To move up north for a big but cheap house!

[dancingmonkey]

Just that really. I l live in Hertfordshire- south east and very expensive part of Uk. Budget is around £270,000 and around here that will get me a small 2 bed/ poss 3 bed. But have looked at properties in York which I know is lovely and the will get me a 4/5 bed with massive garden, playroom, utility etc!

Has anyone on here moved far from friends and family to get more value for money on a house? did you regret? I have a 2 year old so obviously it would be hard to not see grandparents and friends but other that that not sure what I would miss! I also work from home so wouldn't need to worry about that.

YANBU but .... the north is an acquired taste. It's a big decision, in my opinion.

Good luck with whatever you decide

I wouldn’t if you didn’t need the space.

Ahhh sounds tempting but for me I couldn’t do it to be so far from family with a child. Completely depends on your relationship with family and how often you desire to see them, of course! are they keen to be involved and help with babysitting? Would you need that at any stage?

I’ll let others who have done it actually comment. But fwiw I’m now going to move 400 miles to be closer to family - particularly in light of the Covid situation and the fact we haven’t seen them for months, and the concern that other lockdowns/viruses may be in our future.

400 miles is a long way but I wouldn’t rule it out. Could you spend a weekend In the area you’re thinking of just to get a feel for it? However, don’t underestimate the value of having family close by.

I moved and then all my relatives followed me!

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace

YANBU but .... the north is an acquired taste. It's a big decision, in my opinion.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Oo really, how would you describe it?!

If you look realistically at the actual area you’d want to live you might find that 270,000 isn’t as much ‘up north’ as you think it is. I live in a large northern city and am moving to another medium sized northern city. If you want to live in the most desirable areas 270,000 definitely wouldn’t get you a big garden and 4/5 beds in either city I’m looking at. York may be cheaper or the places you have seen do not have good transport/schools/amenities.

“The North is an acquired taste”????!!!!!

WTF?

You do know that “The North” is a massive area and hugely varied. What an ignorant comment.

FFS - it's hardly moving to Australia!

And as for saying it's an acquired taste - how insulting is that?

@dancingmonkey if having a bigger/better house is important to you, then yes I'd do it. Around York (and that part of the world) is some absolutely beautiful countryside, as well as great city centres for shopping/culture, etc.

Have you been up North a lot? Are you familiar with the particular area you want to move to?

Is having a huge house that important?

Could you link to the house which has a large garden, utility room and 4/5 beds in YORK for that price. I’ve been looking for years and never seen anything like that. Mine is 280 I have a small garden, 3 beds and no utility room just a tiny kitchen/diner. We’re the cheapest house with all that in YORK at the moment

the north is an acquired taste

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

Where in 'the north' are you thinking? Where I live for that price you would also only get a 2 or 3 bedroom house.

I wish I could get a 5 bed for 270k in my bit of the north!

You do know that “The North” is a massive area and hugely varied. What an ignorant comment.

Don't get your keks in a twist I'm perfectly well up on what the north is. I was merely trying to suggest that ..... well, it's a big decision.

How would I describe it? Fab.

I live "up North" and echo the comment above - you may need to do some research to make sure what you've seen is in a suitable area. £270,000 for a 4/5 bed with garden, utility etc. in York sounds unrealistically cheap to me - but in general York is lovely and I'd highly recommend it. Plenty to go on weekends and good links to the countryside, other major cities, and the coast.

As a guide, I'm looking to buy in south Leeds (which is less nice in general than York) and for a 5 bed with two reception rooms (living room & playroom), utility, decent garden and garage, I'm looking at minimum £300,000 to £350,000

York is a lovely part of the world.. but 270000 for a massive house with the things you’ve listed is cheap for here, it sounds like it might not be in the best area!

That the North is an acquired taste is a bizarre thing to say. It’s a massive bloody area for a start!

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

It's supposed to fucking mean that not everyone would like it!

I wouldn't tbh.

I have two concerns. Someone I worked with took a job in York and had two issues.

1. His dcs were bullied relentlessly for being southern and “posh”

And 2. It was extremely hard to move back at that time because house prices were rising faster in the south than in the north.

Can you rent out your house and rent for a year. It will allow you to decide whether you like it, and also get to know the area so you make the right choice of location/schools etc.

Acquired taste
Be aware and research of potential areas. I’m in the ‘North’ and £270K wouldn’t buy much bigger than a 3 bed semi in my area unless a renovation job or a less desirable part of town. However some towns are cheaper....

Most of us northerners are nice, we have some lovely countryside and cities too!

We live a six hour drive from grandparents, once you get to that sort of distance there are no quick visits. Infrequent minimum 4 night visits become the only practical option. Depending on your family dynamic that may or may not be a good thing. The gp's I'm talking about are difficult so I'd rather they were much closer so we could have frequent short visits. But that's not how life turned out.

Just moved to a 5 bed, 3 recep, 3 bath, three large gardens. For a price that would make a Southerner weep.

I mean, I'm Northern, and I love the place. Stone's throw from the Peaks and the Lakes, bit more to Wales.

I say do it. My family have never shown any interest in visiting or looking after my kids so being near or far from would make no difference.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace

YANBU but .... the north is an acquired taste. It's a big decision, in my opinion.

Good luck with whatever you decide

What?! I moved south to north and there’s no difference except the price of houses!

I’m 4 hours from family OP and it does take getting used to, but I love that they come up for weekends and I go there regularly. It depends how much you rely on family being close by

Actually I'd like to know where in Hertfordshire the OP is going to get a 2 or 3 bed house for £270,000?