matter what season it was either, it just became a year round issue.

It’s a lovely city but back then it wasn’t adapted in any way to deal with the transient tourist population.

I think it’s a bit better now.

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Holiday-Wafer708@reddit

I'm in York for my master's and I don't think I would want to live here permanently. It's a gorgeous place and I love all the history but honestly the Christmas Market crowds stopped me wanting to stay here. It's impossible to walk to uni without getting stuck in some form of crowd at any time of the year with all the bottlenecks and tiny streets. I'm from London and the crowds are just different. It feels like living in Convent Garden trying to eat my lunch in King's Square

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Revolutionary_West56@reddit

I went to York for the first time last year and felt the same. I was really excited but was surprised in how let down I was. It felt like a fake tourist town or something?

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CrossCityLine@reddit

York is a fucking live-in theme park nowadays.

Wait till you find out about double triple and even quadruple citizens, it’ll blow your mind.

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Realistic_Alps_90@reddit

I just bought a “low” quality expensive house 15min away from Cambridge. The build quality is better than 95% of the houses I lived in or viewed in the area. The problem isn’t the quality (not in Cambridge), it’s the density.

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BreadfruitOdd9974@reddit

And what it is exactly that you would expect from Cambridge?

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FranzFerdinand51@reddit

He probably has no idea, all he knows is he’s sad about it.

Nonsense lol.

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Low-Yak-6706@reddit

I feel exactly the same about Oxford. They are two sides of the same coin.

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Immediate-Context-11@reddit

As someone who spent 2 years working in Cambridge, I completely agree. Also as I was in my early 20s at the time inhad the bizarre issue of being treated poorly by both locals and Cambridge Uni students, locals thought I was just another student which they aren't yet he biggest fan of, yet lots of the students somehow knew I wasn't one of them so would equally treat my poorly as they saw me as 'below them'.

There's also a bit of an underbelly in Cambridge with some quite nasty and violent people, late at night or early in the morning.

Altruistic-Medium-23@reddit

Yeah no, I don’t recognise this. Yes on paper it’s a very culturally diverse place with a lot of people who are experts in their field. But in practice it’s just a really boring place where barely nothing ever happens unless you have access to the uni (and even then), and people are averse to do anything but work. I was expecting Cambridge to be a buzzing place with an incredible cultural offering and it’s just… not.

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ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit

Ha ha I was at a comedy show in Oxford and the comedian jokingly asked if there were any Nobel laureates in the audience. Oh my, there really were.

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Dans77b@reddit

Have you been to Oxford to compare?

I just came back from Oxford and found it to be one of my favourite cities.

It made me want to try Cambridge but now Im not so sure.

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Superbgraph@reddit

Kind of surprised by these comments - I used to live in Cambridge and now live near Oxford. In my opinion Cambridge is ‘prettier than Oxford - e.g. I don’t think Oxford has anything comparable to the view across the river to Kings college. But as others have said, it is smaller than Oxford and more focussed on the university. So that does make it quite unique and less like a ‘normal’ town.

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Cambridge is prettier (externally) but that doesn't necessarily result in attracting more 'pretty' personalities than Oxford.

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LittleSadRufus@reddit

I've always thought that Oxford is a city with a university, while Cambridge is a university with a town.

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Ok_Fan_2132@reddit

I would agree with this, probably in large part due to Oxford's history as an industrial city

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ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit

And also in part its less isolated geographical location - between London and both the (West) Midlands and West Country, rather than being out on the fens with windmills and beet farms for neighbours

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_Mc_Who@reddit

In fairness, Oxford as a city existed before the university and Cambridge was founded as a university in a marshy backwater when the Oxford locals got fed up of the students, and the town developed around it, so not far off really

I did both a few years ago and loved Cambridge more. I don't understand why people always seem to prefer Oxford.

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Springyardzon@reddit

The people, to some extent. Cambridge is more popular with Asians, who have less in common with Brits. Oxford is more popular with Americans, who have more in common with Brits. The stereotype is Cambridge is logical, Oxford more about debate. The typical UK person will understand a debater more than a logician.

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GavinF83@reddit

I’ve always preferred Cambridge personally. It’s prettier and has a better selection of restaurants and pubs IMO. There are definitely criticisms to level at Cambridge but a lot of those will also apply to Oxford.

My biggest gripe with Cambridge is it must surely have the worst house price to salary ratio in the country. That’s not really a problem if you don’t live there though, plus unlike London the house prices do drop very quickly once you head out of the city centre.

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MerchMills@reddit

It depends what you go for. Oxford feels so busy whereas Cambridge has a more oldie-worldie feel in comparison around the colleges. I, personally, love Cambridge and feel Oxford is too busy.

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LowM93@reddit

I went to Oxford for a couple of days and it felt very similar. To keep costs down we stayed at a hotel just outside the city, on one of the roughest estates I've ever been to.

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Kind-County9767@reddit

Also has a real lack of quality food and entertainment for a city of it's size and wealth imo. Norwich has far more great independent places to eat (outside of the extremely expensive niche at least, places you might actually just go on an evening). It's always been such an odd place, I guess it's so expensive and wages are actually not that good that people don't have much disposable income, or they're Scrooge McDuck levels.

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GavinF83@reddit

I’d say for a city of its size Cambridge has one of the best food scenes in the country. Theres a tonne of great restaurants there and you can get pretty much any cuisine you can think of. It’ll never compare to the likes of London or Manchester purely due to its size but there’s so much choice there. I’d say the food scene is actually one of its strengths.

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hollowcrown51@reddit

The University is great for Cambridge but also it is choking it at the same time. Norwich is fantastic and independent businesses can thrive because of the cheap commercial rent. The university owning all of the land really chokes independent shops and businesses especially with them wanting to turn every spare inch of spare into a lab.

Cambridge could be wonderful - it’s got a lot of great areas and great people and is very well located but it really needs some forward thinking lest it become just a giant expensive business park with a university.

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Kind-County9767@reddit

Well see if that changes for Norwich with lgr. Most of the areas seeing actual growth over the last 10-15 years haven't actually been controlled by Norwich city council who are now going to get control over everything.

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hollowcrown51@reddit

THe one problem with Norwich for me is that it's sorta remote and it doesn't have the careers I'd desire. However that's essentially what makes it so cheap to live.

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Kind-County9767@reddit

It's true, but also for most jobs the wages aren't really all that different to Cambridge and living costs are about half. Cambridge wages, outside of a few insane outliers, are really poor compared to cost of living imo.

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hollowcrown51@reddit

Problem for me is quantity of jobs in my sector. Cambridge has tons of engineering and biotch type jobs and when things are good there's going to be tens of jobs in your network that you could go for, and even more if you're just doing cold applications.

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Lakeland_wanderer@reddit

Cambridge City council hates motorists with 24 hour bus lanes, rip off car parking charges and roads closed to everyone except buses and taxis. I only go into Cambridge when I'm forced to and spend my money elsewhere.

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Any-Connection5849@reddit

I know it very well as I went to college and uni there, absolutely nothing to do there after you've walked around the college grounds.

I count down the seconds until I can leave whenever I’m there.

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AbbreviationsFar4310@reddit

Completely agree! I grew up and still live just outside Edinburgh and I always tell people to go to Stirling castle instead.

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TheLoneEcho@reddit

Absolutely. Edinburgh Castle is lovely and worth a visit, but don't fall for the marketing.

Stirling is amazing though. Definitely worth the entrance fee.

Another castle nearby that I love is Blackness Castle. Not as fancy and less to do, but it is very imposing!

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whatanabsolutefrog@reddit

Strongly agree.

Its a beautiful backdrop to the city, but absolutely not worth paying to go inside

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TraditionalLog9445@reddit

Edinburgh.

Absolutely mobbed with tik tokkers and fat Americans proclaiming how 'scaaaatch' they are.

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-_Azura_-@reddit

Watch out people will tear you apart for that even though I feel the same. If you're local it's a MUCH different experience.

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TraditionalLog9445@reddit

I called in with my kids when we were passing through. Ended up spending most of the day in the museum just to get away from everyone.

Yes, the irony that I'm also a tourist isn't lost on me!

I see myself as a passive tourist though....😂

I'll be honest though, I can't stand tourist traps and normally stay away but I didn't think it would be like that.

Glasgow. Sorry, I don't get it, whenever I mention visiting Edinburgh someone always says they like Glasgow better and I just can't understand why.

Manchester. Too big and too busy. Also I generally had a terrible time last time I was there (except while I was near the gay district as they had a nice trans festival).

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Mazuna@reddit

I sort of agree with Manc but that’s why I love it. It feels busy and full of life but not as busy as London.

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Shinyandsmooth8@reddit

I think Glasgow and Manchester are just two very functional cities where people move to for work and just generally exist as a tax paying citizen. Manchester feels so busy but everyone is moving around with a purpose.

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blackberry_sorbet@reddit

Agree with this. I lived in Glasgow for 6 years for uni/work and couldn't wait to leave. It's good for the odd night out - a lot of shows and concerts on, some really nice restaurants. But I couldn't actually afford any of that while I was living there, so it just felt very eat, sleep, work, repeat.

So I'm someone that likes Glasgow better than Edinburgh (lived in both- I think the key is living vs visiting) and there are tonnes of great points for Glasgow. The green space, cool museums, live music, the special little pockets of the city (Southside), and the fact that a working class person can still try and make a go of things. Edinburgh I do like but just going about your daily life commuting etc. can be hell. The wealth divide is SO insane too, the working class areas of Edinburgh need so much help and it can be so frustrating seeing them shoved aside when the city has mega wealth in it. Also, potholes lol. Don't get me wrong I love both, but love Glasgow more. Everyone has their own opinion and I think it's such a personal one.

thekabagool@reddit

Brighton. You cannot take a step in the centre without dodging people. It feels too busy for the size it is. Also just felt a bit unsafe and on edge there

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metrize@reddit

bristol, i thought its a city and must have a lot of stuff but living there it felt like so small and disconnected and not a lot to do, such a strange place

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bluetooth_pizza@reddit

It's pretty much all the worst things about London with none of what makes London good.

Half of it's been sort of gentrified, I assume the other half was bombed in the war and never fixed, both massively overpriced and not very nice places to be.

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d__c@reddit

I really like Bristol, always have. Problem is you're deafened by the sound of Bristolians constantly telling you how amazing it is as if it's the centre of the fucking universe

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Vaxtez@reddit

I feel like most local Bristolians don't actually like Bristol. Those who moved to Bristol from places like the South East seem to like it there, but those born & bred Bristolians who haven't been forced out due to prices (Usually in the southern parts) tend to not like Bristol that much. I know most of my Bristolian family don't like it there anymore. I myself don't like it (although I'm not Bristolian per-se), as I just find it to be too much like it's trying to be a posh part of London, losing all of its soul in a way.

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S3lad0n@reddit

Posh emigre students have absolutely ruined Bristol, I agree.

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Vaxtez@reddit

I do see your argument, as Bristol City Council seems very happy to let Bristol City Centre just become student housing at this point, with little attempts at truly regenerating it. Not to mention that the local authorities would rather dump things like a music venue in poorly equipped Filton & turn that into a major centre than bother to improve the city centre.

It’s genuinely one of the most interesting cities in England out there.

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Hysteria_Wisteria@reddit

Used to live there (about 15 years ago, various areas including Clifton and Filton) but went back recently and hated it. It’s been invaded by pretentious Londoners who moved there and think it’s marvellous but it’s also feeling really rough and just… crap especially in the city centre these days. Got harassed on the street, felt unsafe as a woman at night (didn’t used to). Saw multiple shoplifters in clothes shops in the few I went in. Overpopulated and congested, absolutely terrible traffic (to be fair it was getting bad when I was there which was one factor in me leaving), expensive. Glad I left.

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samg21@reddit

It's a bit marmite-y, if you really like the culture it has to offer you're going to be happy. If you don't then it's probably going to feel a bit grotty.

Bristol is the type of place I SHOULD love, but I put it down as the worst city break Ive ever had.

Not that I hated it, I just thought it was no better than any other city.

Odd-Paramedic-3826@reddit

i'd love to live in manchester again (i went to uni there) but its just so expensive

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Aael_111@reddit

being queer+alternative in the north can be pretty isolating sometimes

Manchester? One of the best cities in the country for being queer and alternative imo.

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Odd-Paramedic-3826@reddit

i don't live in manchester i take trips out to it lol

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Various-Drive9313@reddit

the city that produced morrissey as well...

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Vaxtez@reddit

I love Brum. I prefer it to Bristol (A city I don't overly like), as Birmingham has a far nicer city centre that the council seem to be improving. Meanwhile Bristol has a horrid centre that seems to never change & feels worse than it was years ago.

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S3lad0n@reddit

The biggest dickhead and the most fake person I know in my family & friends circle went to Bristol Uni for undergrad, before moving on to UCL for MFA (in literature, of course).

He’s got rich parents unlike the rest of us, mum & dad pay for a posh flat so he can live and network and intern in London central. And though he fakes a Northern working-class English accent, he was actually born and raised in Dubai.

So I do unfortunately now associate Bristol with such twats.

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Mr__Random@reddit

I've visited Bristol a few times and been underwhelmed every time. I don't know what other people see in it that I don't.

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Infamous_Tough_7320@reddit

I’m in Brighton every day and I have to say, I’m really not a fan at all. Everywhere is a dump, literally everywhere. There isn’t a single place in the Brighton where I can go and genuinely say, wow that’s nice. The beach may be the single exception but even then, there are nicer beaches in the UK.

Everything looks run down and deprived, the people look tired and depressed. When I leave at the end of the year, I doubt I’ll ever want to come back

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lachiendupape@reddit

Lol wow, not my experience I mean we have some of the most amazing regency architecture on the south coast, the city centre is probably the worst part tbh

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llama_del_reyy@reddit

I appreciate that Brighton feels queer-friendly to a lot of people and how important that is, but it always feels to me like a concentration of everyone's most boring gay friends. It doesn't actually feel like a home of exciting queer (or other) culture.

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fastflan@reddit

The artists and wierdos can't afford to live there anymore because they have been priced out my rich ex-londoners. Brighton has really suffered culturally because of this.

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phatboi23@reddit

birmingham on the other hand was a pleasant surprise. for all the jokes people make i was assuming a dump

it was for a bit but they've done a fair bit of work around there.

i used to visit about once a year for hospital checkups.

could quite literally see it change year to year.

not been for a while, might go for a mooch at some point :)

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OldEcho@reddit

Absolutely love Brighton. Fantastic public transit, plenty of huge parks, people are nice. You can just chill and be yourself without shame. It's more for an older, artsy crowd I think versus wild partying though for sure.

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ancapailldorcha@reddit

I lived there for almost three years. It's a wonderful place but so many people are just up their own holes.

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Sprogletto@reddit

Ditto. Too may London folk for my liking, cool events on though.

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lachiendupape@reddit

Fair, where did you visit? like every tourist town, the real parts of Brighton are sometimes less immediately accessible to fleeting visitors :)

The scene is certainly not what it was in the 90s but there’s still spaces for the freaks and freakish.

it's just a normal city on par with manchester sheffield etc

High praise!

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Worfs-forehead@reddit

Bath, went there a few years ago and found the locals to be very strange. My partner and I crossed the road only to be encountered by two women crossing the road at the same point and stopping dead in the middle because they expected us to move around them. Also when walking from the car to hotel with a Wheely suitcase people refused the walk in single file when passing me on pavement forcing me to walk in the road with said suitcase. Found it unusually hostile.

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VelvetDreamers@reddit

Yes! I’ve just spent the weekend in Bath and what is up with the locals lack of decorum and manners? They don’t think they have to move out of the way.

I too had to go into the road multiple times because locals will not walk single file on the pavement. They’re by far the more conceited British people I’ve ever met.

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Alert-Schedule-1298@reddit

Totally agree about Edinburgh l, glad it’s not just me.

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YorkshireMary@reddit

York. It's too touristy.

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Fun_Sky_5176@reddit

Edinburgh coz it’s full Colonisers

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chefshoes@reddit

cardiff not sure what identity it wants, focused the shopping on most of queen street then the shopping centre and abandoned another whilst still in the city, shame.

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kse64@reddit

Did you go at 4am on a rainy day?

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Puzzleheaded-Bad-722@reddit

York by a country mile, especially after living there for years.

For a city that tries to be as hipster and cool as it does, there's really sod all to do as a long time resident. The place is also insanely expensive for the nothing that it is, and probably because of that a lot of people who live there are incredibly stuck up, snobby, and rude.

Objective... Well I suppose you could devise some sort of complex index to measure it. But what the poster means is 'widelt thought of' or 'generally considerd' to be nice cities.

It's a zoomer thing I think. We used to say everything was 'litetally' even though it well... Literally wasn't.

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freexe@reddit

Manchester has objectively terrible weather. I couldn't handle it.

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jaminbob@reddit

That's still a subjective opinion though. It's your opinion. Some people like rain.

Take out the people and it’d be a cracking little town (sic).

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SciencebyIncubusfan@reddit

Not a city but I find Bury St Edmunds to be one of the most overrated towns in East Anglia.

Everyone in Suffolk yells about how nice it is and how it should be the real county town of Suffolk but I don’t see their vision. It’s boring, you can do everything in less than 2 hours because of how small it is, no public transport after 6:30pm, ghost town after 5pm, very much geared towards the older generations.

I know Ipswich isn’t perfect but atleast it feels like a major settlement or “county town”, Bury on the other hand is a small town trying to be a city

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correctsock1@reddit

Can't beat the smell of the sugar factory though

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Alert_Elephant_7273@reddit

These days I would say York.

Around 20ish years ago, my wife and I started taking a couple of long weekend tips to York every year.

It was beautiful, everyone was super friendly, always felt really chilled on a night. We often went for a meal and a few drinks, then just a wander around untill 2 in the morning and felt super safe

Then around 8/9 years ago it started to just feel a bit 'off'. Just before the pandemic (about august 2019 I think) we took what was our last trip there

We had a look round the shops and it all felt flat, then on our last day (the Sunday) around 15:00 in the afternoon we went for a drink. The atmosphere in the bars were terrible, just people off their face on coke waiting to have a fight. You could just feel it bubbling over, people staring daggers trying to get a response so they could kick off.

We ended up going to the Cinema to watch Knives Out until our train was due. Then when we got to the train station some of the platforms were surrounded by police as they got people on the trains and away as they were just kicking off.

Never been back and have no desire to do so.

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downhiller90@reddit

Plymouth - it’s just a dump. The only redeeming part is that it doesn’t take all that long to get out of there.

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Substantial_Self_939@reddit

I don't think Plymouth is ever included in the usual list of 'nice' cities like Bath, Oxford, Cambridge etc. – most people either expect it to be a dump or worse still, just forget about its existence.

Life-Option7440@reddit

Oxford

Expensive tourist place full of souvenir shops and nothing to do outside checking out the university, a lot of the city is pretty run down compared to what you'd expect out of a city with that prestige

Cambridge by a mile

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EmmaRoidCreme@reddit

I keep seeing articles about how nice Norwich is, but I have 0 desire to go there. I don’t have any specific reason, but it just sounds a bit boring.

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BelledeJour71@reddit

Boring and flat.

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IKILLYOUWITHMYMIND@reddit

Norwich is lovely. I also didn't like living there much. It's pretty isolated, so you can't get around much without a car and are kind of stuck with what's in the city itself. I also while I didn't feel unwelcome being from the North, found that there weren't many people from the rest of the UK there and it wasn't that easy to integrate. There's a lot of wealth inequality too, which feels somewhat uncomfortable.

I live in Leeds now. Its definitely less "nice", but it's closer to family, has more to do in the city and there's no shortage of easily accessible day trips.

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jaydawg1994@reddit

Can totally get your points here, living in Norfolk without having a car makes it difficult to get around and see the best parts. Also going north from here is such a pain via road/train.

Not sure about the wealth inequality, wouldn’t say it’s any worse than anywhere else in the country.

Your point on integration is a bit sad, people here aren’t all that friendly (even to locals) and basic manners seem to be really lacking

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IKILLYOUWITHMYMIND@reddit

To be fair on the integration bit, I still have good friends based in Norfolk that I made down there and it's not like there was much outright hostility. It took quite a bit of time and effort though and there was a notable minority that didn't seem to like outsiders. It just didn't feel quite as friendly in general as other places I have lived and I am a bit of a homebody.

The architecture is nice. Big fancy Cathedral. Walls. Gates. Rivers. That's about it.

No reason to stay and settle. No reason to visit unless you're an Anglophile, visiting a Uni open day, or charging the colleges £140 grand to supply a stretch tent and half a sound system for their June Ball (celebrated in August)

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skronk61@reddit

Any of the rural ones where people get isolated their whole lives from the real world. Couldn’t pay me to share space with rich farmers.

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Repulsive-Goal@reddit

Bristol. Been once quite recently and felt no urge to return.

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Turbulent_Idea7328@reddit

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GeggingIn@reddit

Which parts of Glasgow did you go to?

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sawn-off-snotgun@reddit

I traveled through Edinburgh airport a lot for work and never found it bad as a business traveler. The tram to and from the city is a huge convenience. Security was a pain in the arse. Everyone funnelled into one queue and it always felt chaotic.

I tried to spend as little time there as possible and we took off on time the majority of the time which was all I cared about.

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Antique-Primary-2413@reddit

I'm from Boston so Lincoln was always seemed like a metropolis to me when my parents took us there shopping: it had a BHS and a Littlewoods!

S3lad0n@reddit

Do you mean the angles of the roads & streets?

I'll actually be on a trip to Glasgow very soon and I'm looking forward to it, I also find Glaswegians easier and more fun to interact with imo.

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