Anyone living/lived in Plymouth?

avalon68

Hi all - as the title suggests, Im looking for any opinions of Plymouth. I was just offered a job there in the University and would like to get an overall view of cost of living/stuff to do/availability of accommodation/general thoughts on the area/best parts to live in......

Any info greatly appreciated!

OS119

its ok as a city - its not Glasgow or Bristol - personally i enjoyed the location of the city more than the city itself. its very much a working city, rather than a tourist destination. its also the largest Naval base in western Europe.

thats not to say that its a complete dump, though as its the only large town/city in west Devon and Cornwall it tends to be the focal point for a certain, perhaps less desirable social element who you'll be unlikely to meet professionally...

from recall you could get a decent 2 bed flat for about £500pcm.

HavingCrack

It has a very big naval base and generally naval bases seem to attract a fairly scummy element for whatever reason. From what I remember it's a bit rough but it's been a few years since I was there.

OS119

i don't know what your situation is - kids/partner/transport etc... but if you are able to i'd suggest you live outside the city. Devon/Cornwall is about the most desirable area to live in the UK, countryside is excellent, loads of good beaches and the climate is about the sunniest and warmest in the UK.

avalon68

OS119 wrote: »

i don't know what your situation is - kids/partner/transport etc... but if you are able to i'd suggest you live outside the city. Devon/Cornwall is about the most desirable area to live in the UK, countryside is excellent, loads of good beaches and the climate is about the sunniest and warmest in the UK.

I'm living in a pretty small town right now so wouldn't mind a "pad in the city" for a while, but I am open to living out of town if it's a lot cheaper. My work often involves having to work late and on weekends, so not having more than a 20 min commute would be ideal. I will be in a position to buy a car when I get there if I need one, but I'm a big fan of biking around and using public transport if it's available. Does the city have a good bus service?

OS119

avalon68 wrote: »

..Does the city have a good bus service?

probably within the city itself - but outside of that i've no idea i'm afraid, i never used PT there - i'd suggest you talk to people at the uni for ideas on where to live and commuting, but the best option is going to be getting over there for a couple of days and having a look about. its not a big place, i imagine you could have it covered in a day.

avalon68

Thanks for the info - Ill be talking to the Uni this week - was just looking for a feel for the place before accepting the job - just in case it was a major dump or very rough. Visiting in person isnt an option as Im currently based stateside, but on the whole it seems to look like a nice enough place to live for a while anyway. I will have a few weeks after I finish up here to go over and get myself sorted before the new job starts....just trying to weight up my options as I have a few different job offers on the table and need to decide this week. Plymouths coming out on top right now as Im not too keen to remain in the states.

OS119

if the job is the job you want, then Plymouth is small enough, and Cornwall is fun enough, so that if Plymouth turns out to to be a dump, you can divide yourself between work and surfing and avoid Plymouth all together!

good luck with the job, and the move - hope it all works out for you.

Snoopy1

Public Transport is good, because its an absolute pain to drive in.
Avoid the naval areas, they are low price, but can be dodgy.