To move to Yorkshire from the south coast on my own?

[MintyCedric]

It’s a medium term plan (DD currently at uni and elderly mum would make it difficult atm) …probably in the next 3-5 years…I’ll be in my early fifties by then.

I’ve lived on the south coast since I was toddler, but these days I have about 3 friends here…one is single but has a very active social life, the other two are married with family commitments.

I fell in love with Yorkshire when I visited for the first time about 8 years ago. I feel like it has all the cultural stuff that interests me, but with less pretension and I love the countryside up there. I’d also be able to get a nicer house than my current one with no mortgage…a major consideration as my mortgage currently runs until I’m 67 and I have limited pension provision.

Despite all these pros, my DD and my best mate are being quite negative and unsupportive. They feel I ‘made more effort’ here to socialise I wouldn’t want to move, but it’s really not about that…I just want a fresh start.

AIBU to think I could move in my fifties, on my own and create a new life for myself?

And if anyone has any opinions on Harrogate and surrounding areas or Otley/Burley/Poole in Wharfdale as places to live…bring it on!

You say you have a daughter at uni with no plans to move which is fair enough , but from memory , still a parent ?
Do they live near you , and is there any expectations in regard to failing health , likely need to help out etc ?
I ask as when we moved we left ageing parents who eventually needed a little more help and whilst you should 100% put yourself first and not delay for any reason , it might be something you need to think of for the future ( I ended up doing a 300 mile round trip every 6 - 8 weeks ) or collecting and returning them for stays.

Yee-don. Considered downmarket compared to Guiseley and Rawdon, which means if you can find the right house, it'll be better value. Airport is at the top of town, bottom of Yeadon isn't much troubled by jets. Yeadon Town Hall has been taken over by a community enterpise - it's all tribute bands, but what they've done in terms of renovation and redecoration is stunning! Yeadon's better than Guiseley and probably Rawdon for green spaces.

Yeadon is a town in its own right! Just more attached to Leeds, Horsforth is lovely, but you will feel in Leeds rather than edge of Leeds, and the reputation and small catchment of the secondary school means there's a price premium. But Yeadon is the outlier in that group.

Yeadon and Guiseley is best thought of as one, in that people in Yeadon will shop in Guiseley or Yeadon, go the swimming pool in Guiseley, people in Guiseley will use the parks in Yeadon and so on. Yeadon gives you the choice of Apperley Bridge station or Guiseley station, and buses to Gusieley pass through Yeadon. The two are close enough that they can be thought of as one in terms of transport.

In terms of amount of house for your money it would go Yeadon, Otley, Pool, Knaresborough/Harrogate.

When we moved from the SE, there was no internet, no google maps or streetview. You had to get hold of a list of estate agents somehow, then telephone each of them individually, and you were then sent a sheaf of typewritten descriptions with a single photograph of the outside of the house, carefully cropped to exclude the gasholder on one side and the pub on the other. I'm forever thankful that we landed as happily as we did.

Come a bit more north to the Durham Dales. Just as gorgeous but less traffic and a very affordable place to live!

https://www.thisisdurham.com/explore-durham/durham-dales

I used to live in Guiseley and don't recall Yeadon having more green space. There is Nunroyd Park and the large green area between Queensway and Nunroyd Avenue, and Guiseley is surrounded by green space. You can walk over Otley Chevin into Otley.

One reason for that is that Guiseley people are under the misapprehension that Nunroyd Park is in Guiseley - apart from the rugby pitches it's in Yeadon.

You can walk over the Chevin just as easily from Yeadon.

I stand corrected
I lived quite near Nunroyd Park, which is why I thought it was in Guiseley.
It is next to Guiseley then

It is. In terms of getting the benefit of it, it's probably equally shared. Oh - Yeadon's got Kirk Lane Park as well And Yeadon Banks.

@MintyCedric I wondered how you were getting on with your plans?

I am making an offer on a house and moving from the SE to Yorkshire and have this thread very interesting and helpful.

I'm further north having moved from outside Brighton.
Pros: lost my mortgage, a massive positive. Less congested. Less affluent so people seem less competitive. Fabulous countryside.
Weather -previous poster is right, climate change actually makes it a relief in the summer to be somewhere cooler.
Cons: a lot more rough/poor areas, far fewer trendy places to eat, bakeries and varied food shops than Brighton, friends visit less (the person moving away tends to do more weekends travelling to meet up), the other side of weather is greyer colder winters.
Attitudes to my moving were funny. Someone said 'does anyone live up there' 🤣
Don't underestimate the work involved in making new friends. My kids were still at school so I made a whole new network. Personally I've found kids and work better for making meaningful friendships than joining clubs and activities.
I work in mental health and there are always jobs.
But I really recommend it and when I visit now I don't miss it. It will feel like a new phase of your life.

I moved to Yorkshire last year, with a partner rather than alone though.
Best decision I’ve ever made. I’m not a people person but I’ve made loads of friends just because everyone is so friendly and welcoming.
Rarely a day goes by where I don’t pause and feel grateful that we took the plunge.

The villages around York are also beautiful, and the scenery is fantastic, particularly around the Howardian Hills and the Derwent Valley. Bit quieter and less well connected than Harrogate or Otley, but York is a 30 minute drive away and from there you can get anywhere.

@fliptopbin or anyone / any recommendations particularly on east of York or closer to the Coast?

I was in York this last weekend again for another look and love it.

But... I have been surrounded by sea my whole life (am in Jersey) and I feel I need to be closer to the coast or I start feeling claustrophobic!! .

Need access to York and decent buses or trains for my son who has additional needs and won't be able to learn to drive.

Took the plunge ? 🙄 If you’re moving to a nice area why is it a surprise that things are great ?
Any case York and places like that are creaking with southerners paying off their mortgages and moving up here. Most of the people I know on normal wages and no huge deposit can’t afford much in York nowadays and are moving out to Pock.

Have a look at Beverley, it’s closer to the coast, has a rail line and a regular bus service into York and Hull. For me, I’d live there if I could, it always reminds me of a smaller version of York, there’s good shops, plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants, a Minster, a racecourse, leisure centre, cinema and is around a 30 minute drive to the coast, well worth a look in my opinion.

She didn't actually say where she moved to, apart from Yorkshire.
Taking the plunge is something you do when you go into something you've no experience of and hope it works out. What's wrong with saying that?

And being snippy about 'southerners' is a tired stereotype almost as bad as the professional Yorkshireman trope.

@Lifeinlists not being snippy. Too many posts from people with huge amounts -£750k + - wanting help to find somewhere to live up here. Why ? If you’ve got that budget you’re not going to end up in some backend council estate in Blackburn or Oldham. You’ve literally got the pick of everywhere remotely desirable and multiple posts on MN about it lately to the point of tedium. We all know the nicest parts of Yorks to move to because they’re routinely mentioned on here. Just do a historic
search.
A budget of £250k in the York area or wherever, now that would be interesting and genuinely helpful to all of us not just a select few.

@Peeppuandpopo
That's a different scenario though. @Pamcakey said moving to Yorkshire has worked out well in spite of not knowing if it would. No mention of her budget or where, and she wasn't asking for advice.
I can safely assume it's not a Lancashire council estate.
I get your general point but it's the same all over the country, the worst cases (imo) being those who buy properties they don't actually intend to live in themselves.

Placemarking! I am in a very similar situation to you OP, just about 5 years behind!

@Peeppuandpopo Yes it was rather taking a plunge since we moved over 200 miles away from all our friends and family to a county where we’d never even spent a night. It also involved changing jobs - my partner could thankfully keep her role and work from a different office, but I work in emergency services and had to apply for a transfer. We don’t work in remote roles attracting a London salary.

I knew the countryside would be nice and our house is lovely (although no where near a 750k budget I can assure you! It was also on the market for over a year and no one wanted to buy it so certainly didn’t snatch it out of anyone’s hands) but all of that doesn’t mean much if you end up with no friends, horrible neighbours and working in an unpleasant environment.

My point was I have read on this forum about people relocating to certain areas of the country and finding the locals quite hostile, but my experience in Yorkshire couldn’t be more different.

Also - we do not live in York or any particularly desirable town 😁

@Pamcakey 😂 fair enough ! Sorry to be a bit narky. I guess it’s a bit frustrating when a fair few people up here can never dream of moving down south, ever. It’s like half the country is closed to us because of the huge difference in house prices and yet the nice places up here are also rapidly being shut off too.

Gosh, where do I fit then? I'm a northerner who has lived in the south for 30 years due to work and a man and I'm now I'm going home. Alone. Very happily.

@Peeppuandpopo No, fair enough, and I do see your point!

We moved purely for more outside space as I have horses (not helping, am I? 😂 I promise we are just ordinary, working class people who make a lot of sacrifices to keep them) and it was getting too expensive having them on livery where we lived before. We were able to buy land up here.
However, I do see your point - if we had been living up north to begin with, we wouldn’t of had that option.

I still maintain people are far friendlier and more welcoming here though!