Not the Ninth Worst Town in England (Mansfield in General)

Member Name: englishrose

Product:	Mansfield in General
Date:	31/07/09 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Central - easy to travel around England

Disadvantages: Not enough bookshops

Mansfield suffered the indignity of being Number 9 on the list of worst places to live in Britain, according to the television show 'Location, Location, Location' a couple of years ago.

So, were they right?

The first thing that has to be mentioned is the fighting spirit: Unlike any other town mentioned in the notorious list, Mansfield responded to Kirsty and Phil by installing a giant postcard in the middle of the town and allowing local residents their right to reply. The mind boggles as to what would have been written on it, but it was sent off to Channel 4 nonetheless.....

Mansfield was a former mining town, which then went into severe decline in the eighties and nineties. What is it like today?

Firstly, a general indicator of an upturn, are the property prices in the town: Mansfield used to be extremely cheap for the East Midlands area, yet in the early part of this decade, prices suddenly doubled within a year: This was probably related to the huge growth of shops and business premises being built in the area.

In the town centre, there is a thriving market on most days of the week, which takes places on a newly renovated pitch. Around this, there is a large shopping centre, The Four Seasons, which contains most major high street shops, including Debenhams, TopShop, River Island, Primark etc.

For food shopping, every major supermarket is represented here (not including Waitrose!).

There are excellent sporting and leisure facilities too, with the Water Meadows complex being one of the best in the Midlands. Across the road from this stands Mansfield Town Football Club.

Local amenities such as libraries, doctors surgeries, dentists, schools and religious communities are all well provided, and transport to nearby towns and cities is available by bus or train.

For a long time, Mansfield was famous for being the largest town in England without a railway station, but since this was corrected in the mid-1990's, the situation has improved considerably.

Nightlife is lively, mainly concentrated in the town centre, with many nightclubs, pubs and restaurants.

Overall, Mansfield is a large town that is well equipped and has fought back from serious problems. Like all towns and cities, it still has its' fair share of troubles, but it's certainly no worse than anywhere else.

Summary: A nice place to live