WHY?

A small university city that packs a big punch, Exeter’s charm lies in its blend of history, culture and proximity to the great outdoors, including miles of sandy beaches and the wilderness of Dartmoor National Park. With a population of around 134,000 and an average age of 35 (due to the high number of students), it’s a fantastic place to live, work and raise a family, without the traffic, noise and excessive competition for homes found in bigger cities.

But which district is best to buy? If you’ve got deep pockets and want to live a 10 min walk from the centre, St Leonard’s has twice been a Muddy Best Place to Live for its gorgeous period homes, but you won’t get much change from £1.5m. You’ll get more bang for your buck in nearby Heavitree or St Thomas with its own train station and a big choice of terraced homes, while Exeter Uni staff tend to make their home around leafy Pennsylvania.

EAT

Exeter’s vibrant foodie scene covers all the bases, from upmarket offerings like The Ivy and Southernhay House Hotel, to the family-friendly Rosa’s Thai in the Guildhall and Pizza Express on Cathedral Yard. We’re not short of indies either, and we have a soft spot for Al Farid‘s for its Moroccan vibe and shisha bar, the quirky winter dining pop-up sailing barge, The Snark on the canal basin, and Muddy Award-winning Harry’s is perennially popular.

For coffee culture, there’s the long-established The Exploding Bakery and Chandos Deli, or the brand-new 12 Bar Music & Social, a café-come-record-store, and POP for Detroit-style pizza. Walk down to the Quayside and sit by the river at any number of great eateries, including Rockfish (sustainably caught fish), On the Waterfront and the Quayside Distillery where you can also take a lesson in state of the art gin distillation.

Not forgetting the boozers (as if we would!), our favourites include Gandy Street’s sultry basement bar, The Mermaid, the cosy wood-panelled Hour Glass Inn, the bijou Crocketts for gin cocktails and Beckett’s for comopolitan rooftop vibes and fab and Cathedral city views.

SHOP

Crede women's boutique exeter devon — Crede

Exeter’s pedestrianised High Street may be often derided as bland, but who doesn’t love The White Company and a six-storey John Lewis? You only have to step away from the chains to find some brilliant boutiques, such as Busby & Fox and Crede for quality contemporary gear, as well as retro styling at The Real McCoy and Sobey’s.

Head down the cobbles of Gandy Street, reputedly the inspo for JK Rowling’s Diagon Alley, and you’ll find a mix of lively bars, clothes stores, gift shops and florist, including Floren Flowers and Maker Mart. The undercover Guildhall Shopping Centre, which has a 12th century Church at its heart, is home to oodles of eateries, along with a children’s play and nursing area.

Head to the shopping quarter of Princesshay for Reiss, Zara and the new Space NK. For homeware, IKEA is on the outskirts, along with a Tesco’s Superstore, a Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. The Cathedral Yard hosts monthly Independent Markets, plus a well-respected summer Craft Festival and Devon’s biggest, the Cathedral Christmas Market.

HEALTH & WELLBEING

You’re covered by local GPs, dentists, and the NHS Royal Devon & Exeter hospital, a teaching hospital with an A&E and a number of highly acclaimed specialist units and centres. St Sidwell’s Point, the UK’s first Passivhaus Leisure Centre, has a state of the art swimming pool, Technogym, thermal spa and classes. Just opposite, Studio Pilates Exeter, offers results-driven 40-minute classes on custom reformers and with qualified instructors for convenient pre and post-work and lunchtime workouts. The city also has a pool at Riverside, and Exeter Arena, with outdoor athletics and an indoor cycling studio and is the start/finish point for Devon biggest race every May, The Great West Run.

COMMUNITY

Cities are traditionally harder to break into community-wise, best done by joining an interest group. Creatives are well catered for by Exeter Phoenix, while the city’s fringe, including Fore Street, and increasingly Sidwell Street, are go-tos for Flea Markets and a tightknit band of makers and indie businesses. Sporty types can be found at running groups, Exeter Badminton Club, and Exeter Golf & Country Club which has a pool, spa, eateries and which hosts regular events. The city’s networking is buzzing if you know where to look, with the brilliant Six Degrees providing a community for professional (and non) women, plus Zest for singles, and Exeter Chamber for business meet-ups.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS

Go east or west and you have a range of good beaches with Exmouth and Dawlish Warren both being wide and golden, and under half an hour. More wide open space – and giant granite tors – abound on Dartmoor, along with traditional pubs and tea rooms. For kids, Devon’s biggest theme park, Crealy, is home to over 60 rides and an indoor play area, the zipwires of Go Ape at Haldon and Clip ‘n’ Climb on the Quayside.

The 18th century National Trust-owned Killerton House, has lovely landscaped gardens worth a visit at any time of year. The oldest building in Exeter, St Nicholas Priory is free to visit or go when its hosting a play or event for double the interest. Sports fans are catered for too: Sandy Park stadium is home to the Exeter Rugby Chiefs, or, if you prefer a day at the horses, head to Exeter Racecourse – known as Haldon Racecourse – as it’s perched on Haldon Hill just outside the city.

CULTURE

Exeter has been awarded UNESCO City of Literature status, with Exeter Custom House a great source of literary events, talks and workshops year-round. See plays, music and comedy at a choice four theatres, including the largest Northcott Theatre over on the university campus, while city culture hub Exeter Phoenix hosts a year-round programme of art exhibitions, creative workshops and outdoor theatre in summer.

The city’s museum, RAMM is a charming mix of modern and traditional Victorian glass-cased collections and home to more than one million individual objects and specimens from across the world. At the uni, the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is an under-the-radar gem of movie memorabilia and one of Britain’s largest collections relating to the moving image. Exeter Corn Exchange hosts a monthly programme of well-known comedians and music events, and there are three cinemas, The Vue, Odeon and a Picturehouse.

If you want to lift the lid on the city’s Roman history and architecture, two-thirds of the original Roman Wall are still visible (Exeter Red Coat Tours is your primer), and check out the 16th century House that Moved – literally – back in the 1960s to make way for a new road. Exeter’s Underground Passages is a unique tour showing how water was once brought to the city, dating back to the 14th century.

AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES

Expect to pay an average of £351,000, but four times and more in the upmarket areas of St Leonard’s and Pennsylvania. Terraces go for an average price of £322,000, semis for £370,000 and flats fetching £206,000.

HOT PROPERTY

Cathedral Close Exeter — Locations don’t come much more stunning than Exeter’s Cathedral Close – here’s your chance to nab one helluva townhouse, with help from Knight Frank £1,500,000

NURSERIES

Kiddi Caru comes highly recommended by local mums, as it takes babies and is open all year, or for 3+ the independent Exeter Pre-Prep School has an Outstanding Oftsted rating and, because it’s now part of the Exeter School family, gets use of the brilliant facilities there. Even better, there’s a shuttle bus from the big school each day saving you the drive to Exminster.

SCHOOLS

Secondary school age go to Isca Academy (Oftsed rated Good) and Church of England School St Lukes for 11 – 16 yrs. For independents, your pick from Exeter School, an academically superb selective independent co-educational day school for pupils 7 – 18 yrs, Exeter Cathedral School (3 – 13 yrs) and Maynards, an independent school for girls aged 4 – 18 yrs. Pupils join Exeter School from St Peter’s Prep, Exeter Cathedral School, St John’s Prep and St Leonard’s Primary.

BEST KEPT SECRET

Locals walk by all the time and many don’t even know it’s there: Parliament Street on the High Street, the UK’s narrowest at just a supermodel-squeezing 25in wide.

COMMUTE

Commuters can choose between city stations at St David’s, Exeter Central, Marsh Barton and Exeter St Thomas. Heading out? There’s an International Airport, two railway routes into London (Paddington and Waterloo, around 2 hrs 10 mins), the M5 to Bristol, and three Park & Ride schemes and various cycle routes around the city.

View the full Top 300 Places to Live.

Exeter

See more in Devon