Brighton gets my vote, fantastic choice for its size :D
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Brighton gets my vote, fantastic choice for its size :D
I think London has to win for variety and numbers. Birmingham is ok but I do think as the second biggest city that it would have more vegetarian/vegan restaurants. Apart from the Warehouse Cafe and some Indian/Pakistani restaurants there isn't anywhere I can think of that is exclusively vegetarian/vegan? Worcester is far better in my opinion and a fraction of the size!
As we're moving to Yorkshire next year I'm hoping Leeds is a good vegan place to be.
I guess London is a much expensive place to live than Brighton - but how much? How much is a an average three room apartment (buy or rent) in London, and how much is it in Brighton?
I think house prices and cost of living in Brighton is fairly similar to many parts of London.
But obviously prices across London vary a great deal and to live centrally in both is way more expensive than to live a bit further out.
It all depends where of course.
In my suburb a one bedroom flat is nearly £200,000 and you won't be able to park anywhere near your home. Purpose built flats with parking seem to settle around £250,000 to £300,000. A four bedroom semi detached house will set you back £450,000 and upwards. Cheaper homes are available but the problem areas are really concentrated around here so it comes with some risk both personally and financially.
Many London Boroughs are similar, although we have an unusual amount of premium property locally, as well as fifteen minute fast trains to London. Low crime and pollution certainly seem to add to the appeal, even if the area is soul-less.
The upshot of the buy-to-let boom is that there is a surplus of affordable rents. A one bedroom flat with allocated parking, secure entrance and a short walk a mainline station and shops can be rented for £700pm which is less than some mortgages on the properties!
Some stats:
Average Property Selling Prices in Brighton Jan 2008
Detached £550,792
Semi £301,259
Terraced £301,598
Flat £197,691
All £277,179
Average Property Selling Prices in London Jan 2008 (average across all boroughs)
Detached £907,844
Semi £508,955
Terraced £512,120
Flat £330,052
All £418,137
Average Property Selling Prices in Abbey Wood Jan 2008 (affordable urban)
Detached no data
Semi £227,500
Terraced £188,556
Flat £120,125
All £175,500
Average Property Selling Prices in Richmond Jan 2008 (desirable suburban)
Detached £1,325,000
Semi £700,445
Terraced £571,407
Flat £307,980
All £443,693
Our flat in Brighton cost twice as much as our house in Croydon!
8 year gap though, so prices had risen - still a bit hard to swallow though!
Ouch! Worth it though :)
It was the cheapest flat we looked at but luckily the one we liked the most!
i dont have a best place
but ESSEX def has to go down as one of the worst surely???
i would if i could
but to be completely honest
i cant afford it
with being a student and all at university
my course actually costs me loads
so im stuck here a lot of the time
but i do head into london on the holidays usually
i don't see a problem with anywhere in the U.K - it's easy being vegan these days.
sheffield is pretty good,we have a really good cafe thats just for veggie and vegans,there are a few good places now.
Can Nottingham have a mention for poll purposes? It's not top, but there's a lot going on here that deeserves it's attention.
My brother lives in Brighton and I am finally going for a proper visit in August (I am literally always that skint that I have never even visited my own brother in the last 3 years or so....) when he graduates stroke 2. He's promised us a trip to some vegan-esque place, so how cool will this be!
I should probably get him a card...
I've added Nottingham now...
Very efficient Korn! Thanks!
I think Cardiff is pretty versatile. Although there is a huge meat-eating population, there is also vegetarian/vegan restaurants.
I voted Nottingham, purely because it has the widest range of vegetarian/vegan cafes, health food shops and so on out of the places i've lived in the last decade. We have, after all, got a vegan bar, plus a new veggie cafe just opened last week. (Dottie's on Mansfield Road - haven't had time to try it yet but everyone who has seems to like it)
I voted Brighton, for its size i think it offers the best choice, although london has a wider choice.
But my favourite place by some distance is Edinburgh, it a fab place with a huge range of places to eat and stay for vegans:)
HA!!! NOT Salford!!! . . . . I'll get my coat! :|
I voted Cornwall, theres such an abundance of fruit and veg. There are a few health food stores, but you can buy alot of food online.
Although there are hardly any vegan societies, well, to be honest, theres hardly anything in cornwall anyway, apart from vegan societies. People seem to be more tolerent of it here aswel.
Although, I was going to vote for London, my parents live there, and there are loads of groups and health food stores.
I thought i'd vote for cornwall though, its not such a bad place :-)
Edinburgh! It has Henderson's!
In my (albeit limited) experience, Glasgow really has a lot going for it. There are a handful of pure vegan restauraunts and a bunch more veg*n ones. Around the university area, there's a meaty-restauraunt that has vegan things marked on the menu, and even the starbucks has a vegan wrap and a vegan panini (both falafel) which I haven't seen anywhere else. A bunch of health food stores, and a veggie deli also help. I think given the size of the population in Glasgow, and the obviously smaller vegan population, we're really over-catered for (if there is such a thing)
The 78 indeed does rock socks. Especially the dark chocolate torte. Every time I go there I eat one and every time I feel so full and sick that I promise I'll never eat another one but they're just tooooo tempting!!
I forgot to mention the vegan night club too, The Flying Duck, run by the same person as the 78 (and Mono and Stereo - the guy has a slight monopoly on Glasvegans) and as well as the vegan drinks and veneral atmosphere, there's also FREE TOAST with vegan butter, it's great.
FREE TOAST???!!! :eek:!!!
I have to glasgow if there's a place that does free toast!!
How come York isn't on the list as an option hehe:p
Anyway, now my all vegan shop in in York and just a 5minute walk from an all vegan restaurant and a couple of other places that cater for vegans , I'd say York, but maybe that's becuase I'm biast lol hehehehehe:D;):p
Totnes, South Devon is full of alternative people and hippies, it is a small town but has 3 health food shops, one of them in particular is big and has lots of vegan stuff. Not sure about eating out, but def has one really good vegan/veggie restaurant.
I think Glastonbury being a hippy town is easy for vegans too, probably ALL veggie cafes there I imagine!
Brighton's got to be one of the best places. So many places to eat, good health food shops, a veggie pub and home to vegetarian Shoes. I visit whenever I can and spend far too much money.
Lets hear it for Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.
My local areas are Manchester andTtodmorden/Hebden bridge, both of which are super (I live between the two). But I have several places i go for the odd holiday week. One is the South West - when I always visit Glastonbury/Avebury and I was amazed to find the Soya milk at the latter national trust cafe - as mentioned above. I usually book a lunch at the Shekinashram at Glastonbury - wonderful food!) Bath is also lovely with both demuths and the Metropolitan cafe, both of which usually have some vegan options. My other holiday destination is London when I usually take the odd trip to Brighton, which is mentioned above. But surely - London has to be the very best place - not only are there all those cafes but there are the actual shoe shops (I'm afraid that's important for me)
I was gonna moan that my city isn't on the map, but then it isn't exactly 'Vegansville' anyway.
I've not been on holiday or stayed overly long in any of those (i did live in Lincoln. It sucked).
Just out of interest, Exeter (where i live) we do have a veggie restruant that has plenty of vegan options, Boston Tea Party (coffee house) always have vegan cakery stuff - from muffins to flapjacks as well as vegan options on their menu. MOst of it is organic and fairtrade, as well. It changes daily. (No, i don't work there :P but i spend lots of time there - coffee, soffffaaas and wiiifiii = count me in!)
The Phoenix Arts Centre also have vegan options on their menu.
Wow. i sound like a tourist information stand.
We like vegan tourist information on this board d0od! :D
surely brighton is top place to be especially with the brighton vegan fayre a month away, the poster looks wicked good
http://www.myspace.com/veganbristol
Norwich! It has everything I need and although options for eating out are limited what is available is good honest vegan fayre. Veggieland offers the best vegan chinese buffet ever and its cheap. Beware though as some produce for sale in the freezer contains egg! For a sit down lunch the greenhouse is superb with friendly staff, vegan mains and cakes, a health store and lots of green living info and help.
Stores worth mentioning are rainbow, the greengrocers, holland and barrett, the farm store on wroxham road and the organic stall in the market.
Theres also wholefood world and mangreen just to the south (where I live).
My sister lives in Norwich and whenever I've been there its been great and more vegan stuff is there each time I go. We always go to the vegan place near the market square with the restaurant upstairs and the shop at the bottom.
Its a really pretty city too way more vegan friendly than grey old Southampton :(