Wakefield Yorkshire and Surrounding Areas

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Hi All,
We are thinking of relocating from the south to give us more space.

I have been offered a job in Leeds and was looking at Wakefield and surrounding areas to be no more than 40 minutes away from work.

What are the pros and cons of this part of the country please and would you recommend relocating there?

Thank you

Is there a reason you don't want to be in leeds? There are some lovely parts of Leeds.

We would like to be quite rural if possible but please do let me know which parts of Leeds are nice!

Wakefield is cheaper than Leeds and there are some nice areas here as well as not so nice bits, like where I live! Transport links are fine with good access to the A1, M1 and M62 (although depending on where you are the traffic can be a nightmare) as well as some train lines that go into Leeds city centre - from where I am, which is quite rural in a way, there are 2 trains an hour and it takes about 30 minutes to get into Leeds).

I live on the Wakefield Barnsley border.

We are on the edge of the countryside, 5 minutes away from the Yorkshire sculpture park, have some gorgeous walks almost outside my front door but are half an hour by car to Leeds because the M1 is 5 minutes away too.

Is the job in Leeds city centre or somewhere else?

Don't make the mistake of thinking you can get from the Wakefield countryside to a job in Leeds in 40 minutes in rush hour, especially if you are driving. I would be surprised if you could do it in double that time.

There are lots of pockets that feel quite rural in the greenbelt around Leeds, Wakefield and even Bradford, or the area beyond Rothwell (towards Garforth, but I think that's under threat due to HS2 so I probably wouldn't buy over that way without investigating carefully) but I wouldn't recommend somewhere without knowing the area where you will be working and whether you will be commuting by train or car. Also will you be travelling to a fixed workplace each day, or will you be out and about?

But the park and ride in south Leeds is very good and quite a cost effective way of getting into the city - £2.70 a day if you get a prepay pass. They're also building a second one.

I’d look west - get a train from Leeds to Ilkley or Skipton and look at the places along those routes. Places without a station will be cheaper of course but it’s only 17 minutes from eg Menston to Leeds.

Thank you for all the responses so far.

New job is a 10 minute walk from Leeds train station. I do drive but it would be good to have back up transport links if at all possible.

Our budget is £350,000-£375,000 and we would need at four bedroom house as a minimum. It is very tricky getting up to Leeds to look around as we have two very young children so was trying to narrow down where to look and hopefully book in some viewings.

This is not an easy task as absolutely everywhere has nice and not so nice bits!

Thanks again

The people in Wakefield are super friendly, although I would say Leeds has much better amenities, shops, restaurants etc. Nice areas of Leeds include Adel, Alwoodley, Roundhay... there are quite a lot. Oulton/Rothwell between Wakefield and Leeds are also nice. Wetherby is a nice market town that would easily be commutable on the bus. There are also various surrounding villages, have a look at Thorner and other villages in the area.

Driving in to Leeds for 9am and out again around 5pm is a nightmare. We are technically 30 mins to Leeds but it can take up to 2 hours at those times. My.husband works flexi luckily otherwise it would be a nightmare. I would use the train if you are near the station. Although peak time trains can be rammed too! Just to be realistic.

I'm on the Wakefield/Barnsley boarder in a lovely quiet village. Our biggest problem would be getting up to the M1 at rush hour, but luckily I work locally and from home most days. Have a look at Ossett/Horbury as they have excellent M1 links. Sandal/Walton are beautiful but your budget might not allow. Leeds has some lovey rural areas too - it's a big place! Best schools in Wakefield are Ossett and horbury, along with kettlethorpe if that's a concern for you.

Baildon

It's a busy village good transport links to Leeds but rural at the same time.

I second Horbury. Live nearby. Lovely village with a thriving high street and lots on at the Community centre.

I like Pudsey (to West of Leeds) and you could get a 4 bed for your budget. There is a bus station and a train station there with quick links to Leeds.

In Wakefield I like Sandal which also has a railway station and again could get a 4 bed for your budget.

I also like Otley to the North of Leeds which also has a train station.

Lindley village, Huddersfield (HD3)
It’s a really lovely village and is actually a destination for food as there are several nice restaurants and wine bars, plus a newly converted posh hotel
I’m not claiming Huddersfield itself is great (although again, lots of good paces to eat) but from HD3 it’s very easy to get to both Leeds or Manchester car or train, countryside is nearby and you would get something decent for your budget

Skipton is a lovely market town with direct train to Leeds and good schools. Ilkley also very nice but expensive.
Leeds areas - Horsforth, Roundhay, Chapel Allerton, Rodley all nice but not really the countryside you're after.
I don't know Wakefield area at all but as other pp have said be wary of attempting to drive into Leeds. It's a nightmare and parking is expensive. Train and park and ride is best option.
Good luck with the move!

Otley doesn’t have a train station?

OP ..I agree with everyone re under estimating driving times. There are good rail links into Leeds but not necessarily reliable schedules and nice modern trains. Local lines are often overcrowded and temperamental

I don’t (think) I know @NotMaryP0ppins, but I obviously live very close to her. I’m in the rural HD8 postcode. We’re 10 mins from the M1 at either J38 or J39. We came here temporarily 20 years ago, and we’re still here.

I commute to Leeds on the M1. Takes around 40-50 mins at 8am/5pm, quicker out of rush hour, but I do work on the south side of Leeds, one of the first buildings as you come off the M621. In fact about 10 mins walk from Leeds station! I rarely go by train (Denby Dale is my local station, as the service is only once an hour from my end. There is a bus to Wakey/Train from Wakey option too, which I used to do, but my job requires far too many impromptu site visits for that to be particularly useful to me, and I now get a company car, so I cBt really comment on the reliability of the pubic transport options. There are some Park n rides that my colleagues use.

I love the rural setting + proximity to cities here - Leeds and Sheffield are within easy reach, and Manchester and Liverpool to a lesser extent. Great for airports, not so much for commuting. Huddersfield, Wakey and Barnsley are 20 mins away. Holmfirth and Penistone market towns, both with a lot going on, are closer. Excellent theatres, museums etc in all those cities.

My dc (8 and 11) are in the 3 tier first/middle/high school system her and doing well in the high performing schools. Extra curricularly there is a huge choice of football, cricket, rugby, tennis, bands, choirs, scouts/Cubs/beavers and about 101 other things they don’t do going on.

We often go out to the Peak District and Dales. I’d really say the only things lacking are
1- the coast is a bit far, 1.5-2 hrs
2 - public transport to Leeds could be much better

Your budget would get you a lovely house comfortably.

OP, you will get MUCH more house for your money S of Leeds than N of Leeds.

*@Morganrot*Say what you think why don’t you?!

Congratulations on your upcoming move to God's own country!

I live in Wakefield, am not an idiot and did not vote for neither do I support Brexit. I also realise that it's stupid to judge people by the town in which they live.

I'm in St John's, just north of the city centre, one of the nicer areas of Wakefield (the other's Sandal). It's under ten minutes walk into the city, five minutes walk to Westgate station (East Coast Mainline, two hours to London, 15 minutes to Leeds), five minutes drive to J41 of the M1 and another couple to the M1/M62 interchange. I can get a bus to Leeds (about 30 minutes) from the end of the road. Ten minutes walk gets me to Wrenthorpe and Alverthorpe Meadows, a large nature reserve of wetlands, grassland and managed hay meadows.

You can get quite a lot of house for your budget in St John's. It's got good private and state schools and is close to a large hospital.

There are some grim bits of Wakefield, as there are every town. The further down Kirkgate towards Wilkos you go, the less salubrious it gets.

Walton is a nice, rural area of Wakefield.

St John's is really pretty. I used to work in Wood Street and used to know Wakefield very well.

I agree that the drive up the M1 in the morning is awful, so if you were considering Wakefield I would seriously consider being within close vicinity of one of the railway stations. Trains from Wakefield Westgate only take about 15 minutes to Leeds, but trains from Wakefield Kirkgate take longer as they take a less direct route.

Pudsey is a good suggestion, especailly if you live on the edge of Pudsey as it almost feels like the countryside. You could consider Tong.

Another vote for Skipton. 40 minutes on the train to Leeds and you have the Dales right on the doorstep. We love it here