Reply With QuoteI live in the West Midlands. I'm sure there may be pockets of niceness here and there but in the main its not somewhere I'd recommend moving to. I'm looking to move out of the area this year.
There is a chance I may actually need to move out of the south west soon as I am looking to change medical specialty - this process means basically you go anywhere in the UK that you can get a training place. There are very few training places in the south west so might actually have to broaden my horizons. Would really like people's opinions on areas if they have experience - I know these areas are broad but that is all the info I am given for potential training places at the moment so any thoughts useful and appreciated!
- West Midlands
- East Midlands
- South Wales
- Yorkshire - probably Leeds or Sheffield
- Cheshire and Merseyside
- Wessex
Like I said, broad... but seriously, any nuggets or maybe even places to avoid would be great! I have never lived outside of Bristol/Somerset/Devon!
I live in the West Midlands. I'm sure there may be pockets of niceness here and there but in the main its not somewhere I'd recommend moving to. I'm looking to move out of the area this year.
Wessex?
East and West Midlands have some decent residential areas but I find the cities and countryside a bit bland, And generally a long way from the coast you'll be used to having quick access to. Sheffield and Leeds both interesting cities for combination of city life and easy access to spectacular countryside. Long way from the coast again. Cheshire and merseyside...impossible to generalise!
Just to add, Sheffield is the city most students stay in having completed a degree there. So it must have something going for it.
Think Southampton, Bournemouth, PortsmouthOriginally Posted by Bondurant
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Its pretty vague isn't it !
First choice Wessex and second choice South Wales is probably what I would take a punt on ... lived in Swansea for a few years and that was a great place to live, but certainly some rough areas in South Wales, which is why I'd go with Wessex in the first instance.
Poole, Dorset.
Amazing place to live
Oh yes! Pretty vague - it is a perennial problem for junior doctors. Very difficult to plan, well... your life. For example, if I get a place in and around Devon there is a fair chance my job for a whole year could be one month in Plymouth followed by one month in Taunton, alternating between the two for a whole year! Where I am supposed to live I don't know...
If you're wealthy.
Wessex, hmm never really got its attraction, South Wales - great coastline and lot's of hills but personally it felt like a million miles from anywhere, Sheffield and Leeds are good calls for easy access to great countryside but both are at least an hour away from the coast, Sheffield is more compact whilst Leeds is sprawling and a proper ball ache to drive around, I guess nowhere is perfect.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Travel, a lot, then decide.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
How about the home counties?
Tend to be more cosmopolitan and easy access to London.
Some lovely countryside. South East is of course more expensive.
A biased opinion of course as I regard Reading as home, well as near as I get to that concept. If my circumstances were different I would trade rural Cornwall for it tomorrow.
Yorkshire! Access to God's country and beautiful scenery, and friendly, down to earth people.
I wouldn't live anywhere else.
“Location : Co. Durham”
Last edited by David_D; 26th February 2022 at 11:05.
I was a student in Nottingham and then lived in the Leeds area. Yorkshire has plenty to offer with a mix of city accommodation and many lovely villages only a short commute away. The M62 will take you east and west, M1 and A1 take you north, south and the north York moors are a short drive away with places like Whitby and the coast easy to access. The Lakes are also close enough for weekend breaks.
Think that’s the bottom line. Also depends what kind of commute the OP is prepared to put up with. Plenty of nice places to live “near” Leeds and Sheffield - and lots of dreadful ones too!
Harrogate often mentioned as a good place to live and easily commutable to Leeds.
Difficult, Cambridge has a very big teaching hospital and is a great city (but expensive) Oxford, likewise. I have an ex who is now a surgeon in Oxford but she studied in Leeds and then moved to Newcastle, she seemed to love both.
I cannot disagree with this, although North Yorkshire would be my preference. I really hope to retire up there, Mrs T-7 permitting.
Last edited by trident-7; 26th February 2022 at 11:41.
Some lovely places in North Yorkshire.
I have worked as an FY in Leeds and Harrogate and as a CT and reg in South Yorks, so know the Leeds/Sheffield rotations well in my specialty.
If you are thinking about either then ping me a message and happy to discuss life and commuting in these areas.
Indeed. I spent my childhood living in the shadow of the Yorkshire Matterhorn
Lake District.
Sheffield is great…. Next to the peaks and my son loves it there…. Would suggest it’s a good option.
I’m in Leicester and Leicestershire is the prettiest of all the east Mids counties (except Derbyshire obvs)…. Leicester (if you select the right place ) is a nice enough city and I like it here a lot…
Depends what your after…. If it’s a village/ small town or city ?
Are you planning on buying or renting?
Last edited by Wolfie; 26th February 2022 at 12:40.
Half of the town is like a 60s/70s architectural shopping monstrosity.
Surrounds are nice though.
"The Yorkshire Matterhorn". Love it! Somewhere I am lucky enough to see from my office window.Indeed. I spent my childhood living in the shadow of the Yorkshire Matterhorn
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What are you looking for lifestyle wise? Do you want to live in a city or country? Do you value getting more space for your £ in terms of property?
I assume your mentioned locations are NHS deaneries. The Yorkshire and Humber deanery is large with lots of hospitals and a fairly wide range of specialisations available (my daughter is an F2 in Hull at present).
It’s also a very nice area to live in. Lots of variety with nice cities/towns/villages and fantastic countryside. Property can be cheap or painfully expensive on a par with the South East.
Somewhere within reasonable distance between Leeds/Sheffield/York would give you the flexibility you need for training posts.
Of that list, the only area I have extensive experience of is South Wales. And I like it. But as others have said, it has some rough areas. Very rough. Luckily, prices in the less-rough areas are still good (although there are some hot spot areas where prices are as high in England) but overall I'd say that South Wales offers good value in terms of rental/purchase.
Someone above said that South Wales feels like the middle of nowhere, and it can, but it's not really the case. There is the M4 and the Paddington main line which means that connections to England and London are excellent. The main cities, Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, are all on the M4. It's also surprisingly quick to Birmingham. But if you want to find some parts of South Wales that are the middle of nowhere, if you like the rural thing, then that is available.
We are fairly outdoorsy, hiking mostly. Can live in city or country but leaning towards rural/suburban.
Ideally looking for a house with 3+ bedrooms and a garage for 400k in a nice area.
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Sheffield it is then.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
South Wales!
;-)
West Sussex? London 60 miles away if You need it. Gatwick Airport an hour away. Chichester,Portsmouth ,Witterings,Arundel ,South Downs For hiking. I love it here
What specialty? I’d say quality of training should probably be up there in your decision making if it’s a hands on kind of job. Not all training programmers are equal despite what people tell you.
Yorkshire has a lot to offer. Wide open spaces, big teaching hospitals e.g. Leeds and Sheffield. Moors, coastline etc. Can be expensive e.g. Leeds and York. Also those small places like Hawes, Otley, Grassington.
Must be a lovely place to live but not over provided for large (teaching?) hospitals, I’d guess.
south wales should suit you fine
We live in Menston not far from Otley and Ilkley and it's lovely. 15min train journey into Leeds centre, at the same time on the edge of beautiful countryside, market towns and a short run to the coastline.
Given it is for training purposes, I would establish what the training/hospitals are like as one of the key criteria for moving. Training is obviously for a set period so you can move elsewhere once you finish but you can't easily do all your training again!
I've only lived in one of your listed regions (Wessex) and would say it is a nice place to live generally though seems to be mostly suited to people at the latter part of their life rather than who are training for something with the exception of the larger cities. Don't really see the attraction of Poole, town centre isn't great at all, traffic in the summer is terrible and as for Sandbanks, if you want to spend millions for a huge house on a small plot on a spit of sand with ex football managers as neighbours, be my guest. You won't be getting off in a hurry in the summer anyway... I would prefer the Winchester/Alton area of Wessex personally, better access to airports/London/North and countryside is nicer than Poole/Bournemouth area but only a short drive to the New Forest and coast.
For me, the Midlands holds no appeal whatsoever (sorry to all TZ Midlands residents!). Countryside in the most part isn't up to much, roads and traffic everywhere particularly West Mids and East Mids doesn't stick in the memory at all, even though my brother lived there for 2 years. Peak District is supposed to be nice though I haven't really spend time there. Was looking at a job recently in Milton Keynes (I realise not really the Midlands) but it has absolutely no appeal as a place and I'm not a fan of anywhere within commuting distance when I started looking either!
Yorkshire and Cheshire/Merseyside I've both enjoyed on visits there (York, Leeds, Yorkshire Dales, Liverpool and Alderley Edge area) on several occasions but like everywhere they have good and less good bits (Barnsley IMO, wouldn't rush back there).
Haven't really been to South Wales for ages so can't comment on that!
Easy then - Exeter :-)
I live in wales
English people move here all the time and Enjoy it while they still have money left
A few junior doctors working at the Hallamshire in Sheffield, bought houses in the Chesterfield area.
The reasoning was that, while being an affordable good place to live, it was driving distance from Sheffield, Chesterfield itself , Nottingham , Mansfield, Barnsley and if needed- even Leeds. All places with rotations in the different specialties - without need of changing home.
Once you get a consultant job, then you move wherever that is going to be.
It's important but to be honest, it isn't just me and my training I need to think about, I would be uprooting my wife and (by that time) very young baby - so area is just as important to be honest, probably more so.
Good hospital just up the road at the James Cook too.
I live in York and have lots of friends from all over the country that have settled here and love it. I wouldn’t live anywhere else at the moment.
Isn’t it!
Scotland not on your list of possibilities? Your money would buy a bigger/better house (well except in Edinburgh) and the countryside for walkers is superior to anything down South.
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Harumph….
My idea of Wessex and yours differs but never mind.
Currently live a short drive from Poole, would I move in to the town, well like most places it has its good and bad bits but unless I had a sea view then no I wouldn't, the town is quickly becoming a ghost town, which is a shame.
I work in Bournemouth and have no desire to live there.
The wife works in Southampton and we often talk about moving that way but would probably opt for somewhere like Romsey, or maybe even Salisbury.
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Ah. Many congrats on the impending arrival.
I’ve seen many medical friends go through having a family and all but one of them have said having close friends and family near to them was a godsend through some difficult times especially early on. I’d add that whilst easy access to the lifestyle you desire should figure in your decision, it’s not going to be particularly helpful if you then have to spend 3 hours in your car each day. Pick a compact deanery with small/ short commutes from the hospitals trainees spend most of their time at and you’ll have more time to do things with your family.
Worth asking for suggestions on doctors.net too. You can post anonymously. Or pm me and I’d be happy to ask for suggestions on your behalf.
Our best friends live in Sheffield and it’s great for the outdoors. I would move there
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