Bristol... Help

Hi,

I recently moved down to Wiltshire for work. Other than the people I work with, I don't know anyone. I currently live in Chippenham, my initial reasoning being that it was close to the hospital I'd be based out of. But now I'm incredibly bored of it and feel like I'm missing out by not being in Bristol and I have to cover a number of surgeries which means I can afford to be a bit more flexible with where I'm based. My question to you, if you have any knowledge of the area at all, is which areas I should look at? I need reasonably good access to the M4 or the A4 as I need to get to Swindon and Calne for work. All I'd ask is that the area be fun but not too students. I don't want to be hearing pub crawls every night throwing up on my car.

Thanks for your input.

I'm a student aha so probably not the best person to give advice! Clifton's gorgeous obviously, but not cheap. Alot of students live there, but they tend to be second and third years and the night life doesn't stray up there. Some serious money though I would imagine.

Cheers, Nath.

Where do the young professionals tend to go? I'm going into Bristol this weekend for a bit of a scout around.
I've heard Clifton is nice but a bit pricey and I've heard traffic can also be a nightmare!

Redland I would think, and maybe Cotham. And St. Andrews. They're also lovely areas, and probably won't burn a hole in your pocket as much as clifton.

As it happens, I live near Chippenham and work in Bristol! I used to live in Bristol too. In my opinion, even if your budget stretches that far, I'd avoid Clifton as I don't think it would meet the criteria of being commutable and reasonable civilised at night.

North Bristol is the best for commuting access but how far north you go depends on how much of a compromise between commuting and night life you're willing to make. I used to live in Westbury Park near Durdham Downs which is a pretty good balance. I also lived in Bradley Stoke (AKA Sadley Broke) which is great for commuting and has livened up a little in the last few years. It's quite a way from the centre though.

There's a lot of different "cultures" in Bristol, so it varies a lot in the different areas. Avoid Knowle, St. Pauls and anywhere near the bottom of the M32.

I live in Hotwells, which is great. It is quite lively here but not too much so, and it is near to town and Clifton. It's right at the bottom of the Portway, so you can just drive straight up there and onto the motorway.

Other good areas are as Nath said.

Redland is very residential, more grown up and quiter. Nightmare for street parking though and pretty pricey. Very picturesque area.

St Andrews is lovely, near Gloucester Road which is pretty studenty though and not the prettiest area- lots of fun though. A real mix of students and families. Parking, again, pretty tedious but not so bad.

Cotham would be my recommendation; it is basically bang in between Redland and St Andrews, both geographically and in terms of the lifestyle it offers. It's near to the lovely bars of Whiteladies Road, level with Clifton so great fro strolling over there, and near to Glos Rd for all the pubs etc that it offers. A good compromise!

Thanks for all your suggestions/pointers here.
I'm looking at a place in Southville this eve which I know might be a bit of a pig traffic wise but apparently it's really close to the portway. I will be sure to check out Cotham as well!

The Portway's fine if you're heading out to Avonmouth or Weston-Super-Mare but I'd have thought being that side of town would add a fair time to your commute to Chippenham.