...to not have a clue where to live in Yorkshire

[Suburbubble]

We (me, DH, DS (14), DD (9) may be moving to Yorkshire in the next few months. DH's job will be to the east of Leeds. We have a budget of around £270-300,000 for a 4/5 bedroom house, which seems to be doable in the local area but... where in the lcoal area?

DH has put a pin in a map and suggested Selby. He doesn't want to live in Leeds (long story, but he doesn't love cities) and has found a few new developments around the town. I know nothing about Selby (we're currently in the Midlands). Please tell me about Selby! Anyone live there? Suitable for a teenager? For me?

Please help?

I second methley its lovely...Rothwell is ok too...there are some lovely areas of Wakefield but again these are on the outskirts but very commutable..Your husband seriously needs to visit selby as it may not be as her remembered though.

Having lived in loads of areas of Leeds and Wakefield here is my opinion.
If his job is in east Leeds a train into Leeds isn’t going to help you in the slightest, it’s a big city.
Try and stick around the A1 area, it means you have fantastic transport links to get around.
Avoid all the lovely west areas like ilkley, horsforth etc as you will live in traffic jams if you don’t work in the same vicinity.
The villages around wetherby are beautiful but you won’t get much for your money.
Don’t sniff at the Pontefract (pontecarlo) district, lots of lovely villages (Thorpe audlin, darrington, wentbridge, etc) with lovely houses.
Don’t rely on the m62 for travel during rush hour, it’s hellish.
Your best bet is to visit and drive around, 10 miles down the road from a not so nice area can be amazing.
Good luck

I live in Ilkley, kids are younger than yours, but there is plenty for do for a teenager that likes to be outdoors.

Schools are good, plenty of places to eat and shop,

House prices are quite high though. Good luck.

Skipton. It really is lovely there.

Agree with Moobaa. I live right into east yorks & regularly drive to leeds office. I get there faster than colleagues from otley & bradford.

Ilkley is indeed lovely, but quite expensive. I don’t think OP will easily find a 4/5 bedroom for a max £300k budget.

Skipton or Ilkley!

Agree with the East Yorkshire suggestions. Some lovely towns and villages out that way and traffic much lighter than west of the A1.

Pontefract is awful

I have lived in selby.

Wouldnt do it again especially with teen.

What about Rothwell or methley?

Great access for leeds. Methley is surrounded by fields. Has a great local community. Public transport is as good as you will get for something outside a city centre. Neat Xscape and junction 32 shopping outlet and a new shopping complex coming soon.

It's not cheap, but you would get something nice there.

My friend has lived there all her life and I liked it so much I moved there after my divorce.

@FloatingObject which part? Pontefract covers a wide area that has some lovely, well to villages.

Wow! Thanks for all the helpful advice already.

DH's job would be in East Garforth, just off the A1. We are . He grew up in Birmingham and isn't keen for our kids to grow up in a big city. I grew up in a village and hated living there as a teenager - nothing to do!

So we now live in a medium-sized town within 30 mins drive of a big city in the Midlands - the best of both worlds, IYSWIM. We know that Yorkshire is a huge place with all kinds of different places - from Pennine scenery to ex-mining towns to big cities to the North York Moors.

On the surface, Selby looks a bit similar to where we are now and within our price range. I have read about development possibly happening in the town. We just want somewhere "ordinary". I don't think we can afford York or the naice villages, I don't think, but are open to suggestions.

I moved to the selby area for this reason 8 years ago.

1. It is no more a drugs capital than anywhere else. Go to Harrogate. You'll really get your eyes opened.
2. Its reputation is wildly out of date.
3. The commute to Leeds is a breeze by train or by car.

I would recommend any of the villages on the A19 to york because the 415 bus between York and Selby is every 15 minutes and runs until midnight. There are plenty of pubs on the route if you fancy a more local night.
In Selby itself, there are a handful of excellent bars and restaurants - more than plenty of similar market towns.

Highlights:
Selby Abbey
Brayton Barff
Skipwith Common (wild ponies!)
No. 1 The Crescent (great cocktail bar)
The Doghouse (local brewery's bar)
The Escapologist (bar/bistro/escape room)
Wetherell's (department store)
Jammie Olive (insanely good deli/cafe)
Olive Branch (Mediterranean fusion restaurant)
Capri (gorgeous Italian)
Caramba (Brazilian BBQ)
La Moochroome (fashion boutique)
Jac D (independent dressmaker)
Selby Globe (world cinema)
Full Size Doughnut (literally a giant doughnut shop!)
Rooms for All (homeware shop)
Heaven and Home (gift shop)

Most of these businesses have come to Selby in the last 5 years and are absolutely thriving. The rest are well established. The town is worth is visit to refresh some memories.

Harrogate is snooty and incredibly expensive.
Lots of lovely villages around to the north of leeds. How far out do you want to be?
Garforth is fine, my mate lives there and likes it, u get a lot for your money but not sure there's much to do for teens.

For reference, I lived in a selby flat and now live in a village nearby but we go there for everything else!

OK, more great suggestions, thanks. Just FYI, "surrounded by fields" isn't a recommendation for me! Skipton and Ilkely look a little on the pricier side, maybe, (but lovely!)

Am I telling DH that Selby is a hellhole that we should avoid or does it have its good points? We'll be visting in the next couple pf weekends but we want to narrow our search beforehand if we can.

Scholes or Barwick in Elmet. Both are small villages but only a 5-10 minutes drive to Garforth or down the a64 6 miles and you are in Leeds city centre.

Why is Pontefract called Pontecarlo?

@Suburbubble please read my post! I moved here from a chocolate box York village and we have a great life. I don't live IN Selby, we live in a local village. My mum moved here too after living 35 years in the same chocolate box village. Come and have a drive around.

Not really keen on a village, ten minutes drive to anywhere. That's what killed me as a teenager - always having to rely on my DP's to drive me everywhere.

Because Castleford is called Cas Vegas.

Garforth and Fairburn are lovely. Might struggle with your budget in places like Harrogate and Ilkley.

That was for @Sarcelle!

And because it's very much like Monte Carlo. In no way. Whatsoever.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63271953.html

Quite a pretty village and right on the A19 so decent transport links.

Check out the commute times before you decide to move anywhere. Play around on google maps for leaving at times to see how much time it adds.

Then look at schools because you need both a primary and a secondary.

But you want up to date information on a place like Pavlova has on Selby. Post in Property/DIY rather than AIBU and ask about commuting into East Garforth.

There are a lot of nice places nearer to East Garforth than Selby though. Do you need to consider work as well?