5 Best Places To Live Outside Of London

There may be an element of a personal parochial bias at play here, but putting all partisanship aside for a moment, Teesside still has a more than viable claim to be on this list. No, really! Bear with me...

The spectacular array of bridges along the meandering route of the River Tees encapsulates the firm dichotomy of what the area is today: the hundred-year old iron behemoth that is the Transporter Bridge evinces memories of Teesside's proud industrial heritage, whilst the reflected lemniscate of Stockton's Infinity Bridge is a mirror image of the area's exciting future and indestructible spirit.

The river's two main outposts, Middlesbrough and Stockton, have traditionally been the butt of ignorant, snobbish sneers at best, and disproportionate and injurious vitriol at worse. But for anyone who has actually visited the Tees Valley, they'll understand the palpable sense of injustice. Yes, they both have all the elements of your typical Northern town, but is that a bad thing? The area is predominantly working class at heart, and with it comes a population who are honest, hospitable, and good-humoured. Can a friendlier bunch be found anywhere else? Perhaps not.

What about the place itself? Sure, it has suffered hard times, and there are parts of town that are in need of a bit of love, but everywhere you look you seen the signs of progress. Middlesbrough's centre has been revamped and rejuvenated, proudly playing home to the MIMA modern art gallery, Teesside University with its regenerated world-class campus, and there are trendy businesses left, right, and centre thanks to the Orange Pip Market initiative. Meanwhile, neighbouring Stockton's high-street is unrecognisable from recent years, the grateful recipient of an arts and culture funding initiative which has seen the town adorned with murals and sculptures which would be the envy of anywhere. If you get sick of all this, the verdant delights of Roseberry Topping and the North Yorkshire Moors are just a step away.

All the assumptions about Teesside are awry. Quite aside from being a grim, crumbling industrial town desperately clinging on in the face of economic peril, the region has resolutely stood in the face of adversity to reinvent itself as one of the country's most unappreciated areas.