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!

Behave 🤣

Tell you what people might say it’s rough near that factory but Dixons academy school has great ratings I was reading about top schools in West Yorkshire.
Dixons Kings Academy Rankings

6 of 300 Best Secondary Schools in Yorkshire and The Humber.

17 of 300 Best Secondary School Teachers in Yorkshire and The Humber.

205 of 1620 Largest Schools in Yorkshire and The Humber.

3 of 300 Best Secondary School for Academic Performance in Yorkshire and The Humber.

You need to say where in Leeds you're commuting to - city centre? It makes a difference. E.g. If you're working on the eastern outskirts then commuting from Bradford will be horrible. Likewise if you're going to work in Leeds city centre, then you want somewhere with good train links - I wouldn't drive in unless it's unavoidable as traffic will be a pain and all-day parking is limited and expensive.

They really aren’t

Calling Shipley Saltaire and Bingley Bradford is like calling Thorner Harewood and Collingham Leeds

the daily fireworks get annoying

That’ll be the daily drug call.

I grew up with Bradford as my closest city, my husband lived in Bradford for many years, I worked there, he worked there, we now live nearish. I say this to demonstrate that I am not being snobby from a distance. I would not live in Bradford -- it is a hard place. When I worked there, I didn't always feel safe, the car insurance situation was challenging, there was lots of crime. I am genuinely surprised that some people seem so positive. We love going for a day trip to get a curry or look at the architecture but I wouldn't want to live there. It is cheap for a reason!

That said Leeds isn't generally much better (unless you live in the very expensive areas to the North). I live in a rough part of Leeds -- many similar problems and much more expensive than Bradford.

Look at the places you can commute via train (if you can afford them).

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/traffic-and-travel/the-top-10-leeds-commuter-towns-to-live-in-ranked-from-best-to-worst-in-new-research-4402780?fbclid=IwY2xjawGnMjBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUwZq_E7RikjX2Abt_5O2k52NU2gOIUz6o737M6jT-UWpFox546g5hj3Qg_aem_cz5Jv4nwpxZHcmO1nDpRaQ

This might be of use.

Not bad!

I don't know, I think it's a mixed bag. I honestly didn't think it was a nice place, and I've not heard good things from anyone about Bradford - even when they're from Bradford!

Have to agree with @KatMansfield6 - I didn't feel safe there either. I also didn't like a lot of Leeds. Headingley I liked, but you can't say Headingley is Harehills or Sheepscar. Those were deprived areas, and Bradford had that same empty feel.

I also lived in Liverpool and I'd say the same for Kirkby or Norris Green. Allerton there is nice and so is Roby, but they're small areas and not a majority.

@Changingagang 😂😂

Oh god there’s some rough areas. My mate lives n Clayton which is outskirts Bradford near Queensbury in country a bit and that’s fine there. But the thing about Bradford is you can be in one place. It’s fine literally a couple minutes down the road in the car and it can completely change.
I live on the outskirts of Dewsbury which I don’t like Dewsbury at all. It’s a shit hole but on the outskirts where I live I’ve got amazing views of country and there’s some quite posh houses near me and people have horses. It doesn’t even feel like Dewsbury here so the areas can change.

It's really similar to where I am near Cheshire/Shropshire! Some places can be absolutely stunning and then you drive down and you're locking your car doors. I do have to say I've never really explored much of the outer city parts of Bradford - the moors and things I'd like to see from a more local perspective, as opposed to the tourist stuff.

Hmm, maybe I am being a bit too hasty to moan about Bradford then. I think my immediate memory is that bloody market and the smell of rotten meat and fish! 😆

Bradford centre is awful, look at Saltaire - pretty village with a train station direct into Leeds in 20 minutes

I love in Horsforth - its lovely and there is a mixture of housing here, obviously you probably wont be getting a detached unless you are loaded but there are other options like small terraces or rented flats.

Bradford is getting lots of investment for city of culture but agree its the outskirts which are its bets bits. Haworth and Saltaire are world famous and beautiful but the city centre isnt great. Its a very young city too as well - which has advantages and disadvantages.

I think the film billy liar was filmed in Bradford and it looks lovely, I looked it up because I was admiring the architecture and grave yard!

However I believe it's a hot area for x l bully dogs?

Meant to reply earlier but couldn't get back on mumsnet till now. Thanks very much everyone. I'm just reading through the posts now.

It's hard to know about places sometimes. As in the UK, whole towns get designated as absolute shitholes. But you know, some parts of the towns can be fine . I have heard a couple of bad things about Bradford but I was wondering what are the good and bad things about it.

Towns definitely get a reputation that sticks.

I remember i was working in Liverpool a couple of years ago and I was looking at houses nearby. I wasn't from the area so i didnt know which areas were "good" or "bad". I was just looking at houses.I looked over the mersey, as i thought it would be nice to live in the Wirrall.

I saw houses that were really nice, and were cheap in Birkenhead.

I walked around Birkenhead and I thought it looked nice, quiet and pretty. And it had a great connecting train to Liverpool.

However when I went back into Liverpool, and I said to people at different groups that I'd gone to look at houses in Birkenhead, every single person said

"You can't live in Birkenhead it's an absolute dump full of druggies!. Its an awful place. Its full of alcos. People will make fun of you if you live there"

I soon learned after that Birkenhead was seen as a "bad area" by some people in Liverpool.

And that some people take the "bad areas" and the "good areas" very seriously,

Some of the people that I met in Liverpool wouldnt even speak to someone who lives in Birkenhead. Because they saw that person as being from a "bad area"

But I hadn't noticed that from walking around Birkenhead. I thought it was quite a nice and pretty town. I remember thinking "how can a whole town be bad"

But anyway I do really appreciate all the responses. Its great to hear more about bradford. I am reading through them

It’s terrible in the centre, nobody could deny it. All of the glorious things the city has to offer (the food, the people, the architecture, the efforts for culture for 2025… etc) all of them pale into insignificance against the drug problems that ravage the city. You cannot walk anywhere without seeing evidence of it.

I'll definitely go for a good walk around. But it's hard to tell just by spending one weekend there. But ill definitely visit for a weekend anyway.

I'm working in central Leeds. So maybe ill look at more options round Leeds. I just liked the idea of Bradford as it's between Manchester and Leeds, and there's a lot of things on in Manchester. But Leeds has a lot of things on too

Ah. Birkenhead is bad. Lived there 6 months and had my car firebombed, house robbed, and next doors bins set on fire. It is bad. They weren't lying. It's er...sketchy.

West Kirby is nice.

Billy Liar was filmed in 1963..i think Bradford may have changed a bit since then!

Yeah it's hard to know what it's like to live somewhere, just from walking round a place for one day.

I spent a day walking round Birkenhead and I had a great time! I loved walking around the docks. There was a great little library. There were Cute cafes. The people were friendly to me. There were no problems on the streets when I was there.

But you can't really tell what it's like to live in a place, until you actually live there!

It was the same when we lived just outside of Headingley in Leeds. We thought because it was so close it would be fine! It looked nice in the day and the terrace houses were neat and tidy.

Dear lord. It's sometimes hard to know until you live it, and I do have to say other opinions can sometimes be a bit...skewed. But I'd honestly advise against Bradford, for the most part. I really might be wrong now, but the main areas are bleak, there's a massive drug and alcohol problem, and it doesn't feel comfortable once it goes dark. Don't forget you've got to run to the shop for milk at 8pm sometimes.

Hello, I'm from Bradford, born and bred, 49 years and counting.

Before I start - my car insurance was £167 for this year which I was very happy with.

I have always championed Bradford. I love the place and always have done. However there is no denying that it has gone downhill over the last few years. It's a young city with few opportunities, but you've got a job in Leeds so that doesn't matter.

Look on Right Move or wherever for flats. If they are cheap, they will not be in nice areas. Each postcode area will have separate districts that are nicer than others - for example, BD10 - Thackley is nice, but Thorpe Edge not so nice.

I'd avoid anywhere in West Bradford as the transport links to Leeds are dreadful from there. I'm in West Bradford and there's no bus up here from the Town Centre after 9.30.

If I was working in Leeds, I'd definitely be looking somewhere that there is a train station so Saltaire, Bingley, Baildon. You would mostly be able to avoid Bradford proper and the City Centre living around there - you wouldn't want to shop in Bradford if you're only a train ride from Leeds. If you are driving, see what google maps suggests for time and add about half an hour on. The M62 is always awful, at least once a week your journey will be longer due to roadworks or accidents.

(A young lad I used to work with was commuting to Bradford from Doncaster and he ended up buying a house in Bramley (Leeds); he worked in Bradford and his girlfriend worked in Leeds).

The Town Centre is being made smaller and pedestrianised and I think once it is done it will be really nice, I just hope businesses will invest and move here as there are a lot of empty units.

Traffic is awful. I hate having to go out in rush hour. It is over run with cars and choked with traffic and the standard of driving is absolutely awful, bordering on anti-social and generally disrepectful.

Bradford is extremely multi-cultural. Everyone thinks of Pakistanis when they talk about multi-culturalism in Bradford but there are a lot of Czechs and Slovaks. There's not a huge problem with street gangs though which Leeds and Huddersfield have issues with.

There's huge problems with blatant drug dealing in broad daylight and lots of cannabis grows cropping up (no pun intended) in empty houses. Police do act but when it's as endemic as it is they can only do so much.

Bradford Council are absolutely inept. I don't have any more words for them.

Getting an NHS dentist is nigh on impossible around here.

GP Practices are always over burdened.

I can't comment on schools because my kids are adults now.

Have a look on the West Yorkshire Police website for crime statistics for that area and a feel for how safe it is.

Op, the xl bully issue may not worry you but somewhere (it was posted on here) post codes which were xl bully hot spots. Seeing as a certain type has them I'd try and find it and steer well clear.

Don't do it OP. Have worked there a bit, as well as rough parts of other northern towns with significant deprivation, and it is pretty dire. The driving is eye-opening. For cheaper property and a short commute into Leeds look at Selby. Not much longer on the train to Manchester and York is close.

I know Bradford well and while I agree its not all awful I probably wouldn't live there by choice if there were good alternatives