Important Notes: I declare no conflict of interest for any of the places of interest, stores or restaurants I mention below. I also take no responsibility if you have a bad experience in/at any of my recommendations.
It’s happened again: As I’m quite famous(!) in my circles for still living in Leicester (read ‘less-ter’ or ‘Lestah’ if prefer local language) although I work at the University of Cambridge, I once again got asked about how life in Leicester is. So it’s time for me to write a blog post and share my general views. To get a more comprehensive view, you can always read the relevant Wiki page, which has a lot of nice information but is boring to say the least 🙂
TL;DR – cut the crap and tell me why I should live in/visit Leicester!
Leicester’s famous for:
1- Being one of the most multicultural cities in the UK – you can eat fantastic Indian, Chinese, Italian and Turkish food for great prices and there’s always some festival going on (e.g. Leicester Caribbean Carnival, Diwali Day Celebrations, Comedy Festival – see list here). You can also find almost everything Indian on Melton Road or stores such as Falcon Cash & Carry
2- Its sports teams such as Leicester City FC (watch this documentary) and Leicester Tigers (one of the most successful and famous Rugby teams). Leicester Riders is also one of best basketball teams in England but the sport isn’t that popular here.
3- Its famous sites such as Richard III’s Tomb (at Leicester Cathedral), Roman settlements from two millennia ago (e.g. see Jewry Wall Museum), and the National Space Centre
4- Its famous people/bands such as Sir David Attenborough (and the Attenborough family), Gary Lineker, Prof. Sir Alec Jeffreys (see below), Kasabian, Engelbert Humperdinck, Mark Selby and many others
5- The discovery of DNA fingerprinting – which revolutionised forensic investigations – at the University of Leicester (a top 200 university) by Prof. Sir Alec Jeffreys (read about one high-profile case here)
6- Its famous exports such as Thomas Cook (who rests at Welford Rd Cemetery – see tweet below), Walkers Crisps, and Admiral Sportswear – who manufactured and marketed the first football kits in the 1970s (Quorn could also be included in this list)
7- Its fantastic countryside (especially Bradgate Park, Watermead Park, Beacon Hill/Outwoods, Charnwood Forest, Foxton Locks, Rutland Water, Wistow Maze) and other ‘green’ spaces (e.g. University Botanic Garden, Attenborough Arboretum, Brocks Hill Country Park, Wash Brook Nature Reserve, Shady Lane Arboretum, Barnsdale Gardens (£), Launde Abbey/Park, Aylestone Meadows, Knighton Park, Abbey Park, Stoney Cove, Spinney Hill Park).
The beautiful Heights of Abraham and Dovedale (both in different parts of Peak district), Attenborough Nature Reserve (Nottingham) and Wollaton Park (Nottingham) are also a ~50 minute drive away. West Midlands Safari Park (near Birmingham) is ~1hr 20mins away.
8- Its geographical location as it’s within driving distance to almost all major cities and English Heritage sites (incl. being very close to Warwick Castle, Isaac Newton and Shakespeare’s birthplaces, the historical market town of Market Harborough, and Stamford/Burghley House). Also Birmingham International Airport being ~50 mins away has been fantastic for picking up my visitors from abroad – mostly Turkey
9- Being ‘value for money‘: You can buy a flat/house in a nice neighbourhood and provide a decent life for your family with an average salary (~£2000 a month***)
(10- I don’t go to pubs much but there are some nice pubs like The Old Horse, The Grange Farm, The Landsdowne and the Marquis – but don’t take my word for the quality of their drinks)
That’s it! If you want further info and like watching videos, then I would also recommend this video on top 50 attractions in Leicester and this playlist on Leicester (or this YouTube channel on the Oral history of Leicester and the East Midlands)
Who are you to talk about Leicester?
I’m 31 at present, and although I was born in Turkey, I only lived there (in Ankara) for 6 years and 22 years in total in Leicester: between ages 1-7, then did my SATs (ages 12-14) and GCSEs (15-16) at Crown Hills Community College, A-Levels (16-18) at Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth I College, undergraduate degree (19-23) and first Postdoc job (27-30) at the University of Leicester (see My Research page for details). I also met my wife, got married (at the Town Hall) and became a father in Leicester. The magical 2015-16 Premier League season happened the year I returned to Leicester to work at the University of Leicester after a 4-year stint in Bristol (ages 23-27) for a PhD at the University of Bristol. I had been watching most (and even attending some) Leicester City FC games when I used to live in Bristol between 2012 and 2015.
Since my second arrival to the UK in 2000, I’ve been very active in the Turkish/Kurdish community in Leicester, worked in many take-away shops in different parts of Leicester and even served as the President of the Turkish Society at the University of Leicester for ~2 years. I even co-setup a Sunday league football team for in 2007. Through these, I’ve met all sorts of people and taken part in many sportive, intercultural and interfaith events in Leicester – so I’m more knowledgeable than many in this regard. For example, I know that many religious groups and sects that you’ve probably never heard of have a temple/shrine in Leicester (see Leicester Council of Faith for some examples – I even met a true Shaman in one event who offered to read tarot cards for me and invited me to their place for some enlightenment 🙂 ).
Throughout the years I became a bit of an ambassador for Leicester as the city became famous – and more and more of my friends started paying a visit out of curiosity. I’ve taken >100 people/families on a Leicester tour over the last 3-4 years.
Finally, I was recently awarded the ‘Future Leader Award’ (2020) by the University of Leicester Alumni Association for my “academic achievements and notable community work post-graduation” (see my tweets and blog post)
Life in Leicester for me
I like to keep it short when introducing “my second home town” (or more correctly joint-first): Leicester is a wonderful place to live in. For me it’s just the right size: not too big, not too small. It has so much to offer for any type of person – whether you like food, sports, cultural activities, the countryside or history. It’s geographically well placed so you are close to almost all cities in England – you can go to London in an hour by train which is how long it takes for most Londoners to reach somewhere in London. I made it to North London (e.g. Woodgreen) so many times in ~90 minutes by car. Add on top of all this the world-class university (that is, the University of Leicester but even DeMontfort University’s competitive in certain fields) and getting the chance to meet people of many many ethnicities/cultures and faith with virtually no violence/tension between the different communities. Not too many reasons to be unhappy 🙂
I tried some of my favourite* Indian food at Tipu Sultan and Kayal**, (Western) Chinese food at Karamay, and Turkish food at Konak. It’s also been nice to see Korean-inspired Grounded Kitchen do so well since opening their first store on Queens Road exactly where our old (TJ’s Kebab) take-away shop used to be (yes! we used to own a take-away shop like most Turks have in the UK!). There are also some fantastic cafes and book shops on/near London Road, Queens Road (esp. Loros and Clarendon Books) and St Martin’s Square.
I really enjoy walking to the Welford Road Cemetery with my wife for its serene atmosphere or to Chaiiwala and having a nice Karak Chai. We occasionally enjoy a tandoori chicken box from Tuk Tuk Journey, a curry box from Bombay Bites, bubble tea from Hi Tea or a pizza from our favourite TJ’s (Evington Village). I should also mention the Phoenix, Curve, and the Attenborough Art Centre for their Film Festivals and interesting events.
In short, there’s so much I personally like about Leicester!
I hope this has been sufficient in convincing you to at least pay a visit, but if you have specific questions, feel free to ping me an email at m.erz@hotmail.com
Footnotes:
*As with all my blog posts, these are my views on the day of writing
**I’m being told there are some fantastic Indian restaurants (and dessert shops) on the ‘Golden Mile‘ – so should give those a try too! I also recently discovered Anmol Sweet Centre on Welford Road and their Samosas are amazing!
***My salary (after tax & other deductions) when I started working at the University of Leicester in 2015 – my first ‘proper’ job. My rent was £600 when I lived with my family (2015-19) in a 2-bedroom flat in Stoneygate (nice neighbourhood) – 20 minute walk to the University of Leicester. I then moved to a 3-bedroom house with a garden in a very nice neighbourhood (again in Stoneygate – 15 mins away from the University) and my rent is £800.
An ordinary blog by an ordinary bloke 