Portsmouth – a great place to live and work

The UK's only waterfront city, packed with rich history, world-class attractions, and fantastic things to do year-round.


Portsmouth offers an excellent quality of life, good education, rich history, world class events and entertainment, visitor attractions, superb transport links and more.

If you are enthusiastic about making a difference and improving the health and wellbeing of other people’s lives, you’re amongst friends here. Portsmouth is  home to over 200,000 people and there are job opportunities ranging from administration, driving, stores and distribution, to healthcare support workers, and a range of roles for registered healthcare professionals.

You do not need a clinical background, or experience in the NHS, to work here. We have vacancies for registered health care professionals, and for people who simply care.

Four Reasons to Pick Portsmouth

  1. Portsmouth is the UK’s only island city with miles of beautiful waterfront to explore.
  2. Portsmouth is one of the most picturesque, welcoming, and interesting places to live in the UK, and was voted the seventh most popular city in the UK (YouGov, 2021)
  3. Portsmouth was in the top 10 of the UK’s most affordable cities for students in the NatWest Student Living Index 2019
  4. Portsmouth was voted the UK’s most entrepreneurial city (Instant Offices, 2020)

CASE STUDY

Meet Carsten Lesshafft, General Practitioner, Trafalgar Medical Group Practice, Southsea

A GP in his consultation room wearing a checked waistcoat“I am a full time salaried General Practitioner at the Trafalgar Medical Group Practice in Southsea.

“I’ve lived and worked here since April 2019, having relocated from Willenhall/Walsall in the Black Country, West Midlands.

“One of the best parts of my job is the enjoyment I get from working with the practice team. From the administrators to the health care staff, the relatively relaxed but purpose driven spirit creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere.  And there’s well established clinical excellence here. Everyone strives to deliver the best possible service to our patient population.

“I also feel lucky to live and work in Southsea. It means my commute to work is only five minutes by car, or 10 minutes by bicycle. And the only reason I drive the car to work is because of home visits, otherwise I would be cycling every day.

“It was the seaside which first attracted me here. But it didn’t take long to discovery just how vibrant the town of Portsmouth and the Southsea coastline is. It offers a lot more than I initially anticipated.  It hosts unique attractions all year round. From sporting competitions, to shows and a wide variety of events on Southsea Common. Come the warmer months it’s a big attraction for visitors, young and old, from the surrounding areas.

“There are also unrivalled and varied shopping possibilities. From Southsea’s small, unique independent shops to the designer outlet located at Gunwharf Quays. And there’s an abundance of restaurants and bars; so no shortage of places to go on a Saturday night for a bite to eat.

A GP in a purple shirt cycling to work in Southsea

“Come the spring, the weather in Southsea grows warmer and sunnier than anywhere I’ve lived before. It naturally encourages you to live a very outdoorsy lifestyle and the range of outdoor events during the warmer months creates a fabulous atmosphere.  You might be living by the sea here, but the countryside is also easily accessible and I particularly like cycling around the Forrest of Bere and Hambledon. In fact Hampshire is a charming county. It’s rich in history and offers loads of opportunities for day trips to the New Forest, South Downs, or day trips to interesting towns like Salisbury and Winchester.

“If you’re considering a new role and relocating and want a quality of life that’s second to none, come to Portsmouth. It is a great place to live. It is family friendly, hosts traditional markets and has lots of good schools. My top tip is to find a job in the town and live close by, rather than commute in from the outskirts and you won’t regret it.”

CASE STUDY

Meet Denise Perry, Head of Transformation – Community Development, Health & Care Portsmouth, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board

A health care professional sat at her desk“My role is the redesign, development and transformation of NHS community services for Portsmouth & Southeast Hampshire and supporting work across the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care system.

“It’s such a varied and interesting role. I work closely with Portsmouth City Council colleagues on a range of Portsmouth City projects. One day I can be helping people stay well at home, by helping to integrate voluntary sector support for our local urgent community response. Another day I could be re-designing Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services, to improve access for patients.

“I’ve lived and worked in Portsmouth for four and a half years now. I used to work for the Black Country Integrated Care Board, based in Walsall in the West Midlands. But I relocated to Portsmouth back in September 2018 and started working for Health and Care Portsmouth just a month later.

“What I love most about this job is my lovely colleagues, who are great fun to work with. But I also relish solving problems to improve community services and have the opportunity make a positive difference to people’s lives, and that is very rewarding.

“I was attracted to relocating to Portsmouth because it offered such an improvement to my work life balance.  I used to navigate Birmingham’s notorious Spaghetti Junction to get to work and meetings, and that meant a lot of unhealthy time spent in traffic queues. Now, when I must commute, it’s wonderful. I live in Southsea, by the sea and can cycle to work. The seaside is literally on my front doorstep and yet shops, restaurants and other facilities are easily accessible.

“And, because I cover Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, a lot of my work is remote. A lot of meetings are virtual and half the week I work from home.

“It means I have an excellent work life balance now. I can walk or cycle to most places I want to go to and there is always something of interest to see or do.

“The choice of high-quality restaurants is incredible. Gunwharf Quays, the retail outlet shopping centre is a short bike ride away. It has some excellent quality shops, entertainment and dining opportunities. But I also live opposite Southsea Common which is great for dog walking.

A health care professional with her dog and Portsmouth Harbour in the background“Southsea is very dog friendly and my two-year old Cava-Cockerpoo, Molly, loves it here. Many of the restaurants welcome dogs and provide water and treats, which Molly appreciates!

“And there is always something going on such as farmers markets, festivals and pop-up events. And if I did fancy a change of scenery one weekend, the New Forest, Brighton and London are all short journeys away. Not that I do go away much, family and friends love coming to visit me here.

“If anyone was thinking of relocating to Portsmouth for work, I would definitely say “go for it”. The people are friendly and you will feel like you are on holiday, every day. It really is a great place to live and the weather is also better than elsewhere in the country (honest).”