Where to move in/near Leeds

[longestlurkerever]

Hello. I currently live in London though am a northerner by birth. Due to dh's chronic health conditions he may have to give up work for a while and we are considering a relocation to somewhere more affordable on one salary. I have the potential to relocate my job to Leeds and have a budget of about £600k for a 4 bedroom house (tbh I have no idea really about accuracy of this figure in future housing market but that would be ballpark figure based on recent market prices).

What areas would be good to look at? Priorities would be state schools for our 2 dds currently in y4 and reception - I think there are grammar schools in Leeds? Is that right? What kind of percentage of children end up at grammar school and what are the alternatives like?

It'd be nice to live somewhere with access to the countryside but with a reasonable commute to leeds central station - I think properly rural would be a bit of a shock to the system and dh doesn't drive, but it'd be nice for there to be some positive aspects to the move and where we currently live is a bit urban grit.

I have no real idea what I am looking for - I wouldn't be leaving where I currently live if circumstances weren't forcing my hand but trying to look on this as an opportunity/adventure. Please help get me excited, mumsnetters!

A lot of "grammar" schools are grammar in name only. DD's old school was founded over 600 years ago and has kept the same name, "* Grammar School" the entire time, but it is a comprehensive school, and a rather good one.

Skipton area
Ilkley
Harrogate
Chapel Allerton
Knaresborough

All lovely areas and with your budget you would get somewhere nice x

Harrogate Grammar has been a regular state comprehensive with no entrance exams since 1973!
There are only 3 state grammars in North Yorks, all previously mentioned on this thread, 2 in Skipton, 1 in Ripon, both in all honesty too far away for OP is she is working in Leeds.
Ilkley is lovely but definitely posh and reasonably expensive. Suggestions of Horsforth and Guiseley also good ones.
I will just throw another suggestion into the mix, Garforth as a place to live. Garforth Academy ( secondary) is the best school to the East/ South East side of the city, plenty of access to ( less lovely) countryside, plenty of trains into city centre, much much cheaper than all the other suggestions.

Boston Spa

Not all that keen on Roundhay, the park is full of bored chavs

Ilkley is definitely posh imo, like a mini Harrogate - both lovely places though. I relocated to north Leeds a year ago and went for Otley - it's perfect - surrounded by gorgeous green hills, there's lots of little shops and a market place, and the people are down to earth. Only down side is no train station if that's a consideration.

Definitely Horsforth. Lovely and close to both town centre and the countryside with good transport. Great walks by the canal and river. Nice restaurants and pubs. Good schools.

Alwoodley was always very desirable as well and Adel. Although I'm less familiar with both areas.

Senior school in Boston Spa is pants though

Genuinely getting quite excited now. Some of these places sound great and the pictures are amazing. In all honesty quite difficult to know how often I'd have to go into the office. Usually i work four days a week with up to two from home but i would be main bread winner in new scenario. Then again i am working from home full time at the moment and it is going ok, though not what I'd ideally choose. I'm a civil servant.

@Ouchiebum is Saltaire any good for schools though? Most of my friends moved over to the wharfe valley for the schools as their children moved out of the baby years

Might have to go into London for work sometimes depending on exact role but family are mostly in north west

Ive lived in hyde park, yeadon and horsforth. From Horsforth and yeadon i travelled into work in leeds on the bus. Took a hell of a long time from Yeadon. Although i read more than ever before or again! I also travelled to work in Harrogate on the train. No issues there. I also briefly worked in ilkley and would, if i could, move there now I’m not in my 20’s anymore!

I worked on a project once with Lord Wallace of Saltaire. He raved about it!

Check into commuting times / conditions, Leeds has some bad traffic congestion on roads and badly performing and overcrowded rail routes.

@GreyGardens88 do you live in BS?

I wouldn't go for Chapel Allerton with school aged kids. Great for young professionals though.

We moved out of Leeds when we had kids. I'm a teacher (well, was at the time) and there's very few schools I was happy to send my kids to. We now live halfway between Leeds and York.

Harrogate Grammar isn't actually a grammar any more but it's a very good school (catchment area therefore important). Knaresborough is lovely but no lido like Ilkley, it's a bit of river called the Lido.

I moved the other way a few years ago. I'm so jealous, it's such a beautiful part of the world.

As pp have mentioned the only state selective grammars are the Skipton and Ripon ones.

Traffic can be bad, and some spots are terrible, but all feel much smaller and you're through them more quickly than in London. It never takes as long to be rid of traffic as it does in London.

Good luck OP. That Wharfedale line route would get my vote too.

CalleighDoodle DH used to work in Yeadon.

@longestlurkerever if you are considering Horsforth you need to make sure you aren't under the flightpath for the airport. The area near Scotland Lane suffers from very low flying aircraft.

@EndoplasmicReticulum Yes there is a Lido in Knaresborough!!

No, there isn't, if you mean an outdoor swimming pool like Ilkley has. The area called the Lido is a section of the river with a grassy bank and a "beach".

You can swim in it, but it's a river not a pool and it's sensible not to swallow any of the water.

@Rosieposy4 Boston spa is good now. It wasn't when I was there though!
Other places like wetherby, collingham, bardsey, also look at villages around tadcaster, some have direct rail access and you'd get a lot if house for your money and be in the catchment for tadcaster grammar

Heckmondwike grammar is a proper state grammar but literally hundreds apply for the hundred or so places every year.

It's around twenty minutes drive from my very scruffy not naice south Leeds house to there but it's against rush hour traffic. You could have a look at places like Birstall, Batley, Cleckheaton etc as they are nearish Leeds and not expensive, but not very posh.

Heckmondwike Grammar is a very good state grammar. DS went from y7-y13. He loved it and did very well. We love in Mirfield which is not far. DS used the regular bus (or mums taxi when he missed the bus).

The area around the school is not somewhere I'd suggest to buy property. It's quite a deprived area. Although you'd get a lot for your budget.

Mirfield is okay. Can get to Leeds in 20 mins by train. Similar by car if there's no traffic.

But yes, a good selective state grammar but competitive to get in.

And very pressured once you get in.