To move to Yorkshire from the south coast on my own?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4931184-anyone-know-utley-at-all

Holmfirth is in West Yorkshire. Lived there (well, Holmbridge) for almost 20 years. Loved it but, sadly, I wouldn't want to live there now. LOTS of new houses being thrown up in and around Holmfirth, which is spoiling the place a bit and not doing anything to improve the insane traffic situation in the town centre. Not many shops (and no banks) left in Homfirth, just pubs, estate agents, and hairdressers. That said, there are lots of nice villages in that area.
Avoid Halifax.

Utley is very close to Keighley.. Cononley is nice, a bit further along the road - closer to Skipton. Yorkshire is lovely, I've lived here all my life, I would say though, the nice areas are expensive generally speaking, and that informs how nice the area is.

In your shoes I would go for it. You only live once and having no mortgage would allow you a better quality of life.

Plus, Brighton is horrible - I grew up there which was great but not now.

You would get more for your money in some South Yorkshire areas like Holmfirth and surrounding villages. There you would be further from the dales but closer to the Pennines/peaks. Holmfirth is a great town, lots going on. My MIL moved there last year after FIL died and she’s made lots of friends in her late sixties. You obviously have to put the effort in but it helps if there is lots going on around you.

Harrogate is very cliquey and the traffic is horrendous.

Now if I had my time over again, ( I am now happily ensconced in the HC) I would go for Skipton over Harrogate.

Go for it. I hope you would find a warm welcome. I work with volunteers and many do so as a way of building social connections after a move or in early retirement.

Oh my goodness, do it. We live in Yorkshire, having moved here knowing no one, and we love it. I joined a choir and met some great people, and there are quite a few people who moved here for retirement who have found it a really friendly and sociable place. Being mortgage free would be the clincher for me in your position.

Oh that's gorgeous!

There’s so many beautiful places to choose from, York or Harrogate if you want a more lively city or Pickering, Malton or Richmond are lovely towns of if you want to stay by the coast Whitby is beautiful but pricey.

Ooooh, another one to think if you want quiet about is Cononley. That’s just outside Skipton (which in itself could also be a very good contender).

Cononley is a lovely little village, has it’s own train stop direct into Leeds. It has a couple of pubs and a village shop too. A great choice away from busy, noisy towns but also very central to a great town and a huge city.

Hi - I live in Otley and would definitely recommend it as a base. We bought here as a stopgap when a house purchase in North Yorkshire had fallen through. We only intended to stay a couple of years or so, but are still here 16 years later! We moved from the North West and feel we have a really good quality of life here, and we can't see ourselves moving. The area is great for walkers and cyclists, and as well as lovely local walks, (eg by the river) we can be in beautiful, unspoilt countryside within 10 minutes drive, or venture further into the Dales. Not sure what you are into, but Otley has loads of cafes and pubs, a few restaurants, a growing number of independent shops, (although too many charity shops!) a twice weekly market plus a monthly farmers market, various clubs and a small theatre/community hub. There is always community stuff going on (eg Otley cycle races, Otley show, Otley carnival, Folk Festival, Beer Festival etc etc). Leeds is easily accessible by bus and there are really nice towns nearby such as Ilkley, Harrogate etc. Otley is quite a traditional town, and has a reputation for being a bit insular, but I think that is improving.
One thing we really like about living here is that we don't really have to drive if we don't want to. There is a good choice of supermarkets in Otley, which is an advantage over Burley or Pool in Wharfedale.
Not sure if you drive? If not have you thought about how you would travel to see family etc if you did move? If transport links to London are relevant to you then Harrogate has a direct rail link to London.
We really like Harrogate and we often visit for a change of scene. Obviously H'gate is much bigger and would have everything you need in terms of facilities, but I personally find it a bit too busy traffic wise, which might put me off living in some areas. I probably wouldn't base myself in Pool or Burley either, because of the lack of facilities compared to Otley. Out of the two, Burley probably has slightly more going on than Pool.
You could also look at Ilkley or Knaresborough? Ilkley is lovely, but quite pricey. Knaresborough is really picturesque, with a lovely setting on the River Nidd.
Sorry that was a bit long, but feel free to ask me anything if you need more info.

I live 5 minutes from otley and my mum lives in Harrogate so know the areas you mention well!

It depends what is important to you, I love otley, the independent shops, the market, lots of bars and restaurants but it's still a working class town so has a bit of life to it. Personally I find Harrogate a bit sanitised but that might just be because I tend to go to the places my mum likes 😄

Cons for otley, the traffic is awful (though my mum would say the same for Harrogate) and public transport is pretty crap in otley too. guiseley, menston and burley are better from that perspective as they're all on the train line into Leeds but none of them have the same character as otley.

It's a big move so good luck, we're generally pretty friendly up here though :)

I really wouldn’t recommend Harrogate. I’ve recently moved away from there after 30 years. The shopping is NOT that great. The traffic is horrendous (nose to tail). They’re going to be building an additional four thousand houses on top of all the hundreds and hundreds they’ve built in the last few years and, although it has its own railway station it’s not mainline so is more expensive and takes longer. Talking of expensive, the houses are not cheap. Ilkley will be similarly expensive as it’s part of the ‘golden triangle’ ditto Wetherby.

If you like the Dales but want a small, friendly town that’s 15/20 minutes away from the mainline that I’d recommend Richmond (the North Yorkshire Richmond obviously). It has a wonderful cobbled market place with a magnificent castle overlooking the lovely river Swale. It’s the main market town for the Dales with Reeth, Hawes etc being but a stones throw away. Markets are held in the market square and parades/ festivals/ christmas choirs are held every year amongst other events.

For a large village, but you’d need to drive, you wouldn’t go far wrong with Reeth or Hawes.

Darlington is where the mainline runs from and that has masses to offer.

a link to read about Richmond, North Yorkshire:

https://www.richmond.org/Explore

I agree with @angieloumc, Saltaire is a fabulous place to live. We lived there before we moved to where we are now for schools. We did find the traffic in Saltaire and its surroundings, extremely busy. It is however also on a fast train line to Leeds and Skipton.

I would be cautious about moving so far away from my social network personally. I would definitely rent for a year before making a permanent move. I would also have a plan to integrate socially - join a tennis club/church/am dram etc. A new start will require a lot of active effort on your part, and I can see why your daughter and your friend are suggesting that if you expend the same amount of effort expanding your life where you live now, you might see the same benefits without losing your current social support.

I live in this area. DS goes to school in Otley though we live a couple of miles away. Otley has lots going on and has become a really thriving little market town in recent years.
Burley, Ilkley, Menston are on the train line to Leeds and Bradford. It takes about 30 minutes from Ilkley which is the end of the line to Leeds.

Feel free to ask any questions, I spend a lot of time on Rightmove!

I live in Saltaire, I absolutely love it. I've lived in Yorkshire since I was about ten and can't imagine living anywhere else. You do get a lot more house for your money here, Skipton is a lovely place to live and I can also recommend Ilkley.

I love the idea for you. I would do it myself if I could! I've never lived up there, but I've visited Harrogate, Ripon, York, lots of places in the general area.

You have great shopping in Harrogate, cultural things in York, RHS Harlow Carr, you're not far from some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country. And I found people extremely friendly.

There was a very funny segment on the Mash Report a number of years ago, "Northerner terrifies Londoners by saying 'Hello."