I wanted my main character’s home setting be based in a rough area, so I took it to the internet and researched the worst city in England. I found this website: http://www.ilivehere.co.uk/top-10-worst-places-to-live-in-england/10 which suggested that Grimsby was the worst place to live in England. I then looked at image of Grimsby and it perfectly suited my vision of the home an work setting for my protagonist:
The time I wanted this to be set in was Modern Day, shown through trends and dialogue.