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.

Sorry that was to @Goldenbear. I stopped to feed teenage boys before they started eating me!

[quote CarrieBlue]@claireb707 - did you buy recently? House prices have surprised me, 3 bed, unextended semi at the end of my (fine but not Bishy Road!) street on the east side of York is on the market for £250000[/quote]
A year ago so recent ish

Some hilarious comments that need addressing here! I’ve lived in both Hertfordshire and York and can say which I prefer with total clarity. York. Anyway, I guess that’s personal preference and everyone is different. I’m so so glad I’m not raising my children in Harpenden. Some basic points:

1. York is 200 miles from London, less than 2 hours to kings cross on the train.
2. the weather in York is mild and moderate. It’s low lying position means it’s statistically much milder than many higher places in the south of England.
3. I think anyone who’s read the thread by now will get the idea that a 5 bed for £275k in a nice part of York is not going to happen. You’d probably need closer to £600k plus for a 5 bed house in a nice part of York
4. This might come as a shock to some of the southerners here but we do actually have some fantastic state schools in the north of England too. York itself has numerous excellent schools. Less so once you get outside York which is one of the reasons house prices are a bit cheaper ‘in the sticks’. I’m laughing at a PP who claimed their uncles, neighbours, dogs brother (or whatever) moved to York and their children were bullied for being ‘posh’. I can assure anyone who is considering moving to York that most schools in York are a healthy mix of very well spoken and more regionally accented children. 1 of my DC speaks with a cut-glass RP accent and has never had a day’s trouble. My other DC has a broad Yorkshire accent. No idea how that happened

@AliceinBunnyland

I've got a 4 bed detached with big garden in a nice bit of east Yorkshire for less than 250k

It's all relative and subjective though, isn't it? I know people who think they live in a nice area but I wouldn't say so. Also what is a "big" garden is relative.

I live in a "nice" bit of Yorkshire but our 3 bed house with a "big" garden is worth at least £325K and hopefully more once we add a bedroom on.

Other than beverley most of east Yorkshire is relatively cheap and other than bits of Hull most of it is quite nice

I also sold my tiny 2 bed terrace in York for over £200k and that was 3 years ago!

Some parts of Hull are actually really nice.

From how you describe your relationships with your family and friends, I think a bigger house wouldn't compensate for radically reducing your contact with them.

I live in the North West, and love it, but home is really where the heart is.

270k for a 4/5 bed house in York screams 'floodplain' at me

I live in Yorkshire but you couldn't pay me to live in York I did used to work there though, people were absolutely lovely
City centre is a nightmare for parking, cyclists, tourists and traffic (especially on race day)
Further out you still have issues with traffic and commuting can be horrendous

Driffield is absolutely not in York. It's nowhere near. But the east coast is very lovely nonetheless if you avoid Hull and you will certainly get value for money there.

There are some stunning villages between York and Scarborough along the A64 corridor.

But York itself is very expensive as are all the naice Northern towns such as Harrogate and Ilkley.

If you want cheap as chips, you are looking either in South Yorkshire or the North East around Durham or Middlesbrough.

@THisbackwithavengeance

Driffield is absolutely not in York. It's nowhere near. But the east coast is very lovely nonetheless if you avoid Hull and you will certainly get value for money there.

There are some stunning villages between York and Scarborough along the A64 corridor.

But York itself is very expensive as are all the naice Northern towns such as Harrogate and Ilkley.

If you want cheap as chips, you are looking either in South Yorkshire or the North East around Durham or Middlesbrough.

Do not come to South Yorkshire. It’s a hole I’m desperate to get out of.

North of York is nice (Heworth/Heworth Without/Huntington/Osbaldwick) they are within 2.5 miles of the centre and prices vary and are mixed.

3 years ago we moved from a rental that sold 2 mths later for 270k (3 bed semi in need of extensive modernisation and cosmetic updating) and moved half a mile away (same catchment for school our son was in) to one we bought for 40k less, still 3 bed, but much bigger square footage, bigger garden and extended downstairs with another two rooms plus garage. It needed some work but nothing major (e.g all new windows 5 yrs previously and had a good sound roof). So it pays to really look into it.
I'd recommend speaking to a few local estate agents.

There are also areas a little further out from the centre (a few miles only) but with good road and bus links like Haxby/Strensall/New Earswick.
All of the places mentioned have a good mix of schools with good reputations and ratings.

As with all places there are nicer areas than others and some areas are high for student lets ( there are 2 universities here, an agricultural college on the outskirts and a large FE college) which isn't for everyone.

I'm northern but still relocated here and my OH moved here from down south and we've been very very happy living here for nearly 20 yrs.

I love that we're only 2 hrs away on the train from London and Scotland where we have family and it's less than an hour away from the East coast (and my childhood home) which is great.

Must say as per PP DEFINITELY look into flood plains for York!

@EwwSprouts

BikeSkiRun Sorry to keep banging on about natural hazards, but this is the reason that the Beverley house @EwwSprouts has linked to is cheap- it’s right in the middle of a flood zone. I don't think those two areas have ever flooded in living memory. For the part of the town that did flood they've chucked money at flood defences & for the villages to the east dredging the river Hull etc.

I’m not wishing to scaremonger anybody, more to raise awareness. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve spoken in the last 20 years of working in Flood Risk Management who havn’t flooded in living memory, but have flooded now. Often I’ve spoken to them with a foot of water in their living rooms. Even a small amount of surface water can have a pretty big impact. Flood maps are based on extensive and detailed modelling of what could happen in theory as well as what has happened historically. I’m fully aware of the River Hull defences , I was part of their inception, and of the maintenance we do in the area. Bizarrely, capital investment and maintenance of flood defences are funded separately, and situations can and do arise where defences cannot be maintained.

I still stand by my advice to check flood maps before committing to a property, particularly in York and the East Riding.

That budget is less impressive than you'd expect in Durham itself, though goes further in the surrounding villages.

When we were house hunting we looked at one a few doors down from this one and it was the plummet into the back garden that put us right off!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71057118.html

Cheshire is not even close to 50% bigger size wise to Surrey. If you included neighbouring places to Surrey County borders, you would not see a dramatic fall in that average. Miles away from the surrey border, yes, maybe but still the average price of a house in Kent is £319000, in East Sussex, it is £340 which is over a £100 000 more than average price of a Cheshire House.

Neednewwellies, do you mean Farnham in Surrey (can't think of another one)? the average house price is £597538, Farnham is very much a desirable place to live!

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace

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

Good luck with whatever you decide

What do you mean ‘but..... the north is an acquired taste’?!?!

@Goldenbear. According to Wikipedia, Surrey is 642 sq miles. Cheshire is 905 sq miles, so Cheshire is not far off 50% bigger.

A budget of £270.000 won't buy much in the better parts of T'North, the parts beyond the cobbles, some parts are as eye-wateringly expensive as some of T'South.

I live 100 miles North of York and you need a lot more money for that kind of house. Probably 500 to 600k and we don’t live in the most expensive areas.

The weather can be a bit shit a lot of the time. I travel down south a lot with work and it always seems so much warmer.

OP - Are your thinking York because it’s similar to St Albans?

If so, have you thought about Canterbury? Also, very like York. But sunnier and less damp! Also you can hop to Brugge / Paris / Amsterdam at the drop of a hat. The countryside is rolling hills vineyards and kind of “lighter” (if that makes sense? Cambridge is also lovely, though not sure if it’s cheaper?

That is more like 30% bigger which is quite a bit different to 50%.

York is beautiful, but expensive (I suppose you already know that now from all the other posts.) Frankly Yorkshire is the largest county in the Country and every part of it is different. Of course you are absolutely welcome...but don't tell your friends...you'll end up driving the house prices up. (joke)

There’s so many beautiful places in the North. I lived in Yorkshire and would love to move back but two kids with special needs means it would be a huge decision to uproot them now they’re settled in schools and we have a set of parents locally. If you have a good support network I’d be hesitant to give that up to start over. You might replicate your network but you might not.

@Goldenbear, think you need to work on your Maths!! Its actually 41% if you want to be exact. My original comment of 50% was guess work - whether its 41% exactly or my "loose" 50%, the point is Cheshire is almost half as big again as Surrey so a massive difference. Its a pointless comparison.