Manchester, the most self-aggrandising city since Caesar’s Rome. I actually quite like it as a city, but the notion that many Mancunians have that it’s “the best city in the world” is wild. It’s not even the best city in the northwest
As a Mancunian, I think this is harsh. Post covid, Manchester has seen an influx of “influencer types”. I think people trying to live a London lifestyle, without the cost. It’s a great city, beyond this, and always has been
100000% this. I live near Manchester, but outside of some nice red brick buildings it's just a big grey oversized northern town where it pisses it down every day. There's some great bars and restaurants and smaller music venues, but overall the culture and atmosphere is actually quite depressing and dull.
My brother lives there and is full of this notion that Manchester is the best place on earth. He’s not even from there. He’s from central Scotland.
I get the impression those who say Manchester is the best city in the world aren’t actually from there but moved there. Same with those people who will go into bat for London. They’re not actually from there.
Bit harsh anyone claiming any city is the best in the world is a bit daft , it’s a good city with clubs culture restaurants, modern building mixes with old , massive student pop, media and football history galore. Id say it’s better than Liverpool because of its size and everything is spread out Liverpool is smaller and condensed bar club wise , anyway only an opinion tho
It used to be great but over the last 15 years it’s seriously gone down hill. I doubt many Mancs would seriously claim it’s the best in the world, maybe tongue in cheek. Or maybe they’re the ones who have never travelled past Salford or Rochdale?
I recon it's a good city to live in with both modern housing and somewhat more affordable outskirts but every time I'm there I ask myself "where's the cool bit?"
I've always felt this. It's not that it's a *bad* city, but it gets hyped up so much and it's just not all that. Been seven or eight times and always leave underwhelmed.
Manchester has already been said so I'll say Sheffield. I'd read and heard good things about it and when I went there I didn't really find much to make me want to go back.
Sheffield is an odd one. Its city centre is pretty terrible, undoubtedly negatively affected by Meadowhall sucking out retail. It’s also probably not that great a place as a visitor. But there’s something about the place that’s quite homely. There’s some interesting suburbs, people are very friendly and pubs seems very cheap (at least compared to Leeds). I think it’s probably a good place to live but I can’t imagine a southerner liking it - you have to see past the industrial grittiness and just appreciate community and the independent scene it undoubtedly has.
>But there’s something about the place that’s quite homely.
I am from Sheffield so my opinion on this doesn't count. However, I have heard many people say exactly the same thing and ended up stating in Sheffield after uni or whatnot.
Also a fair few foreigners have also noticed the same thing.
The unremarkable nature of Sheffield gives it a certain stability and peacefulness. Plus there are some nice spots around the area, though a car is required to get to some.
I went to Sheffield Uni, and loved the city centre so much. Beautiful yellow sandstone buildings, peace gardens, indoor gardens, crucible. And the suburbs were really nice with some great restaurants and bars too.
If I didn't live where I did now, or my second choice of "Scotland because the people are nice", Sheffield would be next on the list!
I used to nip to the gallery in the indoor/tropical gardens then to the big independent cinema (if that's still going!), and the crucible has allllll the snooker which is quite nice to see all the TV people and players milling around. The centre is also small, which gives it a friendly and homely feel I think.
Also there's gardens (botanical gardens are lovely, and endcliffe park) and walks galore, and you're on the foot of the Peak District.
But of all the cities in the country, to be fair I can't actually think of a particular reason to go above and beyond a lot of others!
Manchester…it’s a shithole. However, if you believe Mancs, they’ll tell you that they do things different in Manny….they really don’t. At least it was a cheap shithole before…now it’s an expensive shithole.
Cos it's just another city. It's only as good as it is because it gets all the money. It's still just another built-up urban sprawl. Only it also has a series of infestations of the worst kind of people in the country, if not the planet.
All of its finery and osentation is built on the backs of enslaved people and the exploitation of the downtrodden.
The place is just soaked in blood. And it's still just a fucking city.
Liverpool. Only time I've been out in a city on a Friday evening and it's been deserted. Also, the row upon row of boarded up houses on the outskirts was so off putting.
Manchester, the agression and inflated self opinion is insane. Fuck uk cities and stick with towns; ive made better memories in chorley and northallerton than manchester or london
It's obviously expensive to live in but the question was about visiting. Every city has shit parts, but there is something for everyone in London. End of story.
Bristol. I’m from up North, but live in the South West right now. People down here act like Bristol is the centre of the universe. It’s dirty, the roads are terrible, it’s scary and full of weird hippy types or people that want to pretend they are in skins. I think it’s only good if you are in your 20s and want to smash powders most nights of the week.
I grew up in Bath, now live a little bit more in the countryside and have the same opinion I’m in my mid 30s & have friends saying it’s their end goals to live in Bristol & I just laugh
To be honest, Gloucester. The cathedral was nice enough to look round but the rest of the city was fairly run of the mill. Maybe I missed all the exciting bits or perhaps I’m spoiled by living near some genuinely lovely places to visit like Cambridge, Ely and Norwich.
I don’t know anyone who’s hyping up Leeds as an exciting place to visit, so not sure how it can be overrated? I lived there for 4 years and it was hardly a tourism hotspot.
Brighton, it's meant to be some green utopia and it's just a dump. Rubbish everywhere, the city hates cars so good luck driving somewhere at 20mph EVERYWHERE and then you'll get absolutely raped on parking. The transport links aren't great, the station is quite far away, food is near London prices and half the shops are empty.
If you're going to hate cars, you need a decent alternative. Like London, Berlin or Rome that push themselves as anti-car pro-walking cities, they all have a great transport system so cars are unnecessary.
Making cars a burden in a city where they're necessary with not good public transport alternative makes a shit city experience.
Is driving at 20mph really a 'burden'? Seems plenty fast enough to be driving in a city to me. If that seems slow I'd say it's more reflective of how normalised it is to prioritise cars in cities than anything else.
in congested areas like the seafront, completely fine but for most of the city it's 20 even in dead areas. It just makes the last bit of a long drive to Brighton draaaaag.
Charles Dickens once said, "If any one were to ask me what in my opinion was the dullest and most stupid spot on the face of the Earth, I should decidedly say Chelmsford."
I'm inclined to agree.
Brighton's only saving grace is the train line to London. Take that away and you've just got another used-up slack-town of nobodies living by the sea (looking at you, Worthing...)
I love Brighton, one of my favourite cities in the UK. One of the few places I'm always happy to go to. So many nice pubs, bars, restaurants and shops, and interesting streets just to stroll around.
The music and sport come up a lot, but the architecture is where Liverpool really shines in my opinion. Even after the Blitz and the 70s it has one of the best surviving Victorian and Edwardian city centres and excellent examples of commercial, civic, and industrial buildings of the era.
Inverness is an absolute hole. The definition of desolate.
I wouldn’t say it’s rated particularly highly by most people, but even so it should be rated a lot lower. As should Loch Ness. Just a giant body of water with really boring and flat scenery surrounding it. Drive an hour further into the highlands and you’ll see lochs that are 100x more beautiful.
Dublin.. Absolutely beautiful, but so so expensive. I wasn't stupid enough to go around temple bar but still a good 8 euro a pint. And food very very over priced.
Sad really as I probebly won't visit again.
Oxford.
Far from the dreaming spires, the city is a horrible mishmash of architectural styles. The transport is horrible and there are always far too many tourists.
I wouldn't say it's a horrible mish mash. There's about 3 uninspiring main streets in the centre then the rest is very attractive.
And the transport is pretty good, no? Bus services aren't bad, the station isn't too far out of town and is served by two train lines, there's a good park and ride service, and the centre is so small it's very walkable and bikeable. I'd say it's very navigable.
Manchester, and I say that as a person that lives there. It's far too crowded, it's dirty, and it's quickly losing it's history to high rises. A lot of the smaller cities I've visited in the UK put it to shame.
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