We’ve all heard the term thrown about enough by now. Some may take it as a compliment. Many, weirdly, throw it about as an insult. To avoid any confusion off the bat, we’ll sum it up anyway; The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word ‘woke’ as being aware or well-informed in a political or cultural sense.
A new study from Bankrate, reported by Global Citizen, assessed 50 cities across the UK on their ‘wokeness’ in order to find out where the most progressive areas in which to live and work are. This was defined not only by recognition of social and environmental issues, but also by how the city handles them and enables positive change. With this research in mind, here are 5 IDEAL cities in the UK to live in for the progressive type.
OXFORD
The study evaluated seven categories of data: Google search trends, gender pay gap, recycling rates, voter turnout, vegan and vegetarian availability, ultra-low emission vehicles and council diversity. Oxford, perhaps surprisingly, comes up on top. This is in part due to the city having the second youngest population in the country; giving a little hope for the future, youth tends to correlate with a greater social conscience.
If you’re looking for one of Oxfords most ‘woke’ neighbourhoods to live in, we recommend Jericho which attracts a cool, bohemian crowd and is home to loads of pubs, bars and live music venues.
BRIGHTON & HOVE
Home to Britain’s only Green MP, as the Guardian so rightly puts “many see Brighton as a kind of British equivalent of San Francisco: a bohemian city with a massive gay population and a penchant for alternative free-thinking.”
Embracing a predominantly herbivorous diet also signifies the city’s wokeness, given that there is clear evidence explaining why meat production and consumption leaves a far higher carbon footprint than a plant-based lifestyle. Brighton has a large vegan population, as well as being a famously LGBTQ+ place to be, and as such, the vibe is woke and caring. This means there’s always a sense of plenty going on in the city culturally. We’ve written more about that over here; check it out.
BRISTOL
Widely regarded as one of the best places to live in the UK, Bristol is a unique place with a spirit that’s unlike any other. More importantly, Bristol is, simply, a very cool place to live. For a start, it’s the hometown of street artist Banksy. It has bars on boats and art galleries in disused toilets. Since the early 1990’s it’s been renowned for its buzzy nightlife and underground music scene, which still exists, and is flourishing today. More recently, it’s become a beacon for aspiring foodies and restauranteurs alike. A creative, green, young and vibrant city, make no mistake.
BATH
Not to be outdone by Brighton’s veganism, Bath is often cited as being the vegan capital of the UK, with some excellent ‘plant based’ cafes operating in the city. Some of our favourites include the perennially popular Green Rocket Cafe on 1 Pierrepont Street and the new kid in town Roots and Shoots, who have set the wokeness bar higher still by operating completely plastic free. Lovely stuff. The rolling hills surrounding the city centre and vast green spaces within it (the Royal Victoria Park is a must visit) only add to this sense of the environmentally friendly and hospitable.
CAMBRIDGE
The top ten wokest cities all have a strong student presence, with Oxford, Brighton, London (with a score of 22.13), Cambridge (21.87), Bristol (21.50), Leeds (21.29), Cardiff (21.28) and Exeter (21.21) all being home to major UK universities. This shows a clear correlation between progressiveness and students.
But Cambridge’s relationship between the socially conscious and its student population goes a little further; the university has recently announced extra places for disadvantaged students who excelled in their A Level results. What’s more, rapper Stormzy’s scholarship scheme for black students is based here.
