Leaving London

[siwel123]

Hi all, don't shoot I know there's life outside of London .
Me, my wife and 2 kids currently live in London and the wife has finally agreed to start looking at other places to live but as were both civil servants we have a limited range of places to choose from.

The options we've been given are Leeds or Manchester. AIBU to ask which would you choose and Why? And also what areas would you live in. We would have a 500k budget for the house so any suggestions appreciated.

Is Sheffield an option at all?

@Battleax. Afraid not the job is Leeds or Manchester at the moment.

@Antihop. I understand but I don't see the point really of being so far out.
Also family is up north for both of us, so it would be nice to be closer to them.

I'd choose Manchester, but then I'm from Manchester. I'm also living in London at the moment and looking to move back after a decade in the Smoke. You need to do a visit to both, really, as they both have a different feel.

Manchester's probably got a bit more grit in the oyster but it can be good grit, if that makes sense. The people are funny, welcoming and nice and there are various social enterprises trying to help the rough sleepers now. It's an innovative place, full of spark and ideas. I find it very creative.

On the other hand, Leeds probably does genteel a bit better than Manchester. People in Leeds are also lovely. I get some stick in Leeds for my accent but it's because I sound Mancunian so I get that 'wrong side of the Pennines' teasing.

Horses for courses. But you need to visit both to choose the course, I'd say.

I recently left London and moved back to Leeds my home city. As soon as we had a baby we realised our relatively low earning wages just weren't going to allow us any financial security in London - we are currently renting to save for a mortgage and pay £400 a month less for 3x the amount of house, childcare is cheaper but our wages are exactly the same! We spend a day at the weekend doing family stuff outside for much less money! I have to say I miss the variety of stuff can do in London but it wasn't all great once had kids so we can still go to London easy enough if we want to!! I'm not that familiar with Manchester but you would get an amazing house for that budget up here

@Kshaw. Thank you so much just what we wanted to hear.

@PlausibleSuit. Thank you.

Leeds.

Very precise @Jammycustard.

Any more opinions welcomed

Well you really need to visit them! I've only done daytrips so can't comment on living there but Manchester seemed to have a lot of cultural things and gave the impression of being a compact version of London. Leeds was nice enough but not very 'big'.

Someone recently posted on another thread that Manchester gets more rain than Leeds cos it's on the rainy side of the Pennines. So you might want to consider weather too.

You’re welcome.

Leeds is a more pleasant city (I think).
Close to lovely nature.
Closer to Hull.
Easier to get to London.

I lived in Leeds and have only visited Manchester, so perhaps it’s not that balanced an opinion. And I left Leeds to move to London... but I think Leeds is a great city.

I grew up in the South East very close to London but now live in Leeds. It’s a brilliant city to live and work in.

Oh, and I’m a civil servant and all the main departmental offices are very central, within a few minutes walk of the station unlike Manchester where they are a bit more of a trek (I’m lazy, such details are important!!)

The tram service in Manchester is an undeniable plus (they keep talking about getting one here in Leeds but no sign as yet) but the buses here are pretty decent. And London is only a couple of hours by train so easy enough to get back if you fancy a visit.

Thanks all. Hello @Calic0. Yes being a little lazy myself sometimes, closer the better . Yes, leeds is sometime soon meant to be getting a tram or light railway system, however i've been told the buses are good, and there's meant to be an expantion of bus lanes to cut through the traffic.
@Jammycustard. Thanks for expanding much appreciated.

Weather is a factor, london is like bloody ibiza compared to hull but i'm not that bothred.

They've been thinking about mass transit in Leeds for decades (probably at least 30 years) spent millions on feasibility studies and got nowhere.

The problem now is that there is literally nowhere to put it and too much opposition from those who would be disrupted during construction and the visual impact or loss of road and parking when in place.

Apparently there was even talk of an underground many many years ago and perhaps even some trial tunnels constructed. That seems just as likely as anything else right now.

Poor public transport is probably a major downside to Leeds but you can make do by choosing your home carefully wrt bus or train lines. There are also three park and ride lines that could be an option.

Thanks @Barbara

Interesting thread. Can’t help re choice as I don’t know either. I get where you coming from though as a born & bred Londoner I would defo prefer to live 20 mins or so from the centre of a smaller city rather than zone 5 or 6.

@boomboom12. precisely, also even with 500k in zone 5 or 6 it won't be a fantastic house but in leeds for example that's a good amount

Yep I heat you & it might be something we consider in the future as to stay where I am (2/3) & have the house of my dreams I need about 1.6m 🤣🤣

hear not heat!

After living all my life in London I moved to a town 50 miles out after retiring and regret it. Banking on winning the lottery to be able to afford to move back to London as now can't afford to buy anything.

If there's any chance you will want to return to London in the future I would stay put.

It does make you cry . As a kid i was a keen hiker, and we did lots of trails in the yorkshire dales and yorkshire mores, so moving to leeds would give me th perfect excuse to hike again. The royal parks / parks in london don't really compare.

We moved London to Cheshire and I work in Manchester. Better work life balance. £500k doesn't get you what you think it does though. Maybe 3 beds in a desirable area.

I do miss the sights of London and access to do things. People talk about Manchester having things like the science museum and how amazing it is but it's pretty crap compared to London. You do however have the Peaks and the Lakes on your doorstep. So if you want your kids growing up surrounded by nature then do it. It's 90 minutes to KGX from our local station direct so I get my fix by popping down for the day on a cheap return.

@SilverySurfer. I don't think i do want to live in london anymore, me and wife have a good career, can both get new jobs in leeds or manchester and can actually afford to live.

@justMarriedBecca. Thanks. It seems 500k goes further in leeds than manchester.
I know they won't have as many museums as london but when leeds, liverpool, manchester, sheffield, hull can easily be reached in an hour, 2 hours, that is the same time it takes to get across london to the museums anyway.