Moving to Bristol - nice area to live?

shoutman

Hey

Been offered a job based in Bristol.
Would be working in Portbury but looking to live closer to the city.

I'd be looking to spend £400 a month on rent.
I'm mid-twenties and will be starting a "professional" type job. Pretty much looking for the nicest area to live in on that sort of money.

I've heard Clifton is a lovely spot, but very expensive, so i'm guessing that is ruled out, any other suggestions or indeed any comments about Bristol in general would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

shoutman

Anybody able to help?

Fysh

A couple of friends of mine live there, and from the couple of times I've been the city seems pretty nice so long as you're in the right area. I'll see if I can find out places to seek out or avoid.

In the meantime, it's worth spending a bit of time on upmystreet.com to find out more about any areas you're interested in. I wouldn't necessarily base a decision just on what you find there but info about average rents, crime rates etc is always useful to have.

shoutman

Fysh wrote: »

A couple of friends of mine live there, and from the couple of times I've been the city seems pretty nice so long as you're in the right area. I'll see if I can find out places to seek out or avoid.

In the meantime, it's worth spending a bit of time on upmystreet.com to find out more about any areas you're interested in. I wouldn't necessarily base a decision just on what you find there but info about average rents, crime rates etc is always useful to have.

Thanks for the reply Fysh, decided to fly over and have a look around so spent all of yesterday wandering about, Hotwells, Clifton and by the harbour was generally where I was and they all looked great.
Would be much appreciated if you could get some more info from your friends and i'll check out that site.

Thanks agian.

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shoutman wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Fysh, decided to fly over and have a look around so spent all of yesterday wandering about, Hotwells, Clifton and by the harbour was generally where I was and they all looked great.
Would be much appreciated if you could get some more info from your friends and i'll check out that site.

Thanks agian.

Hi shoutman. Living in Bristol myself. Couple of things for you I hope that they help.

Nicest area to live is Clifton as you pointed out. Most of the city is ok to live in. Working in Portbury which is a good bit out of the city, are you driving or taking public transport?

Lots of areas that you could live in but some of the areas to avoid include Lawrence Hill, Knowle West, St.pauls, Southmead, Easton, some of st. george but other parts are fine. Hotwells is neither bad nor good more interesting place to live if you want to live in the city.
Harbourside if your earning big bucks and want to be in the middle of the action. Longwell green is ok as is most of the Kingswood area. Frenchy is very student facing due to the Uni. I could go on for a long time here listing places. Just ask about places your thinking of and if I know anything I'll let ya know.

Also be aware that at £400 budget you are looking at sharing tbh One bed apts can be got for a little under 500 per month but then add the council tax onto this. Only bedsits could be got at this price. If your using estate agents/letting agents please be aware of fees such as sign on/admin fee, security and credit checks(can be quite expensive) and ongoing monthly agency fees. Some dont charge but most do. Personally we are renting from a private Landlord.

For the nightlife theirs the harbourside, corn street/st nicks,baldwin(City centre area five min from the harbour). Park street mixed crowd and whiteladies road which is the favorite haunt of the Bristol Uni crowd.(the posh uni)


BTW OP Portbury? Kerry Group by any chance?

shoutman

Thanks for the reply questionmark, much appreciated.

I'll be driving to portbury, heard some reports that it's pretty bad going out that way during rush hour. I drove up to it when I was over at the weekend and it took about 15 minutes (from clifton), it did look like it wasn't a possible route for cyclists which would have been another option.
Any idea on a rough commute time to and from portbury from clifton, aiming to be out there at 8.45, leaving some time after 5pm?

Thanks again.

questionmark?

shoutman wrote: »

Thanks for the reply questionmark, much appreciated.

I'll be driving to portbury, heard some reports that it's pretty bad going out that way during rush hour. I drove up to it when I was over at the weekend and it took about 15 minutes (from clifton), it did look like it wasn't a possible route for cyclists which would have been another option.
Any idea on a rough commute time to and from portbury from clifton, aiming to be out there at 8.45, leaving some time after 5pm?

Thanks again.

I cant give you the time it would take in rush hour as I travel from the other side of the city into the edge of the city centre for work. I do hear on the radio some mornings of delays out that way if your travelling on the Portway road(Bath road is also notorious for delays as is the M32 joining the M4 dont worry not New York style gridlock but enough angry motorists wishing they were using the bus lanes haha). How bad it is I cant say for sure OP

In regards to cycling dont think there is many cycle tracks out that way but Bristol is Britain's first cycling city seemingly. To be fair there is many cycle tracks that are safe to use. Also check out the Bristol to Bath cycle track.

NimaB

I'm moving to Bristol in October for 6 to 9 months for work - could anyone recommend the best way to go about getting accommodation without signing a year contract? Also what websites are there to find available accommodation?

Also, I'll be working in the centre of Bristol - would you recommend bringing a car or could I survive without one?!

Any info at all you could provide about Bristol would be appreciated as I don't have a clue and don't know anyone there!

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NimaB wrote: »

I'm moving to Bristol in October for 6 to 9 months for work - could anyone recommend the best way to go about getting accommodation without signing a year contract? Also what websites are there to find available accommodation?

Also, I'll be working in the centre of Bristol - would you recommend bringing a car or could I survive without one?!

Any info at all you could provide about Bristol would be appreciated as I don't have a clue and don't know anyone there!

A lot of places wont hold you to a 12 month contract. Initially what I found when I came over here, people wanted a 6 month contract.

If your going through a letting agent be aware there will be fees involved with the vast majority of them i.e such checks as, criminal checks, credit checks, reference checks. If it is only short term then renting a room off a live in landlord, a flat share or a private rent is the best option.
http://www.roombuddies.com/preview/flatmates/BRISTOL
http://www.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/bristol/
http://www.letsbristol.co.uk/

These websites are just a few of many. Google is your friend for this OP.

If your living in the city centre you can easily survive without a car. Public transport is pretty good on the whole to be honest.

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/bristol_bath/ < Main bus providers in the city the rest listed below only operate certain routes.

Other providers include
http://wessexconnect.com/
http://www.abus.co.uk/
http://www.uwe.ac.uk/transport/bus.shtml
http://www.faresaver.co.uk/timetables.php

Even if it is outside the city centre you are living(it will cost much more to live there) the public transport on most routes is pretty good.

NimaB

Thanks a million, I really appreciate the information you gave.

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NimaB wrote: »

Thanks a million, I really appreciate the information you gave.

No problem glad to help out a fellow boardsie(even a newbie;)) If you want any more info just ask and I'll see what I can do.

shoutman

Plenty of flatshares available through gumtree bristol as well.

NimaB

Thanks! I've a bit of time before I have to start looking for accommodation but at least I know now where to start!

Josieg

I've lived in Bristol for over seven years. For OP I would say like others that its very unlikely you will get anything on your own for £400 but you will get a house share in a good area for this price. Good areas include Clifton (of course), Redland, Cotham, around the harbourside, southville (which will be cheaper) and also Redcliff which is where I live is nice and central and is usually cheaper than the harbourside.
As for where to look, Rightmove will have almost everything that's on the market thats not private. Gum tree is the place to get private rentals but just be careful that you check anything out before handing over money. I let out a flat I bought in Clifton through gumtree so some of us are trustworthy on there .

I am happy to answer any other questions you might have regarding Brizzle.

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Josieg wrote: »

I've lived in Bristol for over seven years. For OP I would say like others that its very unlikely you will get anything on your own for £400 but you will get a house share in a good area for this price. Good areas include Clifton (of course), Redland, Cotham, around the harbourside, southville (which will be cheaper) and also Redcliff which is where I live is nice and central and is usually cheaper than the harbourside.
As for where to look, Rightmove will have almost everything that's on the market thats not private. Gum tree is the place to get private rentals but just be careful that you check anything out before handing over money. I let out a flat I bought in Clifton through gumtree so some of us are trustworthy on there .

I am happy to answer any other questions you might have regarding Brizzle.

Bristol slang haha.

Yer, I be a Bristolian, I be.

flikflak

NimaB wrote: »

I'm moving to Bristol in October for 6 to 9 months for work - could anyone recommend the best way to go about getting accommodation without signing a year contract? Also what websites are there to find available accommodation?

Also, I'll be working in the centre of Bristol - would you recommend bringing a car or could I survive without one?!

Any info at all you could provide about Bristol would be appreciated as I don't have a clue and don't know anyone there!

If you are working in the centre then you wont need a car and there are plenty of buses. I would look to live in Bedminster or up Gloucester road area if it were me.

There are some dodgy areas in Bristol with Knowle West being a name that most people will quote to you but both my nans lived in the area for 40 odd years with no trouble at all and the area is getting better all the time. The area closer to Broadwalk shopping centre is probably the nicer end. I also quite like St Werbergs which has a cool city farm and some nice pubs and cafes.

Totterdown is also quite a nice area with some good pubs and places to eat plus its also dead handy for town and Temple Meads (the train station). The more up head up the Park St end the more expensive it gets (Clifton, Redland, Cotham and the general Whiteladies road area).

Its a compact enough city and you can be out in the countryside within 10 mins from most areas. Ashton Court Estate is a massive public park where they have some good events such as the balloon fiesta, kite festival and other things.

The waterfront area is also used for various festivals (wine, organic food, vegan, music festivals) its a lovely walk on a Sunday to go along the waterfornt down to the cottage pub for a pint then back on the ferry to the centre.

For shopping there is Cabot Circus and the Mall Galleries in town with The Mall being a big shopping centre out at Cribbs Causeway.

Plenty of good pubs and restaurants in Bristol. Check out http://www.venue.co.uk/ for a taste of what is going on in the area.

shoutman

Hey,

A bit off topic but i'll ask anyway.

Looking at getting car insurance and have put my details into a few price comparison sites and been shocked.
£1300 for 25 year old, 5 years no claims bonus and driving a 1.6 litre.

In Ireland I was insured for 600 euro and that was as a 24 year old.

Is this normal?

questionmark?

shoutman wrote: »

Hey,

A bit off topic but i'll ask anyway.

Looking at getting car insurance and have put my details into a few price comparison sites and been shocked.
£1300 for 25 year old, 5 years no claims bonus and driving a 1.6 litre.

In Ireland I was insured for 600 euro and that was as a 24 year old.

Is this normal?

A little off topic but yes insurance in the UK tends to be a bit higher. Those price comparision sights are not always the best. Try here there is approx 120 insurance companies listed here alone:eek: http://www.uk-insurance-index.co.uk/car-insurance-companies-1.html

It also takes into account such things as your Postcode. Thats right the person across the road from you may have a different postcode but will get cheaper insurance based on this.

shoutman

Maybe this should be renamed to the Bristol thread but I'm going to drag it off topic again.

Anybody know of any places showing the all Ireland final in Bristol tomorrow. Closer to Corn St the better, but anywhere would be great.

Thanks in advance.

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shoutman wrote: »

Maybe this should be renamed to the Bristol thread but I'm going to drag it off topic again.

Anybody know of any places showing the all Ireland final in Bristol tomorrow. Closer to Corn St the better, but anywhere would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Molleys Irish Bar on Baldwin Street. Just around the corner from Corn street.

Batsy

Bristol is a very beautiful city (not quite as beautiful, though, as its neighbour Bath).

It is the UK's eighth - and England's sixth - largest city (it would be the Republic of Ireland's second largest if it was in the Republic of Ireland) - but was England's fourth largest city, after London, York and Norwich, from the 1200s until the Industrial Revolution when Northern England's industrial powerhouses - Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester - overtook it.

Until 1974, when the Government buggered up England's counties, Bristol was a part of Gloucestershire but is now, bizarrely, considered a county in its own right.

The name Bristol comes from "Brycgstow" (which is Anglo-Saxon for "the place at the bridge") and it was given this name in about 1000.

The city is a sporting hotbed. It has two football league teams, Bristol City (The Championship) and Bristol Rovers (League Two), a rugby union team, Bristol Rugby, who share the Memorial Stadium with Bristol Rovers, and the city is home to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

Bristol Rovers are also one of 15 English teams who have won the Welsh Cup.

In 2004 Bristol's GDP per head was £23,962 making the city more affluent than the UK as a whole, at 40% above the national average. This makes it the third-highest per-capita GDP of any English city, after London (which has the highest GDP per capita in Europe) and Nottingham.

Bristol has 51 Grade I listed buildings, 500 Grade II and over 3,800 Grade II buildings, in a wide variety of architectural styles, ranging from the medieval to the 21st century. In the mid-19th century, Bristol Byzantine, an architectural style unique to the city, was developed, of which several examples have survived. Buildings from most of the architectural periods of the United Kingdom can be seen throughout the city. Surviving elements of the fortified city and castle date back to the medieval era, also some churches dating from the 12th century onwards.

Outside the historical city centre there are several large Tudor mansions built for wealthy merchants. Almshouses and public houses of the same period still exist, intermingled with modern development. Several Georgian-era squares were laid out for the enjoyment of the middle class as prosperity increased in the 18th century.

During World War II, the city centre suffered from extensive bombing during the Bristol Blitz.

The central shopping area around Wine Street and Castle Street was particularly badly hit, and architectural treasures such as the Dutch House and St Peter's Hospital were lost. Nonetheless in 1961 Betjeman still considered Bristol to be 'the most beautiful, interesting and distinguished city in England.'

A peculiar dialect of English is spoken by some Bristol inhabitants, known colloquially as Bristolian, "Bristolese" or even more colloquially as "Bristle" or "Brizzle". Bristol natives speak with a rhotic accent, in which the r in words like car is pronounced. The unusual feature of this dialect, unique to Bristol, is the Bristol L (or terminal L), in which an L sound is appended to words that end in an 'a' or 'o'. Thus "area" becomes "areal", etc. The "-ol" ending of the city's name is a significant example of the occurrence of the so-called "Bristol L". Bristolians using the dialect, tend to pronounce "a" and "o" at the end of a word almost as "aw". To the stranger's ear this pronunciation sounds as if there is an "L" after the vowel. For example the statement "Africa is a malaria area", spoken with a Bristolian accent will sound like "Africal is a malarial areal".

A similar form of this pronunciation quirk has been in existence for centuries, even as far back as the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the Domesday Book, compiled by the Norman-French. In those days before the printing press, the city's name - "Bruggestowe" at the time - was rarely written. Consequently the Domesday Book information gatherers had to rely on oral answers to their questions and the city name was recorded as being "Bristolle". No other place names, in England, end in "-ol".

Further Bristolian linguistic features are the addition of an additional "to" in questions relating to direction or orientation (a feature also common to the coastal towns of South Wales), or using "to" instead of "at"; and using masculine pronouns "he", "him" instead of neuter "it". For example, "Where's that?" would be phrased as "Where's he to?", a structure exported to Newfoundland English in Canada.

Stanley Ellis, a dialect researcher, found that many of the dialect words in the Filton area were linked to work in the aerospace industry. He described this as "a cranky, crazy, crab-apple tree of language and with the sharpest, juiciest flavour that I've heard for a long time."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol

YouTookMyName

Bristol is HUGE!!!!

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YouTookMyName wrote: »

Bristol is HUGE!!!!

No way. :pac:

paul the great

Hi Guys

I'm moving to Bristol in 2 weeks and hope you can help me with a few questions I have about the area. My job is based in Filton and initially I won’t have a car. I'd like to live in the city or close to it. What is public transport like from the city out to Filton? Could you recommend a nice area that would make Filton easily accessible.

Also I notice that Ryanair fly back to Dublin every Friday at 15:10. I will be finished work at 13:00 on Friday, is it possible to make it to the airport in this time to catch the flight with public transport? I know there is an airlink coach from the central bus station but getting there on time might be a problem.

clairecbear

Hey,

I'm moving over in the next month and going to be working in filton too. Does anyone know if filton is a good area to live? Im undecided whether to bring my car over just yet, so would be thinking of living an easy distance to work?
Any recommendations would be great thanks!

shoutman

Hey,

I've only been over here since September, so don't know all that much about the place.

Filton is close enough to the city center I think, but wouldn't know what type of an area it is.

In relation to bringing over a car from Ireland, it's next to impossible to get it re-registered with a GB reg, so you're better off selling it over there and picking something up here. Problem is you need UK insurance on your irish car to get a GB plate, but nobody will insure you, I got quoted £3k for insurance, even though on an english reg same insurance would be £600, it's absolutely ridiculous.

Public transport seems ok over here, but I know the bus to the airport doesn't go up by filton, so you'd have to get the bus into the city centre first. Airport is about 20 minutes outside of the city.

daithijjj

paul the great wrote: »

Hi Guys

I'm moving to Bristol in 2 weeks and hope you can help me with a few questions I have about the area. My job is based in Filton and initially I won’t have a car. I'd like to live in the city or close to it. What is public transport like from the city out to Filton? Could you recommend a nice area that would make Filton easily accessible.

Also I notice that Ryanair fly back to Dublin every Friday at 15:10. I will be finished work at 13:00 on Friday, is it possible to make it to the airport in this time to catch the flight with public transport? I know there is an airlink coach from the central bus station but getting there on time might be a problem.

Depending on where you live it will still be a very tight on time. I lived on south side for 7 years, in Bedminster Down and Redcliffe, and if i finished at 1pm it would still be a panic in a cab, nevermind the coach. The airport is southside, Filton is more north east Bristol i would have thought.

I only just came across this thread now so not much time right now to talk about it. Filton is about 4-5 miles from the centre of Bristol. Public transport should be ok, buses should run about every 30 mins or maybe every 20 at peak but everything depends on where you get a place. Been a while since i got on a bus to be honest.

As regards renting a place, depends on what money you expect to pay on rent. Also something to note is council tax, where i lived it was £1.3k per annum, depends on your postcode. Clifton is the posh area.

Rough ballpark guide.

Avoid:

Knowle West
Hartcliffe
Withywood
Southmead
most of Bedminster (i lived further out, quieter area)
St Paul's
parts of Montpelier
most of Filton

Good, leafy, relaxed places in Bristol:

Clifton
Cotham
Redland
St Andrews Park.

Outside Bristol:

Bath (lovely place although there are some "iffy" areas)
Cheddar and the Mendip Hills generally.

As always - look around and see if you like the feel of a place.

My advice.

Get any info you can from your employer about public transport to and from work, they should be able to give you that. Search out areas online from estate agents, should give you decent info on a locations/amenities/public transport. Much depends on if you have a car or not as to your next move to be honest.

Josieg

Hi. It might be possible to make your flight if your work is close to Filton train station. It only takes around 10mins from Filton to temple meads station where you can catch the Bristol Flyer bus to the airport. Slot will depend on your luck with timing of the train. There is a train from Filton (it's the one from Cardiff) every half hour but you would need to check the time to see if they suit your needs. There are also some local train that would pick up at Filton but I don't know how regular they are. As long as you have pre check in with carry on luggage only you might have a chance of making the flight.

As for living in Filton, Im not that keen on the area myself so wouldn't really reccomend it. I would say if you lived some where close to TM station your best bet would be a train to Filton for work but if you live around the Uni (Clifton, Redland etc) I would drive for work but be prepared for heavy traffic on that route at peak times. If you are interested I have an appartment to let on Redcliff street. It might be a bit expensive if you are renting on your own but here is a link to it anyway.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/flats-houses/two-bed-warehouse-conversion-on-redcliff-street/92958448

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paul the great wrote: »

Hi Guys

I'm moving to Bristol in 2 weeks and hope you can help me with a few questions I have about the area. My job is based in Filton and initially I won’t have a car. I'd like to live in the city or close to it. What is public transport like from the city out to Filton? Could you recommend a nice area that would make Filton easily accessible.

Also I notice that Ryanair fly back to Dublin every Friday at 15:10. I will be finished work at 13:00 on Friday, is it possible to make it to the airport in this time to catch the flight with public transport? I know there is an airlink coach from the central bus station but getting there on time might be a problem.

Filton is well served by public transport mainly down to the fact that some of the biggest employers in the south west are located there. Airbus, Rolls royce, MoD etc... You also have the University of the West of England there as well.

Bristol airport is a few miles outside the city, but on the opposite side to Filton. So getting there in that timescale on a Friday evening would be quite tight.

clairecbear wrote: »

Hey,

I'm moving over in the next month and going to be working in filton too. Does anyone know if filton is a good area to live? Im undecided whether to bring my car over just yet, so would be thinking of living an easy distance to work?
Any recommendations would be great thanks!

Leave the car at home. Trying to get the plates changed over and to get it insured will be a bit of nightmare to be honest. Also if you decide to sell it on it wont be worth much as there will be no history on the english car checking systems. If you check out the transport routes before you rent you could get by without actually needing a car. I came over last Jan and left the car behind and tbh I havent seen the point in getting one as the buses run every ten minutes for most of the day(differs depending on the exact route) and a weekly ticket costs £16.

Filton is an ok place to live, all facilities are out there but if you want a more of the city life then looks more towards the city.


Seems to be a few Irish people moving over here we are going to need to have a Boards Bristol meet up :P

YouTookMyName

Living on the Bath road in Brislington now, seems to be a nice part of Bristol. Liking Bristol. Defiantly on for a board meet!

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YouTookMyName wrote: »

Living on the Bath road in Brislington now, seems to be a nice part of Bristol. Liking Bristol. Defiantly on for a board meet!

Besides the traffic on the Bath road :eek:

Bristol's a great city. You should go exploring. Talking to some people that are from Bristol and they have no idea what or where stuff is outside their own area or the city centre.