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.

have you read the last couple of pages? When you say "No one said anyone from the North was inferior" did you miss the post that said
Northerners are defensive because in the whole they have a huge chip about not being from the south hmm

Because literally from page one Northerners got all defensive! .And then every other page after.
And no one had said anything about “the people“ at all.
It’s a comment based on 25 pages of being over sensitive about the North.

Heyhih WE KNOW!
That’s why the Op wants to move up North.

Would not go up north. You'd never be able to move back

Well that's ok because you wouldn't want to

They call people out on the "houses being cheap as chips, lack of culture, hopeless job market and somehow being inferior to anyone who comes from the South" crap

You forgot Brexit voting thick racists that we all are too, apparently.

We did the opposite. Like for like I think it's not as cheap as people think. It is definitely cheaper but not pennies. A nice 3 bed house in a good area where we used to live in suburbs of a big university city up north but schools not as good and work not as highly paid would be about 400k compared with 600k in home counties.

I’m in Cornwall.

Someone mentioned about the job market up north.

That’s not true about all industries. I’m in IT and Tech and there are an abundance of roles in the North (York, Teesside, Durham, Newcastle) compared to the South (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Bristol)

Same with DHs engineering job.

I’d move up there in a heartbeat if I could! (And I am hoping to in 2021!)

House prices are about the same for us because we live in a shitty part of Cornwall.

(My friend is selling her glam Victorian terrace in York for approx £500k)

I think moving just to get a bigger house is odd. Yes to moving for a more rural location, different pace of life etc but just for a big house? Is it really that important?

I live in rural North Yorkshire and £270000 would get you something quite nice, but not massive unless it was a project. I live somewhere with no public transport and no shops, pubs or services. 25 miles from the nearest Tesco or Sainsbury for example. York is a lovely city with good rail links but nice houses in a good area are not cheap.

Oh and the Driffield area is cheap but it is more Hull than York, you need to do more research!

You will only get 2/3 bed house in York not in a desirable area for your budget op

No we're all unfriendly up North. Joking, of course, but it's funny how for years there has been this animosity towards the North and now suddenly everyone wants to move here from the South. I'm concerned it will make housing unaffordable for our children who have lived here their whole lives.

Our 4 bed house 5 mins walk from two beaches with breathtaking sea views cost £167k 3 yes ago. NE coast.

I'm in the north.

I don't believe you could get a decent house in a decent area of York for 270k.

Also, you've got to balance what appears to be savings in the short term with your long term plans. You wouldn't be able to move back down south for example or downsize, the way you would if you stayed in the south.

I think the obsession with area is odd. It seems that everyone on Mumsnet could only possibly live in the 'best' area even if it leads to buying a house that is really too small for their needs.

A PP talks about needing to spend £400k to get a 3 bed in the north in a 'good' area near to a city, when in reality you would have endless choice of such a house in a perfectly pleasant, just not A1 prime, area for about half that.

And in my city, even the nicest areas have significant downsides, apart from being unaffordable to many, in that the traffic is truely awful and the schools massively oversubscribed.

The North is an acquired taste ? What tastes differently in The North ?

You may find a lovely, large detached with garden in the North for your budget but it might not be in a great area.
We’re southerners, live in a pleasant town on the Lancashire coast in a 4 bed detached, good size, not massive, with reasonable gardens. Going rate even now is IRO £750,000.

York is expensive but lovely, can’t believe someon said their child got bullied because they had a ‘posh’ accent as York is fairly posh and middle class. If you find a house that isn’t expensive, it probably is in a flood area sadly. The house someone posted in Milfield is in a not so great area of York up by the uni. I used to love on the next street. Best do your research. Villages outside might be a better bet. Contrary to what one poster said, bus links are usually good and broadband excellent. Amazingly we too have shops and culture and heating....🥰

My friend moved from Bedfordshire to County Durham to be mortgage free, but the house is a huge project. She enjoys it, I wouldn't! We live in an expensive area because family are here, if we didn't feel tied I think we'd consider it, especially Sheffield & areas around. But we want our kids close to their grandparents, and want to be close when our parents grow old and need us more. There's a lot to consider!

I live not far from York and £270K wouldn't get what you describe in the city itself. A nice 3 bed semi in one of the villages on the outskirts perhaps but even then it would probably need work.

Just seen your link to Skerne.... it's at least an hour away from York. I know the area very well and there's a reason this house is the price it is. In fact I believe it's 'sold' twice and come back on the market.

I think if you move with a 2 year old before they start school yo will quickly make new friends.

I’m from the north nearish to York but have lived in the South (London and Home Counties) for 30 years. Life in the North is at a much calmer pace of life, people have more time and consequently strangers are friendlier. I also find people in the North more down to earth and less competitive in general.

The one downside of the North is that it is colder, by about 5 degrees on average which does make a difference, it doesn’t rain too much in York/Leeds as it rains over the pennies as the weather fronts usually come from that direction, I lived in Manchester for 3 years and it felt like it rained most of the year there which I found not for me.

On balance I think you would have a better quality of life, York is only 2 hrs on the train from London but it depends how much you would miss family and if you think there is any chance they would follow you up there.lots of people choose to retire to Yorkshire as the countryside is so lovely and easily accessible. I still miss it after 30 years but once your children are settled in secondary school it is very hard to move areas.

I really don’t think £270k will buy you as much as you think. In the NW town where I live (quite a desirable area) £270k will not get you very much at all. You could just about get a nice 3 bed for that much.

Also most other things are cheaper in the North, , restaurants, drinks, takeaways, cinema/theatre tickets, cars, butchers, bakers and candle stick makers, all sorts. Tradesmen in particular, It makes a big difference, your money goes much further.

The North is an acquired taste ? What tastes differently in The North ?

Whippets and hotpot.

I guess someone from the North would think that “the South is an acquired taste”? as well?
York is one of the nicer areas of “up north”! and having looked at living there recently, very much doubt that you’d get anything more than a 3 bed semi with garage drive, small front garden and smaller back garden in poor to average condition but not in the more rural areas of York. Only IMHO and experience.
Truly - you get what you pay for?

"Tradesmen in particular, It makes a big difference, your money goes much further."
True. But that's the issue as OP's husband is such tradesman Lol :)

Hi OP! I don't think you are looking at York when you say you can get a house of that size for £270,000. Most of the houses at that size/price are in East Yorkshire villages /small towns - not York itself (where £270,000 would be lucky to get you a 3 bed semi on the outskirts). You quoted one in Driffield. Lovely as Driffield is, it is a small quite rural town - NOT York. And definitely without all the amenities you would be expecting from a city. I think you need to research carefully what you mean by moving north - it isn't a homogenous region. It's a bit like saying that living "down South" is the same in Slough, Swanage, Walthamstow or rural Cornwall...

Just to clarify... Driffield ISN’T in York? I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet

sarcasm