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.

The North... it's not GOT! Every town & city us different. Just like the south.
How patronising!

As a spoilt soft southerner like me I think you should avoid anywhere north of the Watford Gap.

That house is closer to Hull than York which in my opinion is not nearly as nice an area to live.

We live miles from relatives having always moved for work. It has never been a huge issue for us although pre covid they did stay with us and help out with childcare in the holidays. It does make you very reliant on outside help and as a result we have never been able to commit to hobbies outside the home in the evenings or going out much as a couple.

"North" is very vague and the area north of herts/south east is probably half the country. Apart from the house what else do you love about that area? It might be worth exploring different areas as some will have better transport links back to friends and family and lots of places not as far away will be more affordable than herts/southeast.

I am self employed, and partner currently works as builder in family business, but has also worked for himself in same industry.
So think work situation should be okay,

I wouldn't move unless you more than 'think' your partner could find work easily.

We moved from the South East to the North West due to DH job. I love living here and would never want to go back. The people are friendly and we have settled well. The big house (four bed detached for the price of a 3 bed semi) was a bonus we hadn’t anticipated tbh

It is an acquired taste. Takes a while to get used to gas lighting, coal fires and outside toilets, shared by 6 other families. And dont get me started on the cloggs!
Plus side is I now have a whippet and some pigeons

We live in York, it is lovely and definitely cheap compared to some areas in the south.
However:

1. That house is nowhere near York, it is in Driffield.
2. York itself has quite a different feel to much of the surrounding area - it's a bit "posher" for want of a better word and certainly not the same feeling as Hull, Barnsley, Huddersfield etc. So make sure you spend time in these places to see if you like it.
3. The house prices are also quite expensive compared to the surrounding area. Our kind of run-down, 4 bedroom house with a medium garden in an ok area was 365k 2 years ago...
4. york is lovely though, we love it. I commute from here to London (weekly , pre-covid) and it's 3 hours door-to-door.

I moved to Ireland from Hertfordshire. Many many reasons but being able to afford a house was definitely a big one. No regrets at all...

Skerne has a York postcode but the YO postcode covers a massive postcode area and Skerne in Driffield is actually marginally closer to Hull than to York. In the fact the next village up the road from me has a York postcode and is about 15 miles from Hull but 35 miles from York! The area around Driffield and Skerne is lovely and you will get a beautiful house for a very reasonable price compared to in Hampshire but you will be living in a very rural and fairly isolated area. Don't imagine you'll be conveniently placed for the "city" facilities York has. You won't get a house of the size you are looking for in the city for £270 000.

For the poster who said the North is an acquired taste, I do understand. I've tried but I'm yet to acquire a taste for the South!

I know York well, and I agree with others that large houses in the nicer areas are a lot more expensive than that.... York isn't a cheap city for the north. Do your research carefully, and make lots of visits to the areas you're looking at.

why not Cambridgeshire or Suffolk or Norfolk?

Ah, just seen the house is in Driffield. That explains it!

'The north is an acquired taste' Jesus fucking Christ

Can't believe the rudeness of some people.

OP, 'the north' is massive. Just like the south, imagine that!!

You will be far away from your family and friends but other than that, if having more space is important to you, your quality of life will be better due to being able to afford more space. York is utterly glorious, one of the most beautiful cities in the UK and you're 2 hours from London on the train, if being near London is important to you.

Seems like a win win really!

Don't know how 'the south' came to be so superior considering the house prices!

Driffield is bloody miles from York

What a lot of rude people/North bashing on here! I've been to plenty of areas 'down South' that are incredibly grim.
I am 'up North'. 5 mins from a beautiful coastline, 25 mins from a fabulous cosmopolitan city. Excellent transport links, train to London is 2hr 10 mins. 2 international airports within 45 min drive. Countryside walks on my door step. I have a pretty nice house....4 bed detached with large garden....but it would cost significantly more than £270k. It's been valued recently at £460k. So stop the sweeping generalisations.....North and South both have some lovely areas and some awful areas

If you’re moving from St Albans, DON’T!

OP you really need to do more research. Most of the really desirable places to live in "the North" are also expensive. Not London expensive but you what you describe will be 400k+ in any of the naice parts of the major cities. Driffield is not York - it's not even in the same county!

And although there are areas to avoid, Hull is not actually an absolute hell hole!!

I haven't been to Driffield for about 15 years but I remember it as a nice small market town. Isolated though and not where I'd choose to live because of that.

a lot of building of new houses going on in these areas

@mumwon

why not Cambridgeshire or Suffolk or Norfolk?

Norfolk is also lovely, partner was actually working there recently and said I would love the houses.

I'm really not set on a certain place. It more will I regret the move at all, and is a slightly bigger house worth the move. I do love where I live and family and friends are literally a walk away so I would be giving that up and I can get into central London in 25 mins ( I a fast train! ) so there's that as well.

This is the biggest I could find ( you could build at the side for playroom/utility/fourth bedroom). Everything else is 3 beds or extended but doesn’t meet your requirements. I’ve never been to Driffield but my flat mate at university was from there and hated it. If you want to work in York I’d recommend you live here as the traffic getting into the city is horrendous. Millfield Lane, York, YO10
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81307900.html

I live in South Yorkshire and trying to move to West Yorkshire. A decent house in a nice area is at least £400k there and we're struggling to find something as anything cheaper flies off the market in days.
We're in the process of selling my DP's tiny bungalow for £230k. Decent size garden but not a family sized home but it's in a good area so more expensive. My house is twice the size but worth half as much because of the area .

Any house you find for the price of the example you posted is likely to be in a bad area or too far out for a decent commute to work. The one you posted is nowhere near York. I've found that houses up towards York such as selby are cheaper than the area I'm looking in, but for me they aren't improving my commute (main reason I want to move) or are bang next to very busy main roads, motorways or badly rated schools.

If you are close to your family it might be better to stay closer than a few hours drive. I'm not particularly close to mine, yet a recent incident where I needed help immediately with my baby made me realise I should stay closer than I was intending to.

I've lived north and south and the north is by far my favourite. Being able to afford a nice large house is a large part of that, it impacts my quality of life hugely.