The UK has everything you could want for when looking for the perfect place to live. We have bustling cities nestling between picturesque landscapes that span a diverse landscape across four entire countries. It has also been at the forefront of culture, academia and innovation for centuries and continues to draw people from all across the globe looking to make it their home. As a result, the choices of where to begin looking can certainly be overwhelming. So let us be your guide as we navigate across all of this green and pleasant land to look for the best places to live in the UK.
London
Where better to start than the bustling capital itself? As Samuel Johnson famously said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life itself for there is in London all that life can afford”. This idea is even more relevant for London in the 21st Century with such an evolving and wonderfully diverse selection of neighbourhoods, each with their own history and advantages ready to explore.
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Knightsbridge
The reputation Knightsbridge has for its luxury boutiques and incredible department stores is well earned and world renowned. There is definitely something in the air that contributes to an overall feeling of cosmopolitan charm on the corner of every street here. This Westminster gem also boasts some of the most architecturally interesting buildings in all of central London. Georgian town houses rub shoulders with ultra-modern apartments and imperious hotels amongst leafy squares and rich verdant gardens.
As the home for the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal Albert Hall, Knightsbridge also provides opportunities for art, music, theatre and entertainment, with Michelin-starred restaurants ready to welcome you for fabulous food and drinks too. Sophisticated, elegant and exclusive, it represents the best of both worlds for modern residential comfort within the heart of one of the world’s finest cities.
The starting price for properties for sale in Knightsbridge is £2 million. For this amount, you can acquire a three-bedroom flat in Knightsbridge with two bathrooms and 1,208 square feet of living space. If you're interested in houses for sale in Knightsbridge, the starting price is £5.5 million for a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home that spans 2,580 square feet. Additionally, there are penthouses for sale in Knightsbridge. For those seeking to buy a townhouses in Knightsbridge, prices begin at £7 million, with these properties typically offering three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and 2,795 square feet of space.
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Soho
Soho is a hive of bohemian creative activity and expression. The neighbourhood that was once associated with a cultural revolution and music boom during the swinging sixties is still pulsing with an electric atmosphere for its residents and visitors. Legendary arts and music venues such as Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and the London Palladium are significant landmarks that pay homage to the past while providing platforms for the next great artists and entertainers. The streets themselves, decorated with engaging and eye-catching artworks, provide a unique landscape to explore historic pubs and hidden alleyways, with stories on every corner.
Soho has also managed to retain an inspiring sense of community and intimacy for the people that live and work there. Residential and business properties connect in harmony with each other from the bustle of Berwick Street to the tranquillity of Soho Square, with a vibrant energy that has to be experienced to be fully understood. This part of the city is where an old-world charm bursting with history is delightfully married with an indescribable modern magic.
You can purchase a two-bedroom flat in Soho for £2.1 million, which includes two bathrooms and offers 1,483 square feet of living space.
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Notting Hill
The colourful streets of Notting Hill are an appropriate reminder of its beginnings as a rural Eden with farms and orchards covering its acres. An area grew up from this heart of West London during the transformative development of the 18th and 19th Centuries to provide the grand Georgian townhouses and Victorian terraces we recognise today. Many of these buildings have now been sympathetically and carefully restored to bring them back to their original glory for new generations of residents to look after and enjoy.
Notting Hill is a diverse and captivating location that has welcomed influences from all over the world to contribute to its own exciting sense of place. The Notting Hill Carnival provides Europe’s largest street festival every summer and is a beautiful example of how this community pays tribute to its heritage. The Portobello Road market too is a wonderful melting pot and treasure trove of international cuisines, alluring antiques and vintage clothing retailers that thousands seek out every year.
The starting price for properties for sale in Notting Hill is £2.6 million. For this amount, you can buy a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house in Notting Hill with 2,159 square feet of space. If you’re interested in a three-bedroom flat in Notting Hill, prices begin at £7.4 million, offering three bathrooms and 1,919 square feet of living space. Additionally, penthouses for sale in Notting Hill are available starting at £7.4 million, featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and 1,883 square feet of space.
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Stockport
The Northwest of England boasts two titans of cultural importance and historical heritage in Manchester and Liverpool. However, it’s another town on the river Mersey that is now commanding plenty of attention in 2024. Stockport is perhaps the best example in the country of a place currently in the midst of regeneration and revitalisation. The artefacts of this proud industrial town can still be seen in the new and emerging business and homes that are blossoming all across the area. Loft-style apartments and creative studios sit next to boutique retail premises with a rapidly growing food and drink scene running alongside it all. The award winning Where The Light Gets In restaurant situated in a Victorian coffee warehouse was very much a pioneer here.
With exceptional transport links, great schools and incredible value for money in property, this town is waking up to a very bright future.
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Abergavenny
Abergavenny is a market town that sits at the foothills of the astonishing Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, South Wales. The breath-taking landscape and beauty of this location is matched by a rich history and culture that has led to it becoming known as the Gateway to Wales. With mediaeval streets and ancient buildings, including an 11th century castle that dominates the hill rising above the town, Abergavenny appears almost as a well preserved time capsule of a distant past.
This is a haven for runners, ramblers, cyclists and sight-seers with hiking and horse riding at the top of activities for locals and visitors to experience. Its emerging reputation as a culinary hotspot is also supported by the annual Abergavenny Food Festival that showcases the best artisanal Welsh produce with occasional appearances from celebrity chefs. If you are looking for an area full of activity with stunning views then there aren’t many better than Abergavenny.
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North Berwick
North Berwick has all the rugged cliffside scenery and sandy beaches that you want from a coastal town on the east coast of Scotland. With panoramic views across the Firth of Forth to the famous Bass Rock, it’s hard to believe that you are only 25 miles from the city of Edinburgh. Milsey Bay and West Beach provide the perfect enclave for sunbathing days and swimming trips, observing some of the most unique wildlife this country has to offer.
You can still see the remnants of a thousand years of history in the ruins of North Berwick Castle, just waiting to be rediscovered. And, of course, no Scottish coastal destination would be complete without a world-class golf course. North Berwick Golf Club is one of the oldest in the world and consistently ranked amongst the best in Scotland
The restored historic cottages and modern luxury waterfront apartments create a sophisticated bridge between two ages to provide homes that you genuinely couldn’t find anywhere else in the world.
There is so much to explore when looking for your ideal place to live in the UK in 2024. Ultimately, you may find that the journey of discovery is equally as exciting as the destination of finding your new forever home.
