News / Bristol
Sunday Times Best Places to Live list leaves out Bristol for first time in 12 years
Bristol’s “gruelling transport network and pitiless property market” are among the reasons for our city not featuring in the Sunday Times Best Places to Live for the first time in its 12-year history.
As recently as 2017, Bristol was named in the annual guide as the UK’s best place to live where it was described as “cool, classy and supremely creative”.
Scottish seaside town North Berwick has been named the overall best place to live in the UK in 2024, with Sherborne in Dorset named the best place to live in the South West of England.
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Clevedon also features on the South West list, with the guide saying that “Bristol’s seaside neighbour is attracting growing numbers of refugees from the city’s gruelling transport network and pitiless property market”.
“It may not have the same grit or urban edge but it does have tree-lined avenues of smart Victorian villas, an elegant pier and, in Clevedon Marine Lake, a seawater infinity pool with a claim to being the largest in the world – an unbeatable asset for outdoor swimmers.”
The Sunday Times Best Places to Live says that “high house prices are no barrier to inclusion as long as they provide value for money” – photo: Martin Booth
Sunday Times Best Places to Live editor, Helen Davies, said: “What makes our guide unique is that we actually visit all the places we choose and talk to locals to find out what life is really like there.
“That means we can see what people really love about the places they live.
“That might be fast commutes and high-achieving schools but also clean water to swim in, lively town centres with useful shops, the possibility of earning a living and being part of a friendly community.
“We do consider affordability, though high house prices are no barrier to inclusion- as long as they provide value for money.
“Different people may be looking for different things, but what all our best places have in common is that people love living in them and are proud to call them home.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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