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!

There's a lot more places in Yorkshire than Harrogate, Thirsk and all the other places that people go on about.
There's just as many fabulous places in the south of west Yorkshire and indeed, in south Yorkshire.
Broaden your search op.

Yep it’s ridiculous. I am a single parent, but kids almost all grown up now hence I’m finally able to think about leaving the South East. I love living here, I love London but I’ll be able to visit often as I’ve got a team in south London and so I’ll be coming back to visit them frequently anyway so can get my London fix then. It will make no sense for me to stay here once youngest at Uni and pay so much. I am on a good salary but 1/3 of it is spent on rent right now so I need to move back north.

my work (civil service) is going the other way and wants people in 60% of the week now, subject to there being space in the buildings. It’s likely political / economy driven

I spent my childhood in Ripon. I still day dream about it, love North Yorkshire!

Would you not miss the weather? It's noticeably colder, grey and to be honest quite grim for much of the year in that part of the world. You probably don't realise how much lack of sunshine every day affects your mood, if you've always lived in Brighton. I really struggle and would give anything to live down south near the sea. For large parts of the year the sky will be grey.

Having said that I have a friend who moved up north from Brighton and is so happy she did. She loves the countryside, and was happy to leave Brighton behind.

honest quite grim for much of the year
No it's not. It depends how high up and exposed you are. Plus: Yorkshire is a big place.
Plus, it's God's own country 😁

I used to live in that area and agree with you. The A65 is horribly busy though, so living near a station is a better idea.

I don’t see any downsides!

My only concern would be the ‘when the time comes’ element. Bear in mind that your mother might live to be 100 - I don’t think you can assume, unless she is terminally unwell, that she will die at a time convenient to your long term plan. I wonder if you might not be better off persuading her to move with you?

I think OP wants somewhere with plenty going on, but not a city, if she needs it or quick access to the 'broad acres' for beauty and space, walking etc. Harrogate and its hinterland tick those boxes, with good links to big cities - Leeds and Bradford - and easy access to the Dales etc. And she seems to like it round there. Yorkshire's a very big county so you could get a bit befuddled looking everywhere.

Places like Settle are nice but much more remote by comparison.
It all comes down to what OP really wants in her life.
PP's comments about the weather seem a bit minor - the difference is not that great.

I’m from London, currently in Singapore, but moving back to York. I hope it’s nice!

It’s bloody lovely. I lived there for three years and I’d return in a heartbeat.

I am also in the south and intend to move north when I retire. It is not just the cost of living, but experiencing a new place having lived in the south for the last 20 odd years. Climate change wise I would rather live somewhere cooler too.

Very close to Keighley town Center, which is not great tbh. It's run down and the shopping is dire. Look more towards skipton or beyond towards the dales. Ilkley, Menston, burley in wharfedale would be much nicer

I used to live in Saltaire and wouldn't recommend it. I found it too restrictive with the grade 2 listings and the properties were often damp, cold and dark inside. The pavements get slippery when it rains and parking is a nightmare. Saltaire is nice for a visit but not to live in.

I didn't move far though. Have you looked at Bingley? It's one stop on from Saltaire but I think it's much nicer to live in.

I don't know about Yorkshire but I do know about upping sticks and moving somewhere totally new and I'd say do it. Friends from before who are good friends will stay in touch remotely, come and visit occasionally etc. And you will have a chance to have a new, exciting existence based around your wants and needs. My key tip is choose somewhere where there are opportunities to meet people with similar interests or hobbies and of your age (my parents moved somewhere beautiful on a whim but ended up in a place where everyone was 20 years older than them so ended up moving again soon after). Moving eg to a town or village where there is a local sports club, knitting group, wine aficionados etc will give you a good way to meet people.

I moved to Harrogate a few years ago and, as an outsider, find it extremely pretentious and cliquey but it really depends on which part you live in and the circles you mix in. I live south side and there is a lot of wealth around here but I find it all very ostentatious (not jealousy, we are extremely comfortable financially but just don’t show it off quite so much!).

Harrogate is a great town though. Always feel very safe, have fantastic walks from my doorstep, loads going on. Easy to get to Leeds and York. I find traffic isn’t that bad here on the south side. It’s much worse in York for example.

I don’t really know or go to Bilton but it’s likely to be much more down to earth than the south side. Worse for traffic though I think.

Yorkshire is the country's biggest county. And as such has a lot of variety. Maybe you could narrow it down a bit.

When you say moving back to York have you lived there before?

The OP does ask about some quite specific areas to be fair.

I've always wanted to live in Whitby, settled for Whitstable (which I absolutely LOVE) but I still hanker after North Yorkshire for some reason

NRTFT but I think Otley or ilkley would suit you really well.
Don’t worry about a social network, you’ll only need to live in Yorkshire a week before you get a new one!

If you want culture Otley ilkley etc near leeds and Bradford are the way To go.
if you move to the smaller market towns you’ll get the kind of network where the rest of town knows what you’re doing before you do. But people do look out for each other .

Otley has a brillaint agricultural show every May as well.

Another one who's not read the full thread (but most of it). We are outside York in a village on the Harrogate rail line. We also have friends living in the Ilkley/Menston areas, and one of the big draws of where we all live is being on a reasonably good rail line, that connects into the main intercity network, but with the feeling of being in a market town/village. Local amenities are good, and there're strong links into nearby cities.

I suspect you'll defo notice the weather being a bit cooler, but other than that, i don't see many downsides to what you are proposing! good luck!

What about Dewsbury or Huddersfield ? Cheap houses, diversity, lots going on. Far better than stuffy middle class Harrogate. Why do the same places crop up on
MN ? They just end up being full of the same type of wealthy people who are the only folk that can afford to live there. Waiting for Hebden Bridge next.

No - I’ve only spent one afternoon there before!

Lol so you aren’t going back