Considering a move to Southampton, Cardiff, Portsmouth, or London. Would like to live on coast but would like to be close to entertainment.?

Cardiff is small enough not to get lost in but big enough to have all that most people need. It has good rail and road links, Norman and more recent castles, a wealth of industrial heritage, the biggest John Lewis outside their head office, the excellent Wales Millennium Centre, a Premier league football team (for the moment), Cardiff Bay, cinemas, theatres, pubs and clubs. It's also just a few minutes drive to get out into the countryside.

Portsmouth should be your pick, It's on the sea, there is loads of Entertainement and the hop over to the Isle of Wight is always fun and eventful.

Southampton is the best of the cities you mentioned. Lovely people there and beautiful coast.

London housing is the most expensive in the UK in general. Try also Brighton for entertainment, or Bournemouth. And it would be good to specify what sort of "entertainment". Classical concerts? Rock stars? Cinema? Nightclubs?

If cost of living is an issue, take London off the list - it's an incredibly expensive place to live.

London is the most convenient with world class entertainment on tap. However, it is by far the most expensive. Unless you are paid a lot of money, you would have to live in a grim area or flat-share.

Southampton is the UK's premier Cruise terminal. It has a range of areas to live. It has very good facilities and has direct communications with London and the West Country by road and rail. it also has a regional airport. It's next to very nice countryside, including the New Forest and The Isle of Wight. There are plenty of entertainment venues.

Portsmouth is Southampton's rival. It's a Royal Navy town. It has similar facilities and communications to Southampton but it's more cramped, being on an island. It is generally a bit rougher than Southampton. There are plenty of entertainment venues.

I can't really comment on Cardiff, having only visited briefly. However, from what I hear, it's a thriving city.

Another suggestion might be Bournemouth. It's no longer a retirement town, it is now thriving with a lot of large offices. It's much more relaxed than Southampton or Portsmouth.

It has excellent communications and shares about 7 miles of superb beaches with Poole. It's a holiday resort, so there is plenty of entertainment.

London would be the most convenient for Oxford as it is only 57 minutes from London Paddington by train, but housing is very expensive in London. Southampton has direct trains to Oxford taking under 2 hours. Southampton is a large city with lots of entertainment although not as much as in London