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.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace

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

Good luck with whatever you decide

Yeah the “North” got together, had a meeting and decided you’re not to our taste either

Seriously though, the North has many different areas and even in York alone there are so many different areas with different atmospheres.

I think it depends on family. If you’re close I wouldn’t do it. If you dislike them then a fresh start in a big house ain’t bad.

I’ve come to realise it’s where you live that’s important to me. So I’d have a smaller house in a part of the country I love.

Have lived in York and so OP, there is NO WAY you'd get a 4/5 bed house in York itself for £270k.

I live in one part of the NW and you couldn't get a 2 bed terraced for that price. These types of threads always degenerate into rude comments about how "The South" is somehow superior to "The North" and the sweeping generalisation that everywhere north of the Watford Gap has one price for a 2 bed, one price for a 3 bed, one price for a 4 bed etc - everywhere is lumped together . Some posters are really ignorant & rude.

OP do your research. Think about what you want from a location (other than house size). Schools, friends, social life, work. Think about childcare when your child is of school age, whether you'll miss your family etc.

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!

This is absolutely true. Large areas of north Yorkshire are very pricy, because they're nice places to live. You'd need to spend £400k or more for the sort of house you describe somewhere like York, Harrogate, much of north Leeds etc.

When people say you can buy a house 'up north' for £50k, they are (in the main) not talking about the 'naice' bits which southerners would want to relocate to.

We live in the North West, you'd struggle to get a 3 bedroom house for that price here and we're not in a particularly desirable area i.e. not Cheshire. Our house cost £390k and it's a 3 bed semi, they average around £320 here

Driffield is actually a lovely bit of the world but it’s in the arse eve of nowhere. It’s all A roads so getting anywhere takes forever. The nearest motorway is probably the M62 and that’s a 45 minute drive away.

What do you and your OH do for work? Leeds probably offers more variety career wise and the outlaying villages have better transport links. Leeds isn’t the cheapest but you’d probably get more for your money than Hertfordshire.

We have a four bed detached in North Leeds which is one of the pricier areas which was £380k so further out something decent for £280k may not be a huge ask. Albeit not where as big as the Driffield house 😂

'The north is an acquired taste' - what a fucking ridiculous comment 🙄.

House prices are cheaper in the north but it's all relevant as salaries are lower and also the cost of living. Ive always lived rurally, I could never imagine living in a built up area. The area I live you get a lot of house for your money but our nearest shop is 4 miles away and there is only 1 bus an hour in and out the village. All my children are in outstanding schools, primary children have 10 children in each class. The pros massively outweigh the cons in my eyes.

Just do your research OP and you'll find something well within your budget

If you’ve lived your whole life in the south then moving northwards is a bit different. I get what that pp means.

YANBU.

Have you looked at the east of Newcastle around Benton/Holystone/Monkseaton/ Whitley Bay? Not bad areas and near the coast too (and on the metro for easy travel into Newcastle and beyond), and you'd probably get something nice for your budget round there! I see Whitley Bay recommended on here lots so it's not just me that would recommend! Wish I still lived there tbh but had to move for work 😭

why not Cambridgeshire or Suffolk or Norfolk?

I was thinking of those areas too (not disparaging york or anywhere else "north" ) as would be more accessible to Hertfordshire to see family and friends.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace

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

Good luck with whatever you decide

Acquired taste?????

If OP lives in an area of Hertfordshire where £270k could buy a small 3-bed house that's the absolute cheapest you'd get in the least desirable bit of the county. So she is probably accustomed to those sorts of areas, whichever part of the country we're talking about and may be content enough living in a really cheap area.

My first property was in such an undesirable spot that it was the 3rd cheapest property in the entire big city I was looking in. It definitely wasn't Buckingham Palace but it was fine and I lived there mostly happily for 7 years.

As for PP's comment I think every area of the country is an 'acquired taste'. Where I'm living currently is an acquired taste in my view even though many would think it's 'nice'. I haven't fully acquired the taste so I'm looking to move back North where I think I'll be happier and where I'd rather DD grows up.

@kierenthecommunity

Driffield is actually a lovely bit of the world but it’s in the arse eve of nowhere. It’s all A roads so getting anywhere takes forever. The nearest motorway is probably the M62 and that’s a 45 minute drive away.

What do you and your OH do for work? Leeds probably offers more variety career wise and the outlaying villages have better transport links. Leeds isn’t the cheapest but you’d probably get more for your money than Hertfordshire.

We have a four bed detached in North Leeds which is one of the pricier areas which was £380k so further out something decent for £280k may not be a huge ask. Albeit not where as big as the Driffield house 😂

I have my own ( mainly) children's wear brand, but I have also work in fashion industry and wouldn't rule out one day going back to the office environment, which I know would be very difficult/ impossible in some areas. I set up a brand when on maternity leave so I could work from home with baby. And partner is a builder.

'The North'. Some English people are downright peculiar.

E.g. this www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-84853826.html

I live ooop north and love it, also lived down soufffff for many years loved that too. However there are no such places as North and South because each region and County have their positives and negatives. To the posters saying living in the North of England is an acquired taste need to give their ignorant heads a wobble. Like everywhere some places are great, some not so.

OP If you are close to your family and friends then I think you would regret moving away. When I had children I moved back to my family as I wanted the DC to have close ties, I have never regretted it.

All of you people scoffing that Driffield is 'nowhere near' York..... for a Hertfordshire resident used to working in London or even saying that they live in London because it's too much bother to explain exactly where eg Borehamwood is....
It's really not a huge deal. Or distance.

@Mintjulia I think is some resentment towards the influx of southerners we’ve had in recent years. Particularly as I have commented on previous threads that they will complain about the lack of culture and multiculturalism. I do often feel like screaming no shit Sherlock!! It has pushed house prices up and most of my friends who I grew up with have had to move out to areas like Selby, market weighton and Driffield.

Saying that house is in York is like saying you live in Bishop Stortford when you're actually in Watford!

The North is cold and wet, and that's why I moved away 25 years ago.

If moving wouldn't impact on your respective career prospects then I would definitely do it. But research the area thoroughly because 270k wouldn't get you a 5bedroom house where I am and it's not a posh area for the NW (we're in between Liverpool and Manchester). For 270k you'd get a decent 4bedroom house with a small house or a bigger 3bedroom with a bigger garden. For 5 bedrooms you'll be aiming at 320k+. And then more if fancy area/good school catchments etc. Worth researching!

For us our families are abroad so 400miles definitely wouldn't scare me.

'Garden'

All of you people scoffing that Driffield is 'nowhere near' York..... for a Hertfordshire resident used to working in London or even saying that they live in London because it's too much bother to explain exactly where eg Borehamwood is....
It's really not a huge deal. Or distance.

There is a massive difference in the transport infrastructure between Outer London and Driffield.

I'd be quite tempted if my work was as easily moveable as yours is. York and the area around it are lovely and there are some great schools. The only downside I'm aware of is that it can get bloody cold. I might miss the easy access I now have to things like London's museums, theatres etc, but there are plenty of both around York and it's not as if it's that difficult to get down to the South to visit. These days with all our newly developed online calling skills it's easy enough to keep in touch with friends and family. I suspect you'd have a lot of them wanting to come and visit on holiday etc.

A few thoughts, from someone in Yorkshire whose family is in the SW England. I grew up in London, we all moved. By coincidence, DHs parents are not that far from DM (my DFather died years ago). It’s 6 hrs to DM, about 4.5 to my PiL.

1 - raising children without family support is far, far, far harder than I ever imagined. The DC are 8 and 11 now. They are despondently used to the idea that their grandparents have never seen, and never will, attend their sports day, cricket match, school play, class assembly, birthday party etc - even though many of their friends’ grandparents etc are local, and do. There is no support if we are late home or a child is ill.

2-I have come to resent the time and expense every school holiday to travel south. We never see local friends in school holidays because we are always away. The dc Adore their GPs but hate this.

3- As they are getting older, the GPs are becoming more reluctant to travel. With Covid, no one is prepared to go on the train.

4- As the GPs get older they are increasingly they are wanting to see us more and more/need more support. It’s a very long way (exhausting) for a weekend.

5-£270K isn’t mega bucks for York. Check flood zones.

6- A colleague of mine did exactly what you are proposing for the same reason 3 years ago, but to Leeds. They were surprised to find that they were still unable to afford a house, are still renting and are planning to move back. His DP can’t bear being that far from her family. It took a whole academic year to get their dc into the same school.

7- in 20 years, my southern friends have visited once. There have been a few laughs other plans, all abandoned at the last minute. These people largely exist on FB for me now.

@Destroyedpeople Yes but there is probably a much better transport infrastructure connecting Borehamwood to London than there is connecting Driffield to York. Not necessarily a problem but you need to be heavily reliant on a car and happy to do lots of driving on very rural roads rather than motorways or dual carriageways.