Please tell me about living in Leeds.

[AimlessAmy]

I'm looking to move away from my current location in Scotland to England. It has been delayed due to family issues and covid but I'm hoping to make the move this year. I work from home and don't drive so I want reasonable public transport. I have disabilities(though don't currently use a wheelchair) so having everything relatively near is important to me.

I've been looking at Newcastle, and a few other cities. And have been narrowing down my options. I want to be near or in a reasonable sized city as I want to have everything close at hand. I don't care about nightlife but I do like culture and a reasonable selection of shops.

My budget is around 660k(can be stretched for the right place but if I can save money, all the better) and I'd like two bedrooms.

Any thoughts on Leeds or Leeds vs Newcastle would be appreciated.

TIA

TIA

I would look at the following areas for Leeds - Roundhay, Chapel Allerton, Moortown, Alwoodley, Meanwood.
Further out you could consider Ilkley, Guiseley, Horsforth and even further out would be North Yorkshire - Harrogate/Knaresborough which have good links to Leeds.

I love living in Leeds and agree the areas mentioned by pp are nice family/young professional areas which usually have a nice walkable high street. Further out areas like Ilkley and Guiseley have decent train links into town but might not be as well connected overall eg maybe not so easy to get to a hospital if you need to go regularly for example. Huge generalisation though.

Culture is decent with theatres, northern ballet, opera north, galleries, lots of festivals and gigs and family days and a good foodie scene.

Harrogate is very lovely and worth consideration if you are happy to travel into Leeds when you want a wider shopping selection or bigger culture events etc.

That’s more than you need for a 2 bed the nicest parts of Leeds.

The city centre is on a hill. There’s lots of parking right in the centre if that’s a concern.

You have an art gallery, the city museum and 3 theatres in Leeds.

That’s plenty for Leeds. It’s a nice city - not as lively for grown ups (as opposed to students) as Manchester but a fair bit going on. It doesn’t have Newcastle or Manchester’s grandeur, but it’s got some pretty bits.

It’s also easy to get to london and across to Manchester.

I don’t know Newcastle so well although I’ve loved it when I’ve visited. It’s pretty hilly though so that plus it being more remote would make me inclined to go for Leeds.

Bristol might also be worth considering?

Of the two cities, I'd choose Newcastle although I'd look at houses in areas outside of the city rather than directly in the centre itself. Newcastle is nearer to Scotland if you wanted to visit home or family/friends were coming yo visit you, has good transport links around the city as well as to surrounding areas and to other cities. There are some hills but these are centred around the Quayside and if you didn't fancy navigating them there are buses that can take you down there - there are art galleries and things around the river. The main centre of town isn't very hilly and its a really compact city considering everything available in it.

The coastal areas such as Whitley Bay or Tynemouth might suit your requirements, Whitley Bay moreso. The high street has chain stores such as Boots, Sainsburys, Home Bargains, etc as well as one off independent stores such as a wool shop, a book shop, craft stores, bakeries, and so on. There is an independent cinema, a theatre, a thriving arts scene, coffee shops, micro breweries, and restaurants. The sea front is being regenerated and the sea front has ramp access at regular intervals along with beach access wheelchairs available for hire. Whitley Bay also has the Metro, a commuter train service that covers a large part of the North East Region and goes direct into the city centre (and beyond) with trains running up to five times an hour during the week, all of the trains are accessible and all stations have either a ramp or a lift, Whitley Bay also has good bus services and all of the buses are accessible.

Thank you all for the advice and recommendations. I really appreciate it. It's helpful to have as much information as possible.

Luredbyapomegranate I would consider Bristol and it is on my list of possible cities, though I haven't done much research yet. I need to do that.

I hadn't really considered Harrogate, . I loved it when I visited so that's another interesting idea worth considering.

A friend lives in Sheffield and is suggesting there but I haven't really looked into it. I feel like Leeds has more of what I'm looking for but I may check it out too.

Leeds is great, but not so good for public transport. I wonder if you would like some of the smaller towns around it: Ilkley, Harrogate etc. Easy to get a train into Leeds for the culture and shopping, but possibly easier to live in day-to-day

Having lived in both I'd recommend Newcastle over Leeds.