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.

I live in York and I absolutely love it. A few of my neighbours work in London as the fast train gets you there in under two hours. Faster than my Uni friend who commutes and lives in “The South”. However, YABU to think that you get more house for your money here. York has some of the highest house prices in the UK, even higher than in some London boroughs. You only need to rightmove York (and make sure you limit it to York area only-Driffield is not York!) and see that you need at least a million to get anything decent and even then you probably won’t get much of a garden if any! Sorry, but it sounds like you can’t afford to live here, even in the villages on the outskirts where you’ll still need more than you can afford to get what you want.

NiceLegs - Think you might have that the wrong way round......!!!!!!!

Might be worth looking at Lincoln. Not quite as far, similar history to York and also cheap house prices.

I live in the South and have a friend who moved to North Yorkshire as it was cheaper and she loves it. She did stay there for a few days first.
As several people have said do your research, schools etc and see if you can stay somewhere for a few days and check out the area and, people, please don’t start on about the North/South divide. You get lovely people and not so nice people in all parts of the world. Good luck... ❤️

I live in Norwich much nearer South east,you could consider moving there if you really need to move but if you are close to friends and family and on own with a young child would you really want to move,

Anyway even here no way would you get a detached house with big garden for 270.000.id say a suburban semi is about all you could get and that might not be in best part of city..Detached houses with mzssive gardens are not always cheap even outside the South east especially ones in nice areas,Id say more like 350,000 at least.from what ive seen seen here in Norwich,Here a victorian terraced house will cost 180,000 to 200,00.A one bed roomed town house in my complex was sold recently for 150,000.York is similar city to Norwich,guess would be similar prices.

They're closing the Watford John Lewis. Do you have any reason to stay now? Genuinely, if you have a transferable job, it's definitely worth considering. Just be aware that wages go down too.

Southerner living in Yorkshire for 22 years, York for 3. I love it, and if I have to go to London I can be there in under two hours on the train. I find it much friendlier than the SE. In addition, the roads once out of York are much quieter, everywhere is less crowded and there's some fantastic countryside and beaches. I won't move back south.

Jeez some comments are ridiculous!

I’m from Ireland but have worked periods of time throughout my career in various parts of England. I can’t see how The North is and acquired taste’? I found it to be exactly like the South of England and indeed, Ireland too! There’s beautiful parts, and not so desirable parts but that could be said for anywhere around the world. I just don’t get the North/South divide in England!

If I had to live in England I would either go North East, Lancashire or Manchester.

Right move has some decent looking four bed houses within the OP’s budget within 20 miles.
This one seems OK, though it is on for £280,000. Market Weighton is a nice town.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70742490.html

Here are just a couple of links/examples www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75325099.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-94181762.html

And one in a village on the outskirts of York. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71596713.html
I really hope you manage to find your dream house, but as you can see, York is ridiculously expensive!

York is quite expensive so I’d research the area quite well. For that size house in a good area I think you’ll be paying at least 100k more.

'The North'? Do you mean Inverness, Aberdeen, Wick, John O' Groats?

'Acquired taste?' How ridiculous!

O i see you have considered Norwich, didnt read right through,Yes Norwich is a lovely place to live but as i said you wont get detached house for 270,000.

However if you did decide to move to Norfolk id stick to Norwich itself,not villages or small towns,i come from one,live in Norwich now would never go back.Can be quite isolating and people often take a long while to accept you,the city is easier.The city has many nice areas and some less nice like all cities,so choose carefully.Best parts are Eaton and Trowse ,expensive,Cringleford, Sprowston,i live fairly near there, Hellesdon,other side of boundary,Old Costessey,not the new estate.There are a few commuter villages near city such as Poringland which are fine,but dont go too far out.

I'm in Sheffield, which like many cities has both very cheap and very expensive areas. You could get a 4 bedroom house with a big garden in Sheffield for 270k, but not in an area that I would want to live in, and you would struggle to get that inside knowledge of the area without living nearby first. It's a good idea in theory, but you'd need to proceed with caution I think.

York is NOT 400 miles from Hertfordshire!

@dancingmonkey I have friends in Wymondham, it's lovely and in a beautiful part of the country.

We considered it. I’m from Yorkshire but live in the south east away from my family. We decided to stay here and our normal sized 3 bedroom house cost us £350k. For that price where I’m from we would have had a 6 bed with huge garden. We actually could have been mortgage free. I don’t now know why I didn’t want to to be honest. I wouldn’t say I regret staying here, but things would have been easier recently if we were mortgage free. I don’t know how I feel.
But no I don’t think ybu.

I would have a good look at the houses and the area and take into consideration other things like the schools in the area and other amenities. My parents have family living in that general direction and when we were young they found a 10 bedroom place advertised for the same price as our 3 bedroom house in Wiltshire. However they said they wouldn't want to go back up north as they didn't feel that particular area was as nice. My flatmate at uni was from York and I remember her telling me about the number of kids who were going to school with knives (early 90s) whereas that was unheard of in the schools in our area. I love living close to family even though all we could afford is a 2 bedroomed house in the rougher part of town for 4 of us. There is a website where you can look up schools, crime rate etc for different areas. Might be worth checking before deciding.

@EmbarrassedUser

York is NOT 400 miles from ANY part of Hertfordshire!

I've never been "up north" but I have lots of lovely colleagues from various parts who are tough as nails, sarcastic as hell and are quite clear that they moved darn sarth for a better standard of living so do your homework before you make the leap.

York is apparently lovely (I have family there) and if you're happy to be self sufficient without family on your doorstep then go for it.

My biggest regret is having stayed in my home town and I fully plan to retire elsewhere. Up north is VERY appealing to me for the same reasons as yours.

I did the opposite. I moved from Lancashire to Hertfordshire. I wouldn’t ever go back even though the cost of living is sooo much cheaper up North. It is damn hard being away from my family though i must admit. Even a quick meal out with just DH has to be planned months in advance as we only have my folks to call on who then have to travel down to babysit for us.
I would also be worried about which area of York you’re looking at. I worked in York for a time and there’s no way you could get a decent house for £270k in any of the nice areas.

Also as for the north is an acquired taste comment. I’m northern living down south...the south can also be an acquired taste in my opinion. Surely everyone just likes what they like and there’s no need to be condescending and rude about it 🤷🏽‍♀️

Quite offended by “the North is an acquired taste” but I’ll leave it there

I live near York and to be honest £270k won’t get you a big house with massive garden in a “naice” area of York. It wouldn’t buy anything in most of the villages surrounding York and the centre is very varied, depending on the area.
Like others have said, make sure you narrow your search area and if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!!

You don't mention a partner. I think I would consider it if I were going with a partner I had a really strong relationship with. But if I were a single mother I would stay near family and friends.

Localocal, the OP has a partner who works in the building trade.