Bradford - what a hole. I went to Uni in Bradford seven years ago and hated every minute of living in there. After I graduated I swore I'd never go back there but, unfortunately, I had to go back on my word as a friend got married there last summer. After revisiting it, it was apparent that not much has changed. Okay, so there is more nightlife there now than when I was there but, honestly, Bradford City on a Saturday daytime seemed like a dead town.

I didn't visit Bradford before I went to Uni there and I got the shock of my life when I arrived. The place feels generally unsafe and my worst fears were realised. None of us went out alone, not even in the daytime. I witnessed endless incidents (cars being vandalised, people being verbally abused) and on the two occasions I ventured out alone after dark I was approached by gangs of threatening men (and actually followed home on one occasion). So that's a 100% rate of feeling like I wouldn't make it home alive. Add to that the fact that about half of the people I knew had been broken into (and our own house was almost broken into until one of us got woken and chased the burglar away) and you start to get the picture. Everyone that I was friends with used to go home every single weekend as they couldn't wait to get away from the place. The only thing that stopped me from doing so myself was lack of funds.

Besides all that, there isn't really much to do. There are only about 3 shops worth going in and the pubs are ok while the students are there but not much cop when they're not. The curry houses are plentiful and cheap but that's hardly a reason to live there. Leeds is about 10 or 15 miles away and that's where you'll end up spending all your time if you want to do some shopping. It's easy enough to get there on the train though, so no problem there.

The other major issue I had with Bradford is the number of tramps, and their attitude. I have never seen so many tramps in one place and they're really aggressive and pushy. If you don't give them money they often get angry and abusive. I don't think I left my home once in three years without being approached - yes, APPROACHED - by a tramp begging for money. In the end I used to carry a pile of 20p coins round with me for distribution purposes. Not what you want when you're a student.

The only positive thing I can say about Bradford is that it is cheap. Taxis only cost a few pounds and you could get a beer or a curry for a reasonable price. But all the cheap beer in the world would not encourage me to stay there.