Spotlight on Portsmouth Spotlight on Portsmouth

You may have heard recently, Southsea was voted by an American Travel Blog, Nomad Nation, as the coolest place to live on the south coast. In fact, they voted Portsmouth and Southsea as the second coolest place in the whole of the UK, London attaining number one spot and Brighton, third.

Nomad Nation describe Portsmouth as a surprisingly small city by the sea with tons of history and a lively student scene. It continued to say Portsmouth packs a whole lot of history into a relatively compact city set on Portsea Island and home of the historic cathedral, medieval sea defences and row upon row of heritage houses where, once-upona-time there was a pub on almost every corner! It was also not all about the historic side to Portsmouth that makes it an interesting place to be: the newer parts of the city make it pretty cool, too. Head to Gunwharf Quays for an amazing array of designer shops and shiny restaurants to try out while Southsea has seen regeneration and hosts a ton of hipster-friendly establishments.

We found it interesting Nomad Nation picked out Southsea for its ‘still affordable but decidedly more upmarket feeling’, than the rest of the city, as well as its excellent transport connections whether you are travelling to the Isle of Wight or just taking the ninety minute rail service to the capital while not forgetting the trendy bars and good shopping.

There is no doubt Southsea has grown in reputation and many who had not ventured to this desirable location have found out for themselves just how nice and diverse the area is. Given its size, there is a wide choice of housing ranging from 1-bedroom apartments to impressive detached Victorian villas as well as some fine seafront homes enjoying glorious views over The Solent and Isle of Wight. You will also find property prices very attractive compared to the neighbouring coastal resorts of Brighton and Bournemouth. While Southsea offers a domination of

Victorian/Edwardian homes, there is a scattering of modern developments and apartment blocks catering for all budgets with the charming ‘mini’ city of Old Portsmouth offering properties dating back to the Georgian era. Alternatively, the marina development of Gunwharf Quays reclaimed some of the old dockyard land adjacent to Portsmouth Harbour offering modern apartments (and some town houses), many with sea and harbourside views.

We are delighted Southsea was voted the coolest place to live on the south coast although to many who already live here, we are, not too surprised!