Beautiful Brighton seafront (Picture: Nickos)

OK, so apparently Bristol has been named as the best city in the UK to live in according to a survey and here we even have 12 reasons why Bristol is so great.

Well, I’m sorry Bristol but I see your bridge and I raise you a pier because here are ten reasons why Brighton (a top digital city previously voted ‘UK’s coolest city’ and one of the UK’s ‘happiest cities’) is so much better… all in the spirit of healthy, fun competition you understand:

1. You’ll always have friends

If you live in Brighton you know at some point every single person you know will pay you a visit. As soon as the weather turns someone, somewhere will say ‘it’s meant to be nice this weekend, we should take a run down to Brighton’.




The original seaside getaway (chosen by the Prince Regent for his naughty weekends away and considered therapeutic in the 18th Century) your home town will always be a pleasurable destination.

2. First gay marriage

A Brighton pair will be named as the first same sex couple to get married in the UK – one minute after it becomes legal on midnight March 29 this year. The unofficial ‘gay capital of the UK’, the annual Brighton Pride attracts over 100,000 celebrating attendees every year.

3. The first Green MP – Caroline Lucas

Caroline Lucas is MP for Brighton Pavilion (Picture: Ruth Lumley/PA Wire)

Whatever your political leanings you have to admire a city prepared to vote in an MP not from one of the main three parties. The constituency of Brighton Pavilion made a little bit of history in 2010 and questioned the status quo up at Westminster. The city has a long, political association with many party conferences being held on the famous seafront.

4. The oldest working cinema in Europe

Yes, The Duke of Yorks with it’s famous dancing legs sculpture is the oldest continually operating cinema in Europe. Opened in 1910 and still only presenting one screen and championing art house cinema it really is one of a kind. The area had a big input into the birth of film with two local chemists creating pioneering equipment and moving images as early as 1897.

5. It’s two cities really!

The twin cities of Brighton & Hove – both cities governed by the same council, but both quite different. Big, brash, beautiful Brighton and the slightly more serene little sister Hove who boasts the famous Regency seafront buildings (all painted the official, uniform ‘Hove Cream’) and offering locals calmer and quieter beaches when tourists take over in summer. Also, regulation beach huts.

Hove huts, yes the colour is on purpose (Picture: Nickos)

6. North Laine & The Lanes

I know most cities have a quirky shopping area, but in Brighton it’s the stuff of legend. From antique jewellery, to magic supplies, to armour, to our own local perfume house, to Choccywoccydoodah (yes the crazy, creative cakemakers from the TV show) the tiny shop and pub stuffed cobbled lanes are extraordinary. But it’s not all niche shopping – a nightly Ghost Walk of the Lanes tells extraordinary tales of the murderous and bloody acts that were committed here.

7. It’s witchcraft

Widely regarded as the mother of modern witchcraft Doreen Valiente lived and practiced in the city for most of her life. The first blue plaque dedicated to a witch was unveiled on her council block home on the summer solstice of 2013.



8. Culture innit?

Yes, where doesn’t have a festival or a parade of some sort these days but Brighton has the biggest festival of arts in the UK outside of Edinburgh, and the Fringe is the second largest in the world. There is usually something happening every weekend as the large green spaces and seafront offer beautiful backdrops to all kinds of activity – including the has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed Burning The Clocks, Paddle Round The Pier, the famous veteran car rally and Quadrophenia inspired mod scooter runs.

9. Making a night of it

Brighton comes alive at night (Picture: Getty)

Brighton has over 300 pubs and more restaurants per head than any other city outside of London. Plus plenty of theatres, comedy clubs and art and music venues that attract top acts. Brighton has its own breweries supplying local ales and Tuaca is the city’s adopted liqueur that has to be tried at least once! Also out and about you might bump into Fatboy Slim, Rizzle Kicks, Nick Cave, Ralph Brown, Zoella or PewDiePie who all make this cool city their home.

10. Fish & chips anyone?

There are ten billion stones on the Brighton and Hove beaches – we know because it was someone’s job to count them. An iconic part of the British landscape and the destination for eight million tourists a year, this stretch is not just about the famous Palace Pier but is home to an award winning fish Smokehouse, traditional clairvoyants, an old-fashioned carousel, the country’s oldest operating electric railway and let’s not forget the UK’s first nudist beach. Now, that’s the spirit!

Some fish & chips yesterday. (Picture: James Ross)