London - best city in the World
Manchester/Leeds/Liverpool/Glasgow - all vibrant social towns.
Farnborough - no nightlife, not alot of places to escape to. I'd put Bristol on your list if you can (big enough to find things to do, small enough to see the edge.) I know this is from a social standpoint - just highlighting outside the box.
Bristol's reputation very good for all things Aero (Concorde among other greats was born up the road).
sB