I see similar comments on all of these articles and I am really curious which UK/USA/Canada cities that artists and musicians and the like go to.

I'm going to throw out Nashville as a thought for musicians, and maybe Pittsburgh for tinkerers.

UK artists are heading to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona and Warsaw - at least they were, until Brexit.

Now there's some interest in the cheaper seaside towns - Margate, even Bournemouth.

Brighton used to be on that list but it's almost as expensive as London now. Likewise Bath and Bristol. (Not seaside towns, but a big arts scene in the 60s and 70s, now very much gentrified.)

I suspect if people can't get out they'll head West and North. Parts of the West Country are almost affordable. Parts of the North are very affordable, but they're still in the dilapidation phase and don't seem to be in danger of becoming cool yet.

It's tough to figure what pulls a place out of the dilapidation phase. I've heard people say a microbrewery is a good harbinger. I have this unformed suspicion that a hipstery cheap-fancy restaurant can do it, or the "right" art gallery

My area of Brussels has been slowly pulling itself out of dilapidation for decades. The signs are e. g. new bars and shops that don't close after six months, and of course the inevitable loftification of older buildings. There is no single event. It takes masses of people to move, invest, and thrive.

Yes you are right about Margate. It's becoming really popular with artists and artisan craftsman. I don't live there but I can see the growth as more people are moving there from London.

Nashville, Austin, and Boulder are peaking or have peaked. Tech in Philadelphia is right at the tipping point. To skate to where the puck is going, look to the Rust Belt.

Where is it today? I hear Liverpool is having a bit of a renaissance.

Jamaica Street, up as far as Camp and Furnace, but I hear that the end nearer town is being gentrified. And classical musicians and fine artists are heading to Berlin where it is still possible to rent a (effing) flat.

The bubble will be forcefully burst when homeless people start squatting; or pranksters vandalize them.

Sure, the bubble bursting I have no problem with: rich people take a haircut and premises are repurposed. I walk through Digbeth in Birmingham most days: Early Victorian housing that is now car scrap yards and workshops. It all gets recycled.

Anyone who's bought recently with a full mortgage will experience a burst bubble not as a haircut but as a plummet into negative equity. I suppose you could argue that they took on the risk, and other such risk-takers have made big profits. Personally I think it's crazy that individuals are expected to make these huge gambles. But people don't seem to take seriously my suggestion of nationalising land ownership...