Vicky Carr is a journalist turned writer who grew up in Harrogate and returned in her late 20s to raise her family here. Find her on Instagram @vickycarrwrites.

Is Harrogate a good place to live?

I was asked this question by a friend a couple of weeks ago.

I was quick to say it was. I’ve lived in Harrogate most of my life, excluding about a decade in my late teens and 20s, and I’m happy here. It has certainly changed a lot since I was a child - but then, hasn’t everywhere?

A couple of days later, I was pondering the same question again.

I’d been to see the comedian Maisie Adam, who hails from Pannal, at Harrogate Theatre the night before. (It was a brilliant gig, by the way – well worth grabbing a ticket for her night at the Royal Hall in February. And I’m not just saying that because she reads the Stray Ferret.)

My friends and I chatted about the other big names coming to town in October. John Simpson, Prue Leith and Miriam Margolyes were all speaking at venues around the town that same weekend, while the second half of the month offered the opportunity to hear from Reece Shearsmith, John Lydon and Sophie Raworth, among others, and to watch everything from modern musicals to Swan Lake.

And that’s just two weeks in October.

Earlier this year, I spent a couple of days at the Great Yorkshire Show, quickly followed by a visit to the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

For musicians, singers and those with a theatrical bent, there are dozens of amateur groups to join, with plenty of opportunities to perform, too.

If you fancy lunch or dinner out, Harrogate is blessed with more than its fair share of restaurants, cafes and bars – and not just names you can find in any town or city. The independent scene is really strong here, despite the challenges facing the hospitality sector.

If you’re more interested in burning calories than consuming them, you’re spoilt for choice. There are numerous clubs for all different sport, as well as gyms, swimming pools, golf courses and more.

We’re lucky to have loads of brilliant independent shops, too, alongside some high-end national retailers.

For children, there’s lots on offer – it’s more a question of how to fit everything in than how to find something to do.

The competitive nature of school applications across the town might have you believe that the quality of education is extremely variable. However, move any of our local schools a few miles down the road and they’d outshine most of the options nearby.

Add to that two cinemas, multiple options for a day out, and a plethora of beautiful walks through the surrounding countryside, and it’s easy to see why Harrogate has been listed many times as one of the best places to live in the UK.

We love to moan

Yet, despite all these benefits, we do like to moan, don’t we?

The roadworks are endless. Public transport leaves a lot to be desired.

The town centre has certainly seen better days (and those better days, by general consensus, were when we had a proper market hall and the Lowther Arcade).

Despite the extensive list of cultural events throughout the year, there are still plenty who complain there’s never anything they want to see.

Of course, there’s also the issue of cost. Every concert, talk, club, lesson and meal out comes with a price tag – and sometimes it can feel like we’re paying a Harrogate tax.

Take a trip to the cinema, for example. A ticket for a Saturday evening showing at the Everyman here is £18.30, compared to £16.45 in York. Not a huge difference for one visit, but over time, it adds up.

Meanwhile, a gym membership through Leeds City Council costs £28.95 per month for an adult. The equivalent in Harrogate is £46.

For teens, too, there’s a lack of affordable entertainment. There are only a handful of free or low-cost youth clubs and community groups, and there aren’t even many paid activities available. If they want to go bowling or trampolining, for example, they’ll need to fork out for transport to Leeds or York.

In my experience, there is less support for families here than elsewhere, and it has diminished further in recent years. The network of children’s centres across the town and wider district has all but vanished, and with it, easy access to vital help.

And speaking of health and social care, access to NHS dental services is woeful. Very few practices now offer NHS places, and there are long waiting lists for those that do. If you can’t afford to pay for a private dentist, there’s a good chance you simply won’t see one.

The perception of Harrogate as a wealthy town means anyone who doesn’t fit that profile is even more disadvantaged than they would be in less affluent areas. There is much less investment in affordable, accessible services – and far more focus on private operators who want to make money in prosperous Harrogate.

We have fantastic charities here to help people with everything from basic furniture and clothes to weekly food supplies – but the very fact they’re needed points to the significant struggle some households face every day. Meanwhile, our streets are lined with cars that are worth more than many people’s mortgages.

It’s hard to justify calling Harrogate a “good” place to live when there is such an imbalance.

But then, perhaps I’m also falling into the trap of moaning about Harrogate, when many people would give their right arm to live here.

So what do you think? Is Harrogate really a good place to live?