Cate Blanchett prefers the U.K. to Hollywood.

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The Australian actress, who lived in U.K. seaside city Brighton with her writer husband Andrew Upton and their two children until last year, likes it more than the glitz and glamour of Tinsel Town because she is "allowed to be free".

Cate said, "When I'm working in Hollywood I live in Montecito in Santa Barbara but it's not quite Brighton, because everything is on a much larger scale and it's near to Hollywood. I really love Brighton. I love to be near the sea. I get out and walk and I find that I'm not bothered much either. I like to shop and eat in the nooks and crannies of the lanes and feel I'm allowed to be free there."

Cate admits she and Andrew considered spending the rest of their lives in Brighton with their sons Dashiell, five and Roman, three, until they became homesick for Australia.

She is quoted by a British newspaper as saying: "Andrew and I realized how much Australia meant to us. We have tried to live in a few other places, but something really hit us in the gut and we had to come back. It's just a feeling about what home is."

Earlier this month, the 38-year-old star confirmed she is pregnant with the couple's third child. She said, "Yes, we're expecting a baby in April. We don't know whether it's a boy or a girl yet but we're really excited."