Cheltenham (England)

...to rest and moving to Cheltenham to start a new one. Lots of people have been asking me about Cheltenham, what's there etc. and upon looking through other reviews for this great town I find lots of history but no real depth as to what the place has to offer; what sort of lifestyle Cheltenham will provide you with. So I'm skipping the history and telling you what Cheltenham has to offer in 2006.



The Place

...the East of Gloucester. Cheltenham is surrounded by hills on three sides; these hills are known as the Cotswolds. From a rail commuters point of view Cheltenham sits 1 hour from Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham and Swindon. 2 Hours from Bath, Derby, and London. And 3 Hours from Manchester, Darlington, York and Exeter. For those wishing to commute a lesser distance by rail Gloucester is just a 6 minute train ride away. But my most important question is ... more

As many of you know I'm putting my laid back Cornish lifestyle to rest and moving to Cheltenham to start a new one. Lots of people have been asking me about Cheltenham, what's there etc. and upon looking through other reviews for this great town I find lots of history but no real depth as to what the place has to offer; what sort of lifestyle Cheltenham will provide you with. So I'm skipping the history and telling you what Cheltenham has to offer in 2006.

The Place

Cheltenham sits just a few miles to the East of Gloucester. Cheltenham is surrounded by hills on three sides; these hills are known as the Cotswolds. From a rail commuters point of view Cheltenham sits 1 hour from Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham and Swindon. 2 Hours from Bath, Derby, and London. And 3 Hours from Manchester, Darlington, York and Exeter. For those wishing to commute a lesser distance by rail Gloucester is just a 6 minute train ride away. But my most important question is why do you need to commute? Cheltenham is a completely self sufficient town with its own massive retail interests, government related centres, and industry. On top of that 22% of Cheltenham is noted as having natural beauty and 17% of the town is green belt land. But stop! I'll address all these issues one by one.

Employment

Cheltenham has a massive employment shortfall; but not in the way you may think. 25% of the population of Cheltenham are temporary residents, here for placements or learning opportunities. So unlike the rest of the midlands Cheltenham always has more vacancies than people to fill them. In a 24 hour period an average of 127 job vacancies will appear; this ranges from skilled to unskilled.
Cheltenham has a massive retail market; in 2005 Cheltenham was voted as a favourite shopping location in the UK in an online poll (the reason for this I'll talk about later) as a result the Retail employment opportunities are drastic, as I write this a new retail site has been acquired that will hold 76 new major retail outlets.
19% of the employment sector of Cheltenham is in industry whether it be building or production of glass. So skilled persons are always welcome here.
A massive 49% of the employment population are based in government related posts; whether it be education, medical or most impressively in GCHQ. The governments' communication headquarters are based in Cheltenham. The work carried out in GCHQ is essential to the operation of MI5 and MI6. GCHQ has an employment workforce of 9700 give or take a few.

Shopping

Cheltenham offers a unique variety of shopping; the town is split up into different sections Town Centre, The promenade, Montpellier, and Tewkesbury Road Retail.

Town Centre

The town centre itself offers the same sort of offerings as most town centres its key stores are Next, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, BHS, Wilkinsons and House Of Fraser. The House Of Fraser store is the largest in the UK, and offers a variety of additional products not available in most House Of Frasers. Obviously there are smaller retailers the likes of Game, Argos, Burtons, Thorntons etc. In total 211 Town centre units are filled with national retailers with a further 24 by local businesses. There are two shopping centres in the Town Centre The Beachwood Arcade, and The Regent Arcade which features the famous Fishing Wishing Clock.

The Promenade

The only way to describe The Promenade as that it's a taste of London, without actually being there. Most of The Promenade is allocated to big designers with the likes of Waterstones (there Cheltenham store is the largest in the UK) and Habitat sneaking in. The area is very leafy with wide streets; scattered through the area are various European eateries featuring outdoor eating. There are 43 retail units in The Promenade.

Montpellier

This is the really posh bit of town, the sort of place that you could get arrested for looking at the price tags on items. However sitting amongst these stores sits some lovely bars. There are 28 Retail Units here all of which are very high end; and no major retailers feature here.

Tewkesbury Road Retail

This area consists of a long road stretching over 2 miles. It begins with local based shops before spreading into larger Retail: Home Depot, Staples, Sainsbury's, M & S Simply Food, Next, SCS and PC world to name a hand full. There are 62 large retail units along this stretch of road. As well as dozens of smaller independent retailers. This is also to be the location for the new out of town shopping centre.

Socialising

From traditional British menus to tastes of the Far East; from swanky 5 star Restaurants from top celebrity chefs to all you can eat buffets; Cheltenham offers a variety of great eating places. Of course if you're a Fish & Chips type of person get yourself some from the 11 Chip shops in the Town.
As for nights out with the aid of alcohol Cheltenham has a massive amount of pubs and Nightclubs; in fact a brand new Pub and Club district is in the final stages of development.

Leisure time

Cheltenham has 6 gyms, 5 cinemas 2 of which are 8 screen multiplexes, two major bowling alleys and several large bingo halls. On top of this you have rivers for rowing in, parks for strolling in, and fields for lying in. If you like your entertainment to be varied Cheltenham has more cultural festivals than any other town in the UK with 27 left before the year is out. Festivals which vary in length from 1 day to 7 days feature focuses on food, entertainment, shopping, and leisure.
There are 10 parks in Cheltenham varying in size from the small to the very large. Some have mini zoos in them others have skateboard parks. All are well kept and vandalism is a site seldom seen.

Residential

Cheltenham has residential property varying in sale price from £75,000 to pretty much any amount you'd be prepared to pay. Property rentals begin at around £340 for a one bedroom house or flat. From new one bedroom flats to massive Victorian residences. There are four highly desired residential locations in Cheltenham: Tivoli, Pittville, Charlton Kings and Bishops Cleeve. At the same time there are areas that people struggle to get away from one of which is St Pauls.
Don't allow initial impressions of Cheltenham deceive you; its not all wealth and class. However you will find that most care deeply about how they are perceived.

Everything I missed

Cheltenham or Regency Cheltenham, or Cheltenham Spa as its otherwise known is one of the most established spa towns in the UK. It was found by believe it or not two birds, who it's believed colonised here (how they found this out I don't have a clue). Most of Cheltenham consists of large Victorian structures as Cheltenham was originally planned to be a London of the West.

Cheltenham is probably best known for its horse racing; you can scarcely go anywhere without being asked about horses. The Race Course is situated 20 minutes walk from the town.

Cheltenham is also well known for its plant life; flowers are an important part of Cheltenham and no opportunity to make the town look beautiful is missed.

Cheltenham despite its heirs and graces has some of the lowest council tax rates in the UK with yearly bills beginning at just £548 a year.

Gustav Holst the award winning composer probably best known for The Planets composition was born here. Also born here was "I may be some time" Captain Oates of Scott Of The Antarctic fame as was Edward Wilson of the same expedition.

TV show Butterflies and the movie Vanity Fair (2004) were filmed here.

Crime Statistics are some of the lowest in the UK; burglary levels are 22% lower than the average UK Level; and violent crime affects 1 in 3000 of the population.

Cheltenham has incredibly mild winters caused by it being surrounded by hills; on the downside snow lasts longer here than any of the surrounding towns.

If you like your food Cheltenham has all the major players in respect of supermarkets Sainsbury's, Tesco, Marks & Spencers, Waitrose (largest in the UK), Asda, Co-Op, Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons and believe it or not on the outskirts Wallmart.

Pittville Pump House is an ideal location for concerts artists that have performed here include Skunk Anansie (most of whom lived here), George Michael, Toyah, Midge Ure, U2 and even Olivia Newton John.

Cheltenham is the home of Eagle Star insurance.

If you think I missed anything out, please leave a comment and I'll update this piece with that information.
 

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