Where does everyone live ?

We live just outside Cambridge, which is about an hour to central London, and I'd guess 60-90 minutes from Birmingham by car

Pros:
Lots of jobs in tech / medical (we're engineers)
Lots to do (you could go out every evening to music/lecture/clubs etc)
The city center is beautiful for walking around
Less than an hour into London for weekend visits
Centrally located so good for getting to other parts of the UK by car (not so much by rail because UK rail is radial from London)

Cons:
House prices are very high (as a multiple of salaries)
Traffic is gridlocked through the city much of the day

I live in Plymouth in the South West of the UK in the county of Devon. I have lived here for a long time and I have to say, not very many bad things to say about it.

Pros:
- Cheap(ish) cost of living.
- Various activities, nightlife, shopping centre etc. (Gigs, pubs and clubs, massive shopping place)
- Beautiful moorland scenery.
- The sea is right here
- Not very long from London
- Football Stadium known as Plymouth Argyles.
- Historical value.


Cons:
- Sometimes boring

But nothing much else!

I just noticed that you said "30 minutes drive to London".   Just FYI, nobody ever drives to London.  There's nowhere to park and the roads are gridlocked

Sounds like one of the classic quotes attributed to Yogi Berra ..."nobody goes there anymore....it's too crowded." 

Sounds like one of the classic quotes attributed to Yogi Berra ..."nobody goes there anymore....it's too crowded." 

Somebody on traffic:

You aren't stuck in traffic....you are traffic.

I live in a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands.  Lots of pros, like sheep and cows and quiet!!! There's a great regional community council and the village hall has a few things going on. We have a mobile library and they host a post office in the village hall a few days a week and for those older, there's a community meals on wheels a few days a week.   Also, it's so small that when we have kids, the regional primary school has about 25 kids, so very small class ratios.  We're also 20 minutes to a not very big city, but this has everything you need and good nightlife and we're only 15 minutes from another big town, again, with things you need.   It's bliss!!!!

I live in a tiny village

   "It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside."
   "You horrify me!"
   "But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard's blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbours, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is but a step between the crime and the dock. But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser."

 - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)

Holmes didn't like the rural life apparently.

- Football Stadium known as Plymouth Argyles.

The team is called Plymouth Argyle.
Their 'stadium' is called Home Park.

I'm back in the US sorting out my visa but my home in the UK is in Greater Manchester. The actual city of Manchester itself is ok. I like some of the old yet beautiful buildings and the markets at Christmastime but try to avoid the city centre when possible because there are some crime issues in Piccadilly Gardens, but I like my small town on the outskirts, nice flats canalside and by the River Tame. We're about 45-50 minutes from Liverpool and just over an hour to get to York (my most favorite city in the UK!!). The transport links are decent too.

I live in London with my Brit husband and my feisty 10 year old daughter. My husband travels to central for work and we currently live in Highgate. Our flat is in a renovated Victorian build with direct access to a lovely 150 ft garden (we share that with 3 other flats). We also have a driveway to park our car, a washer AND a condensed dryer. That has been a lifesaver for me! I love how villagey it is without feeling too small. The proximity to Hampstead Heath isn't too shabby either Although, I digress the school borough we fall into sucks big time We are considering moving to Maida Vale, Fulham or Hampstead - if our budget allows it. Obviously, there so many benefits to living in a big, vibrant city like this, but I do miss having more space and would prefer not having to hear what my neighbours are doing But you take the good with the bad. I still feel blessed to live in the city, although my husband is growing tired of it and would rather live in a small town. I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet!