Peterborough has just been revealed as one of the UK’s fastest-growing cities.
Job growth is up 23.9% from 2014 to 2024, and population growth over the same period is at 14.2%, which is twice the national average.
Located just 48 minutes from London, the cathedral city in Cambridgeshire has also earned praise for being one of the cheapest locations for commuters to move to.
All of this means it’s ‘performing well as a city’, according to Councillor Mohammed Farooq.
However, if you were to ask residents about life there, it seems they’d paint a very different picture.
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‘Peterborough city itself isn’t in great shape,’ a Reddit user, known as u/Deep-Ambassaord6373, recently posted.
‘It’s been underinvested in for years, feels stuck in its ways, and you can see the decline more or less everywhere you go.’
Other social media users, on Reddit and X, feel the city is ‘dismal’, and a ‘dump’ with an ‘atmosphere of misery’, which are perhaps some of the reasons it was voted the second most depressing place to live in Britain, by ILiveHere in 2024.
Over the years, it has also regularly topped the list of the 50 ‘worst’ places to live in the UK, with it holding the title for three consecutive years until 2022 when it was knocked off the top spot.
But it wasn’t always like this.
On X some users fondly recall the city being a great spot to be back in the 80s.
Dan, who posts as @aaronaarrdvarrk, said: ‘I know Peterborough fairly well, and the change has been incredible since the 80s when it was a small, clean, modern city; it’s a total dump these days.’
A user named @jenn53803 felt similarly, claiming Peterborough used to be ‘beautiful’. They added: ‘Peterborough is now a s***hole!! It used to be a beautiful market town, with a lot of heritage and traditions. Now it’s a dump.’
While u/slophiewal believes the city still has the potential to be ‘fantastic’ and ‘thriving’, but ‘just seems to fall a bit short’.
Why do people live in Peterborough?
The ‘great value for money’ when it comes to houses is the big saving grace for many residents.
According to recent data from Rightmove, over the last year, properties in Peterborough had an overall average price of £254,282.
The majority of sales were semi-detached homes, selling for an average of £239,693, with terraced properties fetching £195,691 — a price you’ll certainly be lucky to see in London.
In comparison, the latest figures from Zoopla reveal the average property in London is now valued at an eye-watering £654,969.
There are also several lovely tourist attractions, including the city’s impressive Norman Cathedral, which was built in 1238 and has a rich history. For those interested in Henry VIII and his many wives, it’s worth a stop; his first, Catherine of Aragon, was buried here.
You can also visit the sixteenth-century Burghley House, and for those who love the outdoors, there’s Nene Park, which stretches for 10km along the valley of the River Nene, with Ferry Meadows Country Park in its centre.
And of course, you’re not far from picturesque Cambridge, perfect for a day trip where you can go punting on the river, and wander around the quaint cobbled streets.
This comes after it was revealed that people are currently flocking to Wandsworth in South West London.
It’s becoming increasingly popular with movers, as a 2025 study analysing more than 23,000 moves found that it was the most popular London borough.
But it’s not exactly a cheap enclave to move to. Over the last year, house prices in Wandsworth have averaged at over £810,224, towering over the current national average of £269,900 (according to Zoopla’s figures).
Renting here also costs a pretty penny, as Compare My Move’s research found that the average monthly payment comes in at £2,526.
But people say they love the ‘feeling of peace’ the area has, the green spaces, and the ‘fantastic’ schools.
A version of this article was first published on April 20, 2024.
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