UKC

Hello all, I'm moving to Bristol in the next couple of months and am wondering where I should live? Access to a climbing wall and the town center would be useful but I will be working out of town so need easy access to the M4 for work. Has any one got any recommendations for areas or a house share they have a spare room in?

Cheers
Joe

In reply to jld579:

st werburghs.

In reply to jld579:
St. P, or Easton innit.

In reply to Choss:

Is it okay getting out onto the m4 from here?

In reply to jld579:

close as you can get. Both on M32

In reply to jld579:

St george is nice - has a decent park is very close to The climbing academy bouldering wall, some nice cafes and pubs on church road and is close to the M32 and is easy to get into town.

St Pauls and Easton both have large ethnic communities which may put off some people (I've lived in both areas for years and never had any problems at all).

Other nice areas are st werburghs - nice if you like organicy food type hippyish places (it also has Undercover rock, and a new bouldering wall being opened imminently). St andrews is very nice, bit studenty and quite pricey though.

Redland and clifton are posh - nice, but not my thing and not that close to the m32. There's also a wall in southville/bedminster, which are both ok too, some parts are a bit chavvy.

In reply to jld579:

Some people consider St Pauls and Easton to be some of the less desirable areas to live in Bristol. I would definitely recommend taking a trip there before committing to living there.

In reply to jld579:

I lived in Horfield which is studentville so easy to get somewhere to share I'd have thought.
It was a few years back mind, before they built Ikea!

I find Bristol so crushed near the centre, so personally I'd be tempted to look a bit further out - Hanham, Yate....

In reply to jld579:

I have the unfortunate pleasure of working in various areas of Bristol,

I'm so glad I don't live there, best view of Bristol is the one in my wing mirrors as I drive out of the city

Overcrowded
Dirty
Expensive

As jambutty said look further afield

Royal York Crescent

Hanham area is okay (white, suburban, leafy... consequently a bit dull) and Yate is one of the true arseholes of the universe. It would take 30 minutes with no traffic to get to a climbing centre, and over an hour if busy, so don't consider that as it wouldn't work for your requirements.

St George is a great location, as is Easton (in the right parts) and Werburghs, most areas of Glos Rd are good but can suffer with higher rent/prices.... Lots suggesting you should live near UCR, although in my opinion the climbing centre at Bedminster is better than UCR, but that really is personal preference as UCR is still a great place.

Bristol is a fantastic city, I love it.

In reply to jld579:

Southville/Bedminster/Windmill Hill.

Best part of Bristol to live I think. North Street is a good place to go out. Easy access to parks and Ashton court, 10min to the airport and easy to get to the M32/ M4 as well as the A369 onto the M5.

Good luck with the move.

Toby

In reply to ianlaw:
Hi Ian.

Yeah Gloucester road is my favourite area of Bristol. Varied Independent Shops, plenty of pubs, cafes, etc. arty, very bohemian vibe. close to Centre, and UCR and new wall.

Bedminster or southville have a Similar vibe, feels a bit like Deptford in south London, but Probably quite cheaper for rents. Near RedPoint.

St George and Kingswood feel a bit far out but quite Lively. Near TCA.

And if youre Minted, Clifton will put you Right by Avon gorge.

Other areas with Climbing Nearby would be Westbury or southMead for Trym Valley, Easton or fishponds for snuff mills, and way out in brislington or Emmersons Green for the Ring road boulders.

In reply to jld579:

Best city in the country

Kingsdown / Montpelier which be my recommendation. I.e. somewhere in the Gloucester road neck of the woods.

In reply to jld579:

If you need access to the M4 don't even think about anywhere south of the citycentre.

The M4 is about 5 miles from the centre. St George / St. Werberghs at J3 of the M32 would give good access to the M4 (and is the least congested junction for getting out to the M4). You would also be within easy cycling/walking distance of city centre, Undercover rock and two bouldering walls.

Having said that, I don't really rate them as the nicest places to live - they're a bit dingy.

I currently live in St. George but am moving to Downend. Nicer more family freindly area but need to drive to city centre and the wall.

Telling someone moving to Bristol to live in St. Werburghs is terrible advice without also flagging the slow refresh rate.. there are routes in there older than some actual crags. Living next door might be convenient but I'm not sure it would hold its attraction for long.

Do be careful about the traffic - Bristol has some of the worst congestion in the country and the M32 / ring road area can be very bad at rush hour. I live 7 miles from work and have taken an hour to drive in more than once.

The city is well set up for cycling (more in the north east direction than the north west) - living a bit further out could be an option.

In reply to mullermn:

This has some truth, and funnily put.

Soon after it opened they had a bizarre Travelator climbing wall thing. Where did that go, and why does their bouldering wall have a massive pair of testicles Hanging From the Ceiling? It Looks like Someone has had an unfortunate Accident with a hole in the Floor above, and their kajungas being Trapped in said hole have swollen to unusual Proportions.

Worth Pointing out their is a new wall opening in st werburghs, Allegedly this Month.

In reply to Choss:

Cheers for all the advice, seems like the recommendations are quite consistent and central! Any where further out or rural that's nice but on a train line?

I have heard the routing at UCR is old from a few people now, where is the new wall? Also the traffic in and out seems to be a well known issue, don't fancy spending my days in massive traffic jams! Might have to come up and explore see what these areas look like.

And does any one have or know of a room free in a month or two?

In reply to jld579:

http://blocclimbing.co.uk/bristols-newest-climbing-wall-opening-soon/

In reply to The Norris:

Cheers

In reply to jld579:

If you want to base your location solely around climbing walls - Don't go to ucr! It's poor at best. If it wasn't the first wall to open and have the advantage of being established, it would be empty. Redpoint is miles ahead for routes and TCA is a top bouldering venue. I live by ucr and still make the trip to the otherside of the city to go redpoint

That said there is more to life than climbing. I'd avoid anywhere too south. Close to the river, edges of bedminster (coronation road etc) is a good spot. Though for easy access to m4 I think horefield is the spot to be. Maybe somewhere around St. Andrews would be good?

In reply to jld579:

Forget what is said further up the thread about Yate, it's actually a really nice place! Very easy access to the M4, right under the Cotswold Escarpment with stunning countryside and easy to find a place to live. Chipping Sodbury which is right next door has a lovely highstreet with two great butchers, a greengrocer, and a newly opened Waitrose. There is a main line train station in Yate and an excellent bus service to both Bristol and Bath.

In reply to jld579:

I'm in Keynsham which is one stop out on the train to Bath, about 10 mins. It's relatively rural and Bath is just down the road too which is a bonus (if you fancy a quick trip to the home counties). Getting to the M4 is not too bad if you go through Wick and you end up a ways further East than the M4/M32 junction. TCA is a ten minute walk from Temple Meads or so, or you could drive to there or Redpoint in about 20 minutes depending on time of day. The Gorge is about half an hour away, Chepstow and the Wye Valley about 50 minutes, Cheddar similar.

Agree about steering clear of St Werburghs, unless you like hippies in which case it would be lovely.

Depends quite a lot on your situation - if you are young and single I'd go as close to the city centre as possible to enjoy the nightlife, if you are not so interested in that stuff or have or are thinking about a family I'd avoid the burbs and head further out.