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

Lots of good advice on this thread. With your budget for a 4 bed you can choose a much nicer area than Wakefield. No offence to anyone who lives in and loves Wakefield. I advise you look at north and west Leeds.

Farsley near Pusdey is affordable, lots of community and culture, up and coming, close to trains and pretty canal walks. Countryside v accessible. Farsley Farfield primary is lovely. I live in a more expensive area of north Leeds and often think Farsley would have been a great choice (used to live there before)

@BikeRunSki absolutely and it's a very valid point. Most of church fenton isn't really affected but some street opposite the air base have been flooded in the past. They must have done something right in 2019 as even though there was a lot of flooding around tadcaster and the surrounding fields, we escaped it

I would look at Garforth its only 8-12 mins into the city centre depending on which train you get, yes they are busy at peak times but only as bad as any other city! They are currently improving parking at the station and the high street is actually starting to get better unlike most places where high streets are declining. I'm sure you're going to love Yorkshire OP (and that's coming from someone who is actually originally from Lancashire!!)

Hello Bikerunski
I agree with other people, Slaithwaite is nice

Heckmondwike and Batley ...no. Lived there and it was terrible bus service and poor shops and amenities.

Hello @Hoppinggreen, fancy seeing you here!!

Slaithwaite is lovely. 30 mins to Leeds on direct trains (once an hour?), 45 mins or so with changes.

If you are looking to drive into Leeds for work, make sure you can park. Parking is hard to come by or incredibly expensive. Dh works in Leeds city centre and parking was £10-12 a day. Luckily he is prepared to park for free further out and walk in but it does depend where abouts your 10 minute walk from Leeds train station is.

Trains can be overcrowded depending on where you are coming from. Dh used to catch the train in but now drives and walks.

I know that people will say N Leeds, but South Leeds is lovely. We are relatively close to the M62/M1 which we chose for Dh being able to commute anywhere should his Leeds based job change at all. Do you need to consider schools too?

And yes the countryside round here is magnificent!

I wouldn't move to Leeds, I'm from Leeds , iv lived in the good bits and its still horrible and unsafe, I recently moved , you couldn't pay me to move back

That's a bit of an exaggeration 2011.

There are some good schools in Wakefield if that's a consideration.

I live in Thornes, not far from Horbury which has been mentioned. Horbury / Ossett has quite a villagey feel while still being very close to the M1 and 10 minutes drive into Wakefield. Sandal is nice, I quite like bits of Durkar and it's close to the motorway.

I moved here from Manchester for work / family and it's nice, plenty of green spaces, pugneys, newmillerdam, thornes park, Yorkshire sculpture park and not far at all to get to proper countryside. I don't often go into Leeds in rush hour but at non rush hour it's about 20 minutes drive. Trains are frequent most of the time but have odd periods where they're non existent. There's a bus into Leeds from Wakefield regularly which runs from first thing until about 11pm.

2011
I am from Belle Isle one of the worst areas and now live in Calverly and I have managed to reach 42 without experiencing any danger. In between I have lived in Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool and Stevenage and Leeds is no worse and maybe a bit better than those areas.

I’be just spent the afternoon mooching round Ossett whilst DD was at a party. it’s bern about 10 years since I was last in the town centre, and it seems to have really smartened up in that time. Lots of independent shops. Nice cafes. Not rural though. Handy for the M1. I believe the high school is very good.

@JayAlfredPrufrock slough-wit 😂

@PityParty4one iv lived all over Leeds, gledhow, kirkstall, meanwood, gipton, Middleton etc, I recently moved down south and trust me Leeds is a shit hole 😂chavs everywhere, drug dealers on most street corners. Did you not hear about those people who got stabbed at the bloody fireworks? You can't go through the town centre without passing at least 20 spice heads, drunks and beggers. My DP mum lives in harehills, regularly are people been found dead in gardens, people been acid attacked, stabbed, raped, mugged at knife point. So glad I moved out of there

Leeds is like anywhere. Good parts and decent parts. Dps family live all over leeds in many areas that you mentioned. They are all considered fairly dodgy areas.

I disagree with you assesment of the town centre and like it there, never had trouble.

Outer areas of leeds are lovely and dont have bodies being found all the time. Methley is leeds and nothing like the leeds you describe. Neither is east ardsley, rothwell etc. Though again, all have the more desirable parts.

I wouldn't choose to live in any of the areas you mention.

Pressed send too soon.

I wokldnt choose to live in those areas, doesnt mean all leeds is the same.

An0nym0us2011 stop scaremongering. I lived in Guiseley and Pudsey, and neither of those places were shit holes.

Your experience is not that of most people living in Leeds. And let's face it most of the areas you lived in are not the most salubrious. The rest of Leeds is much nicer than those areas. When I lived in Leeds the areas I would not have wanted to live in were Belle Isle, Middleton, Hunselt, Beeston, Gipton, and especially not Chapeltown and Harehills.

Another vote for Mirfield. I loved tgere until recently and it'd really easy to get into Leeds either by car, (straight on to thr M62 but its busy) or train/bus. Some nice shops, bars etc in the town. I miss being able to walk down to the station and wine bars. Lots of new housing developments going on atm.

Someone up thread suggested Heckmondwike, Gomersal, Batley.. I wouldn't choose to buy there. Heckmondwike does have a good state grammar but that's about it.

Actually @drivingtofrance has got it! If you want rural, go to Hopton, a couple of miles outside Mirfield. I think that Hopton Primary is one of the best performing primary schools the borough (Kirklees). In Mirfield itself is a nice town with excellent access to Leeds and a great high school in Mirfield Free Grammar.

2011You must be thinking of a different Leeds to the one I’ve lived in for most of my life. You mention the very worst areas but describe the things you can find in any city.

I am pleased you moved 2011 as Leeds now has one less chav.