thinking about this more I reckon East Anglia would be the best place at the moment if you wanted both a reasonable “day job” (unlike other regions some places are still hiring) housing that is cheaper than in SE England and/or wanted to work with animals, more chance of getting a paying job you enjoy as well…
I was born and brought up in “Londonistan” (SE London, Lewisham/Catford area) and although it did have a buzz to it and was fun for a while, its getting decidedly angrier and edgy to the point where it is hard to have peace of mind no matter how much you are earning or what job you are doing
I would fully agree with those saying Croydon is a shithole.
Some friends of mine who live there had their car fired upon after a minor road rage incident, they only got a bullet hole in the wing rather than in any people but its still not pleasant!)
