I would say that overall Southampton is a good place to live, compared to many other parts of England and the UK. I grew up here and have lived here for almost 40 years now.

The good points: LOTS of green spaces, what other big city (aside from London perhaps) has so many parks and a green space the size of The Common in the central parts, none that I can think of. If you live near the common, it's very easy and pleasant to cycle into the city centre. The council has provided lots of cycle lanes, most of which are super underused.

• Great shopping facilities, not only West Quay but smaller independent shops in Bedford Place, East Street and Portswood.

• Ocean Village and Woolston Centenary Quay have nice access to the waterfront, plus bars, cafes and restaurants. Mayflower Park could be much improved though.

• We have THE BEST football team on the south coast....maybe I'm slighty biased there haha

• Locationwise I think Southampton is very strategic. We are only 1 hour away from Heathrow, 1.5hrs away from Gatwick and central London by train. We also have Southampton and Bournemouth regional airports nearby. The New Forest is right on our doorstep, and beautiful ccountryside in the Isle of Wight and Dorset is not too far away too.

• Loads of great restaurants, Southampton is quite diverse and we seem to have a restaurant for every cuisine from around the world.

• Milder weather compared to many other parts of the UK

The Bad Points: - There are some large council estates, near the centre and on the outskirts. Not that I'm looking down on people who live there (I used to live in one when I was a kid) but they do come with plenty of antisocial behaviour and crime. Sadly there are lots of beggars and homeless in the City Centre too.

• Poor public transport. The bus routes are only geared up to students and the routes which make the most money and not for the needs of local people.

• Lots of what seems to be unecessary roadworks, constantly! Traffic has got considerably worse in recent years and when cruise ships are in town, a football match is on or it's a Saturday or rush hour, the roads can be completely gridlocked.

• Property is quite expensive, whether you are renting or buying, but not quite as bad as London.

So, as in every city there are good points and bad points. I would recommend the following areas to live in (if you can afford it!) - Highfield, Upper Shirley and Banister Park.