Born and raised in London, and aside from moving out for Uni (where even then I was still very much in the south) I haven't really seen much of England.

Partly because I haven't really had the opportunity too, and partly because I'm Black and the idea of being far from the ethnically diverse London & southern regions seemed daunting.

However, with things as they are now, I don't see much point in paying extra ££s to be in London when everything's completely fucking shut down.

I can't pull the trigger on going international atm because of other commitments, but I've always heard how Midlands/Northern cities are apparently way more sociable and wild fun, so I figured I'd do some exploring.

Currently thinking about Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, or Newcastle. Heard a lot of good things about each, and people who I've met that were from there have always seemed to be more comfortable when it comes to interacting with strangers...

So from people who have been (especially if you're also familiar with London) what's each city like?