Bradford

[Lisanoonan]

What is Bradford like? I'm starting a new job in Leeds next month. I'll be renting in Leeds for a while.

But I was looking at property prices, to buy in the future.

I see that there are some nice and affordable apartments in Bradford. Which is not far from Leeds

Does anyone know much about the place? What's it like? Thanks!

The whole place needs bulldozing, OP. Just don't do it!

That's home to around 300,000 people so that's a bit uncalled for.

Fwiw, I think Bradford has a lot of character. I like it. However, if you're working in Leeds I would try to live in Leeds as you'll probably get irritated by the busy roads or train delays on a commute.

You'd be much better to look for a terrace somewhere like Pudsey imo. Bradford is a very mixed bag. There are lovely villages around Bradford which are great value too.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148269812#/?channel=RES_BUY

Whereabouts in Bradford are the apartments? There are some very rough areas, and some villages on the outskirts which are nicer. Night and day.

Saltaire Bingley and Shipley are great places to live and there's a quick train to Leeds.

It’s a shithole. But the areas on the edge of Leeds are not too bad.

Like all cities, there are rough places which you'd never be advised to live in. However there are also lovely places in bradford if you know where to look - saltaire in particular, a world heritage site with a lovely park, canal walks, pubs, bars and restaurants. Also a train station where you can get to Leeds in less than 20mins. Rent will be much cheaper than some leeds areas.

However, as others have said, there are some lovely suburbs in Leeds too, but also some areas which you should avoid! You'll always hear from people that bradford is a shit hole, but that's just from people who only are talking about the rough areas and don't know enough about what they are talking about.

I know plenty of people that work in Bradford and commute from Leeds….. not many the other way around.
id be looking at any property on the Skipton or ilkley line to Bradford (Skipton about 40 mins, ilkley about 30 I think). Ilkley, Ben rydding, Skipton cowling, and burley are the most expensive stations I would say, but others are likely to have reasonable housing. Competitive though.

There are many nice liveable areas of Bradford that are very good value for money.
Same as any biggish city some places are better than others.
What places are you looking at?

City of culture 2025-29. Lots of investment, like anywhere it has rough bits but it’s not all rough. I think it’s quite vibrant.

Exactly this. I work in Leeds and commute in from somewhere often described as a dump but have a large house and garden with lovely community. Do take some of the time to look around and decide what area suits you. We have lots of people in my office come in from Bradford and I quite like it, feels a bit more culturally interesting than some rather bland areas elsewhere in Yorkshire but I'm a city girl so I don't really like quiet villages! I also think the City of Culture status will see lots of interesting development like it has in other areas.

Which part of Leeds are you working in? City centre?

I wouldn't look in Bradford city centre but some of the suburbs like Saltaire, Bingley, Shipley are nice, or look on the Bradford/ Leeds border at Pudsey/ Farsley/ Stanningley that you can get into Leeds easily either by bus or train.

Agree with saltaire, bingley and surrounding villages - the trains really fast and easy.
ilkley is nice but expensive.
bit further out, silsden and adding an but they start to have slightly further transport links

Centrally It's a bit grim with a few nice bits and some nice surrounding places

Like anywhere it has good and bad bits but I don't think I would choose to live there and if a house price seems too good to be true there will be a reason. Plenty of nicer places in commuting distance of Leeds.

Some areas of Leeds are much worse than the worst areas of Bradford IMO. The Aire and Wharfe valley railway lines connect some great places to live to Leeds city centre. Shipley, Saltaire, Bingley etc offer great value housing in comparison to the good areas of Leeds.

I actually do know about it since it’s my home town. It’s a shithole.

I live in Bradford
Have a look at Apperley Bridge, nice area on the outskirts of Bradford and a 9 min train ride to Leeds from the station stop

I used to live in Bradford. It's cheap for a reason. Leeds is much better and property prices all around Leeds/Bradford are a direct reflection of how nice it is to live in any given area, building quality/general upkeep over the decades etc. My personal suggestion is Horsforth in the Leeds area.

Also all the roads between Leeds and Bradford are absolutely awful during morning and evening rush hours, you will just be sat in traffic for ages every day.

Your car insurance quote in Bradford will be double what they are elsewhere. It's the car crash / insurance scam capital of the UK.

Yes this is also true. The only place I ever had an accident in 12 years of driving and it was a cash 4 crash scam. Thankfully one of the insurers (not mine) was Direct Line and I got exonerated by the private investigator that looked into it all but it took years. The driving in Bradford/Bingley/Keighley is appalling.

I'd look at wetherby

Emmm I would spend a bit of time there and make an informed decision….. the good news is it has great transport links , both Leeds and Bradford, so you can commute from further away.
there is no denying it’s less desirable and that’s why the apartments are such a great price- it also depends on what you want, you might love the hustle and bustle of the city and hate the thought of quieter areas.

Regarding car insurance….. I’m sure I read a statistic somewhere that it was estimated that only 1 in 3 drivers in Bradford were fully insured or held a full driving licence. How true it is I don’t know- but hubby drives buses into Bradford up to four times a day - he jokes it’s much closer to one in 10 🫣