Otley, Horsforth...other?

[belle40]

Hello. After several months of contemplation I have just been offered a job in West Yorkshire. I am relocating from the South with my primary school aged child for a better QOL (single parent) and I would be really grateful for your views/ information about good and bad bits of living, school, property costs in these areas. I will be commuting into Bradford for work. Thanks so much for your help!

Otley is much nicer but horsforth is probably better in terms of your commute and access to Leeds, much better public transport and a lot more facilities, places to take kids, clubs etc

Property costs are approx the same.

Otley can be a bit over run with tourists in the summer too, but it’s very very pretty, just a bit out in the sticks.

Both lovely, very expensive however. Pudsey and Farsley are often a fair bit cheaper and on the edge of Bradford, maybe look there

I'd go the other way to Keelham, Illingworth, Queensbury Haworth. Good value, better commute straight over the tops and North Halifax Grammar in Illingworth.

Otley is a lovely town to bring up children in. It still has a market town community. All the schools are good but I think some are over subscribed. I commuted to Bradford for many years and it is not that bad. Now commute to Leeds and again it really isn’t that bad. Think property prices are similar.

If working in Bradford, I'd look at places like Saltaire and Bingley. Saltaire is gorgeous and has lots going on for young families.

Yes, commuting from Otley or Horsforth to Bradford is likely to destroy not enhance your QOL.

Where in Bradford do you need to get to and will it be by car, train or something else?

Saltaire an excellent shout though.

Thanks everyone, lots to think about!

@PooWeeBum my daughter is in hysterics at your username!

@BarbaraofSeville I will be at the University so I don't know if this is easier than elsewhere in Bradford? My current commute in upto an hour.

We are a few years from secondary school at the moment but are there good secondary schools in all of these areas?

Otley sounds very similar to where we are now but base price for an 'average' family home is 450 - 500K here so 300-350 is manageable although I would love to cut my mortgage down.

Are there any particular areas to avoid?

We live in Farsley (2 years now) and love it. We visited loads of places in Leeds several times and Farsley gave us everything we needed. Enough happens there to be an active place but it has perfect easy access by car train or bus into both Leeds and Bradford. Schools are decent, nice food and drink places, mix of events, still not crazy expensive. Saltaire is nice in itself but is quite far from Leeds.

What sort of housing are you after?

Ilkley, Saltaire, Haworth, Queensbury are quite nice. Keelham too The commute Bradford to Leeds is horrible. I've been doing it 10 years. The ring roads are horrendous. Stick to Bradford if you're working Bradford uni. Avoid centre Bradford, West and South. North is better. I say this as a Bradfordian 😀

Definitely Queensbury end if you're at the uni. The commute the other way is horrible, and the house prices in Otley are daft.

Save your money and have a nice 15 minute commute, send child to North Halifax when the time comes.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126177617

Just had to double check this was in the baby names forum. Carry on….

Wasn’t*

Thanks @Hillrunning I am after a reasonable size 3 bed house. My dream would be an older property, we need a garden and are quite outdoorsy (including dog) so ideally would like to be within easy reach of the hills / moor etc.

Ideally would be great to be on a trainline as possibly better opportunities for my daughter to enjoy city life more as she gets older. I am a bit of a rural lover (we currently live in a chocolate box type village) so I would be happy to be in a rural environment.

What are the schools like in Farsley? Is there good wraparound care / clubs?

Ilkley?
Direct train line to Bradford. Best place to live in the UK according to the Sunday Times 2022! Great community and good schools including Ilkley Grammar (albeit comp) for secondary.
Pricier than some of the other areas mentioned though.
Otley also a nice town with a good secondary but not on the train line to Lees or Bradford.

Areas commutable to Leeds are more expensive.
If budget constraints are an issue, look Airedale and towards Skipton instead.
Quite a lot of people commute to Bradford from Calderdale too. Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Todmorden. Opens up commuting to Manchester too.
I used to live in Bradford District and lived in Saltaire which is lovely. Good for train travel but roads were busy. Bingley/Harden/Cullingworth are quite nice, the latter are a bit more rural.
Now live in Calderdale - primary schools are generally good. There are grammar schools if you're willing to do the 11+ or local High Schools are pretty decent too. Successful chain of Academies.
Hebden Bridge is expensive, but 30/40 minutes on the train. Pleasant drive. Mytholmroyd/Todmorden are both quite family friendly and more affordable.
You've got a lot of choices really.

Saltaire is only a 15 minute train ride to Leeds! It's also easy to commute to Bradford by train from Saltaire.

Thanks everyone so much for your suggestions and excellent insider knowledge. I apologise if I don't respond individually but I am reading everything as it comes into the thread.
@biddyboo does Saltaire have tennis / cricket? These are two non negotiables from my daughter!

Saltaire is way closer to Leeds than farsley on the train. Easy peasy

Yes, I forgot the train from Saltaire is quite fast.

OP, Farsley is pretty in parts and does have a lot of old housing stock which is nice but calling it chocolate box would probably be a step too far. It's new ney pudsey station which gets you to leeds and Bradford (and as far as balckpool). The thing to keep in mind is you always have to sacrifice something. Farsley doesn't have immediate walkable countryside but is fairly close to the canal where people paddle board, cylce ect. But we just hope in the car most weekends and can be in the dales or mores within 40 minutes. There is an indoor climbing wall in Pudsey.

If chocolate box is more important to you than access to Leeds (the far superior city of the two, although I do like Bradford a lot) then look at Bronte country, Otley or Ilkley.

Saltaire is lovely but not brilliant as family place, not enough big houses.
Baildon is lovely community and bear the moors , Bingley, Guiesley are great for families too all have direct train to Bradford.
Ilkley is really the best place around really great quality of life but you do pay for it . If I was starting from scratch I'd get the best I could afford in Ilkley.
Otley and horsforth are more Leeds way and you pay premium for that (similar to ilkley but without the benefits)

Yes, there is a cricket club in Roberts Park in Saltaire. There is also a tennis club down that way and there are some council tennis courts nearby as well. Have a google of Roberts Park in Saltaire. It's a fab park.

Do you mean not enough big houses in the heritage part of the village because there are loads on the outskirts? In Moorhead, for example.

www.saltstennisclub.co.uk/
www.saltairecc.co.uk/
Tennis and cricket.

I really really like Horsforth.
Ive also got several friends who’ve moved from traditionally very expensive areas of leeds to Yeadon, Farsley and Pudsey and all really enjoying it

Yes there are, I agree many lovely houses but they are not really in the heart of saltaire and if the OP doesn't know the area sone of that area steer a bit close to Allerton which I don't think is what she is looking for.