City with ‘no redeeming features’ crowned best for UK’s first-time buyers

It doesn’t have the best reputation (Picture: Shutterstock/Zhanna Briede) A west-midlands city with a slightly questionable reputation has been named as the best place in the UK for young buyers to get on the property ladder. Stoke-on-Trent, lovingly referred to by locals as a city with ‘no redeeming qualities’, is ideal for young workers who want to rent, save for a deposit and then buy their first home. Savills’ ‘starter cities’ index scored cities on property affordability, while Guardian Money also looked at the ratio between rent on apartments and income, population growth as people relocate there and workplace annual earnings by local authority. Famed for being the birthplace of Robbie Williams and The Great Pottery Throw Down, the city celebrated its centenary in 2025. And it certainly has some positives on paper. The average flat price is £88,448, while average annual earnings sit at £35,079, meaning the average flat price to income ratio is just 2.5. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. If you would prefer to buy yourself a house instead, a three-bedroom semi-detached home starts at around £250,000, less than the UK average of £270,000. It’s also well connected, with the fastest train to London taking less than 90 minutes, and 35 minutes into Manchester, while also having the lush greenery of the Peak District on its doorstep. Why does Stoke-on-Trent get a bad rep? Ready to start your homebuying journey? You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from: – Award winning service from the UK’s leading mortgage broker – Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week – Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won’t charge you a fee for their advice. Find out how much you could borrow online Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Stoke-on-Trent beat runners up like Hull, Derby and the equally-criticised ‘Satan’s layby’, more commonly known as Milton Keynes. Prettier than you might think (Picture: Getty Images) Time Out’s list of 15 best places to visit in the UK for 2025 even bestowed the ‘downtrodden’ city with third place, suggesting it’s ‘unfairly dismissed’ and applauded it as a ‘trove of odes to pottery-making past and present’. But not everyone agrees. Former local and editor Adam Miller tells Metro: Growing up in Stoke-on-Trent I spent every single day longing to live anywhere else in the UK and when that day finally came, I never looked back. ‘I remember someone once telling me “the best thing about Stoke are the roads that lead you outside of it” and this was so true. Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham were all less than an hour’s drive away if we wanted to experience any culture, go shopping or go out for a decent meal.’ ‘I honestly find it to be a place of almost no redeeming features,’ another wrote on Reddit. ‘The place is sad and run down.’ Adam adds: ‘If it has one redeeming feature, it’s that – it’s well-positioned on a map to easily get out. ‘Stoke just felt like a time warp. Festival Park boasted Water World which was perhaps Stoke’s greatest triumph, an indoor water park that was a genuine thrill until reaching the teens years, and then there was not much else beyond the local Oden cinema and a bowling alley.’ While another summed it up as: ‘Bleak, terrible and pointless.’ And a third added: ‘Smoke on Stench, as a friend from there calls it.’ Even popular TikToker Luke Hamnett admitted his home town was a ‘sh*t hole’. With one commenter adding: ‘I live in Stoke, but I never admit it.’ And, we can’t deny, that on the surface, Stoke isn’t exactly aesthetically pleasing, especially compared to other names on the list, such as Norwich. The main high-streets are in various states of disrepair, with closed down shops and crumbling factories. Love it or hate it? (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto) But do a bit of digging, and you might be surprised. What does Stoke-on-Trent have going for it? Stoke has a rich history in pottery (hence its nickname the Potteries) which dates back to the 17th century. At the time, there was abundance of clay in the area, which meant it soon became the ceramics capital of the world. Today, you can still visit Gladstone Pottery Museum, the only complete Victorian pottery factory left. You can watch the demonstrations of traditional skills, and even give them a go yourself. The Gladstone Pottery Museum is an old Victorian pottery (Picture: DeAgostini/Getty Images) For something a little more modern, Emma Bridgewater, famed for her colourful, polka dot ceramics, moved her factory just outside Stoke city centre in the mid-90s. You can try your handing a painting a design onto a piece of pottery in the Decorating Studio and go on a tour too. Their Kitchen Café is also a great spot for a bite to eat. Or, if you want to branch out from pottery, the Barewall Gallery sells pieces by local artists. The official town centre of Stoke-on-Trent is in Hanley (Stoke is actually made up of six towns: Stoke, Hanley, Fenton, Tunstall, Burslem and Longton), is also worth a visit. Back in 2018, the Business Improvement District was established here in an attempt to improve the area. Hanley is getting a makeover (Picture: Getty Images) As such festivals and streets parties have been introduced, such as The Big Feast, and Beats & Eats. They’ve also improved the look and feel of the area with artwork projects and murals. Stoke’s brand trendy new neighbourhood, The Goods Yard, near to the railway station is now open. There are 174 new rental homes, independent bars, eateries, coffee shops and stores, and a lush, green public square designed for socialising, pop-ups and al fresco eats. However, the city has not yet used its £56 million Levelling Up Fund, and additional £20 million in partnership funding, to its full potential. While the £16m Goods Yard project is complete, over £31m remains unspent amid delays and recent planning rejections. ‘The local high street has been completely disintegrated, even if you are interested in its rich history of pottery, it’s hardly enough to keep you exhilarated in Stoke,’ Adam adds. You can always head further out to Trentham. To the south-west of the city, you’ll find the Trentham Estate, 725 acres of historic parkland, ancient woodland and gardens, and an outdoor shopping village. Beautiful Cannock Chase isn’t far (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto) And let’s not forget, that the area around Stoke is famed for its natural beauty. You’re a stone’s throw from the likes of Cannock Chase and the Peak District, and, a trip to Stoke wouldn’t be complete without heading to Alton Towers. It’s also worth noting that Stoke-on-Trent was named by the Sunday Times in 2022 as one of the best up and coming areas in the UK to invest in. 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