London or Leeds. WWYD?

[endoftether82]

To live, with 2 young kids. Crouch end in London, roundhay in Leeds. Which one would you do? And why preferably!

Roundhay for sure. Quality of life is so much better in Leeds. I moved to wetherby from London and now have children - don't think I would have anywhere near the same work life balance in London

Leeds for sure.
I moved from London to Leeds 2-ish years ago and having had that time to settle and reflect on it, it's the best decision I've ever made.
I live slightly further out than Roundhay (which is a lovely area by the way, some great old houses and the park will be wonderful for your children) now, but I just love it here. The easy access to the countryside is what makes it for me. Yorkshire is absolutely beautiful.

I have to go back to London for work every now and again, and I'm glad I spent a few years living there (London public transport is very, very good by comparison - you can get around London so efficiently!), but nothing would take me back on a more permanent basis.

Leeds hands down.

Lived there for 12 years (Headingley, not Roundhay) but I would move back in a flash if I could.

Leeds!

Leeds.
I left London for Leeds 38 years ago and never went back.

Leeds, especially if you can afford Roundhay. Hands down. I’ve lived/worked in both.

LEEDS! Love it there

Leeds! And I say that as someone who loves and lives in London. Leeds is fab, and Roundhay is lovely.

Another vote for Leeds*!

Unless you feel the cold. I was there in Feb half term and have never been so cold in my life. Although born in the north I have been bred into a southern softy. But it is a great city.

Leeds without a doubt. Especially Roundhay.

Born and bred Londoner (south east) moved up here with my partner and children 4 years ago. I absolutely love it and would never go back.

Once you pop the ‘London bubble’ and realise a lot of it is hyped up shite, the better

Leeds!

Leeds!

I moved from London to Leeds 4 years ago and never regretted it once. And I don’t live in an area as nice as Roundhay 😊

Leeds.

I like London but you'll have a much better quality of life in Leeds - it's cheaper than London, the people are very friendly, Roundhay is a lovely area and there's loads to do. I know there's also loads to do in London but you'll have much less disposable income there so it's generally a moot point.

Plus if you decide that you want to bob down to London you can jump on the train and be there in 2.5 hours.

Leeds.

I've lived in both, and much as I love London, you can't have anything approaching decent housing in a decent area on a normal salary. (If someone magically gifted me a five million pound flat in a nice area of central London I might jump the other way, but they're not going to).

Plus Leeds has proper countryside nearby.

State schools in Leeds were totally shit when I lived there, mind you.

Leeds no question but I am a proud northern who is living too far south for my liking at the moment!

byebyebye I thought I had accidentally rewritten my post!

Leeds!!

Although I'm not a fan of Roundhay as an area but that's just me.

Leeds, definitely. Much cheaper and better quality of life than London. Only, if you're moving to Roundhay, do some research into the school places black hole and try to ensure you get a house well in catchment for a local school. There's a shortage of school places in that area.

Roundhay. Definitely. Lovely area. I lived in Leeds for two years. Had a lot of fun. The Moors are so stunning and there's lots of things to do in Leeds without the pollution and congestion of London.

Am surprised, but pleased to hear, the support for Leeds. I moved out of London when DC1 and DC2 were very young. Best thing we ever did. Loved the London life pre-children, but love the non-London life with children even more.

Leeds, it's is a great city and Roundhay is a lovely area.

What's the salary differential? Roundhay is one of the more expensive areas of Leeds, so your money might not go as far as you might hope.

Why the specific two places, ie not 'anywhere in north Leeds' or 'somewhere around wherever in London Crouch End is'?

Leeds for sure. We left London and moved to the Dales in February and it's the best thing we ever did. I loved London and lived in a very central location, but the switch to village life in the north has been really positive.

DS is now having a proper childhood where he plays outside, goes swimming in the river Wharfe, is straight out on his bike after school... And while Leeds isn't as rural, the pace is different, you're close to the countryside and actual fresh air, and are a short drive from such breathtaking scenery you'll wonder why you didn't move sooner.

Leeds! I left London for Yorkshire 7 years ago and have never looked back. The quality of life is amazing. Leeds has developed loads in that time as well, it's a stunning city.

This so strange op, my mum had exactly the same dilemma in 1979! She chose Leeds. I am very happy she did. Leeds was a great place to grow up in. I loved the town centre, the Moors in close proximity and the schools were v good. It is not perfect and has the same crime/ poverty etc issues as any city, but I would still go and live there again if I could.

Sorry to be a dissenting voice - London!

Assuming, and this is the big assumption, you could genuinely afford a good equivalence of house/location/lifestyle between Roundhay and Crouch End.

I lived in London for several years (not too far from Crouch End) and some years ago relocated to Leeds (nearly chose Roundhay but ended up in Headingley instead).

It's fine here. Goes without saying that for the same money, we could afford a house in Leeds when we had a flat in London.

There is mostly decent food, there is art, there is music and culture. And if you like shopping (I don't) there is decent shopping. But it's not London.

And the public transport, although it tries its best, is expensive and not great. We often end up driving everywhere.

It's noticeably wetter and windier and colder (to be fair, being cooler could be argued as a plus during this recent freak-weather heatwave ). And darker in winter, which is also longer.

And there's not just a shortage of school places in Roundhay. There's a shortage of school places everywhere in Leeds ^^