I have been offered a house-swap with somebody in Bristol, does anyone know what Bristol (England) is like?
2006-12-10 08:14:46 · 15 answers · asked by Limeboy 1 in Travel ➔ United Kingdom ➔ Bristol
Ugh...Before I answer this, I want to make it clear I'm not aiming to be insulting of anyone or their city.
That said, I hated Bristol with a passion for every day of the three years I lived and worked there.
Small communities, small aspirations, intellectual overdraft, and an inflated sense of importance were the characteristics I encountered most in my time there. But that of course could simply be an isolated experience.
2006-12-10 08:31:04 · answer #1 · answered by mdfalco71 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Depends where your house swap is. Bristol is a great place to live, we are all a very friendly bunch here. We have lots of free festivals every year. The favourite being the Balloon festival. We have amazing places to see like Brunels Suspension Bridge. Bath is just 10 miles away with its Georgian architectural building etc. The countryside is beautiful. We can get a lot of rain as we are on the west coast, but we generally get a milder climate. Our transport is not as good as other cities. We have lots of supermarkets, shops and cinemas etc. We have lots of parks and open spaces. We have excellent road connections. We have a ring road which links to M32, M5 and M4. The M32, M5 and M4 all link together. We have an airport and can generally get to most places by car really easily. Bristol is a great place to live. Just read some of the comments, Knowle West is probably the only bad place to live, all the rest may be poorer areas but are all very friendly. I prefer the South Gloucestershire end. Bradley Stoke, Emersons Green, Downend, Staple Hill, Mangotsfield, Yate, Pucklechurch, Wick, Warmley, Longwell Green etc. and all are on the edge of Bristol only minutes to the countryside. They all have very excellent links to Motorways and ring road etc. The schooling is very good in these areas too. If you have the qualifications etc., you can usually get good jobs in Bristol too.
2006-12-12 13:52:53 · answer #2 · answered by patsy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Bristol is a great city, with a real buzz about it. I moved here from London 5 years ago and love it. It's a great blend of old and new, with a beautiful and historic harbour and lots of good restaurants, pubs, theatre and live music. Although it's big enough to have lots going on, it's also compact enough to be able to escape to the countryside very easily. Of course there are good bits and bad bits, the same as anywhere else - if you know the postcode of the house you've been offered, try looking it up on www.upmystreet.com - the neighbourhood profile bit will give you a good idea what to expect. Bad areas of Bristol include St Paul's, Knowle West and Southmead. Great areas include Clifton, Redland and Westbury-on-Trym, to name but a few. Good luck!
2006-12-11 08:57:24 · answer #3 · answered by Louise 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I moved into Bristol just a few months ago, into one of the 'less desirable' areas. I have found the people very welcoming, very accepting of who you are, very willing to let you join in anything going on. The shopping is wonderful, not just the centre but the retail parks dotted around the city and the centres outside the city. Like other respondees I suggest you visit for a few days.
2006-12-11 15:03:16 · answer #4 · answered by deborah_oughton 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a marvellous city but quite rough at night. Night life is excellent.
It is also the most segregated city I have ever been to in the UK, with many areas being exclusively ethnic and unwelcoming of other ethnicities.
But yes, I must admit I liked Bristol. I'm actually surprised you don't just go there for the day and find out for yourself?
2006-12-10 16:22:24 · answer #5 · answered by Not Ecky Boy 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It really depends on which part of Bristol you are going to. There are some really posh bits, and bits the police will NOT even enter unless in a huge group.
The public transport network is rubbish. It takes 2 hours on a good day to go 9 miles by bus in the morning rush hour. Public Transport from one area to another does NOT exist at night. Taxis cost a fortune.
The local authority schools are terrible. In some of them the kids really struggle to get any GCSEs, because the lack of funding for books, teachers etc.
2006-12-11 08:15:14 · answer #6 · answered by k 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i lived in Bristol; for a month doing a contract down there
the rush hour is really bad just as bad as London
there are also a lot of students down there so it makes for a cheap night out
i think Bristol is OK
2006-12-10 16:18:01 · answer #7 · answered by tony b 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
depends on what area you are looking to swap to. Shopping ok just about to get a hugh shopping mall built including harvey nicholls. And on the whole quite friendly can stand the bus drivers here though
2006-12-11 16:45:11 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Born & bred Bristolian - nice place - lots to do, lots going on. Yes, the traffic in city centre is diabolical, mainly thanks to a street plan that hasn't changed much since medieaval times and a succession of useless city councils, who - according to the local humour - have done more damage to the city than the Luftwaffe. OK, it has its dodgy areas and problems, but this is just like every other big city.
2006-12-10 16:29:02 · answer #9 · answered by Stephen L 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's ok, but nothing special. It's about 2 hours to London and Birmingham and 30 mins to Cardiff. It rains a lot and the centre of town isn't brilliant for shopping. It's just an average town.
2006-12-12 10:01:56 · answer #10 · answered by peter45 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋