Best Place to Live in ENgland??

There are a lot of people leaving the UK, especially to retire. High house prices have enabled people to trade their flat in London for a spacious villa on the Costa del Sol. However, there are still more people arriving than leaving, a large number of them from the new EU states.

Anyway, back to the question. Middlesborough is cheap but supposedly has a problem with pollution from the factories. I wouldn't live there. My native West Country is beautiful but the wages are lower than average and accommodation costs are higher. Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Liverpool are supposed to be on the up and worth checking out. I know you asked about England, but some of the Scottish and Welsh cities may be better value for money than much of England and may fulfill more of your criteria.

Cognomen, if you had "quite a good time" in the UK it would be helpful to hear what you did like as a reference point to all that you didn't. Your posts do make you sound bitter, whether you intend that or not. And you may not see it as bragging, but you are the only person I've seen mentioning their intelligence on Thorn Tree. Surely it should speak for itself? Lighten up, for your own sake. As it is, you're just confirming my belief that money can't buy happiness.