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!

Back to the UK, I assume the poster means.

👋

Id say it is totally reasonable to want to move there.

Only caution/guidance I’d have but is that it’d be hard to move back given the cost difference if you realised living there was very different from weekending there.

The South Coast is also very beautiful and is much closer to vastly more amenities.

Come to Ripon!
Most places with walking distance of the market place, many indies, cafes,pubs, wine bar and restuarants.
Lots going on in terms of live music, amateur dramatics, crafts, sports clubs etc. Lots of opportunities for volunteering, some great work with charities supporting disabled adults ( The Walled Garden, Jennyruth).

As you drive, you might want to think about being in a village outside of Ripon, definitely your money will go further. Depends on how rural you want to be.

I'm assuming you are a teacher?
I moved here post divorce, on my own with DC’s. There was a teacher training college here…many stayed on, it felt like every other person was a teacher, so very easy to make connections.

Harrogate is mainly schools within Mats. A couple of LA maintained remaining but a much higher proportion of academies than the rest of North Yorkshire.

This will/might affect your job seeking as not all advertise via the LA.

Wow hope you do like it then.

Further out
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140133785#/?channel=RES_BUY

A bit closer
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141088751#/?channel=RES_BUY

In Ripon
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144382328#/?channel=RES_BUY

@Peeppuandpopo I’m not remotely bothered about the ‘middle class’ factor of an area.

I’m liking the idea of Harrogate because it’s a nice sized town with lovely villages and countryside in easy reach and plenty to offer culturally - I’m book mad and would love to be in easy distance of HIF.

It’s also only about an hour from all of the places I’m familiar with up there, and a maximum of 2.5 hours from friends and family in Lancashire and Cumbria.

@MintyCedric Obviously you are. I mean Harrogate ain’t exactly representative of most of Yorkshire.

And when you are in Harrogate this summer - a favourite.

https://www.facebook.com/p/Cold-Bath-Deli-100076276539804/

And
https://laferiarestaurants.co.uk/

Both on the same high street and near to Valley Gardens.

Nobody has recommended Dewsbury or Huddersfield because they aren’t very nice places to live.

saltaire is an interesting one. Pretty village surrounded by shithole.

the nice parts of north/west yorks are not particularly cheap

otley seems to fit your bill, very community oriented with lots going on. Sunday Times best place to live a few years back too

@Lifeinlists You could say the same for Sheffield, right on the edge of the peak district with lots of villages and good transport links and plenty of shopping etc, and not that far from Manchester and other towns / cities.
It's not just north Yorks that have what the op is looking for.
Most of Yorkshire have what the op is looking for.

@MintyCedric Yes, I recognised you as soon as I saw your name! My dad is still going strong.
X84 to Otley followed by X52 to Harrogate. About an hour. But if the Harrogate connection is really important, the A2 airport flyer from Harrogate goes through Pool. But who knows what it'll be like in a few years time? Huby, not far from Pool, is on the slow line from Leeds to Harrogate.

Interesting that MN feels very SE, but this thread has drawn out dozens of people living in W/N Yorks.

Why does it feel SE to you? Never has to me and I've been here eons. Just a question not a dig. Are you from the SE?

It often feels SE or London centric to me as well. I think it depends on the type of thread you click on. I find that Higher Education and Stlye and Beauty threads often have a lot of Londoners/London biased posters on.

Interestingly I'm a southerner who moved to live near Otley (I don't live there any more now).

I did do a long message, but it disappeared when I went to get you a link.

If I were you, I'd give this a little consideration...
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144232577#/?channel=RES_BUY

It's a great option if you want to release money for your pension pot.

Try these areas

East Morton
Bingley
Oakworth
Oxenhope
Haworth
Riddlesden

They are solid locations, but don't command the same premium as the wharfedale / nidd zones.

If you don't move

You will always think, what if ?

@PeggyBoard yes, I agree with you. It's just that the OP specifically said Harrogate, Pool and Burley in Wharfedale, Otley and surrounding places as being the area she's particularly interested in. It's an area I know very well so my comments obviously reflect that.

Yorkshire is a very big and varied county (disregarding the sub divisions) so she's probably going to have to narrow it down to her preferences.

Ah ok I don't really use those threads much. Dss are working adults and I'm very stylish 😉

Why does it feel SE? People on £50k+ explaining how very little money that is to live on, gardening board, assumption that everyone has good public transport, that there's a hospital within 30mins drive, etc.

Why wouldn't you want to move there?! Gorgeous, within reach of everything a person could need or want, including fresh air and wild places. I can't wait to go back.

I'm thinking of moving to Richmond soon. I'm 51. I love the Yorkshire Dales and have just landed a new job (mostly remote working but I'll have to venture out on a trip through the YD once a week). I'm not as far from Yorkshire as you are though as I'm in the NE.

House prices are a lot less than on the south coast. Harrogate and York can be pricey though.

@ToastedTCake how lovely. I like Richmond and also Reeth have you been there?

@Blossomgate44

The St Agnesgate and Masham houses are both cute.

I visited Masham last year…it’s lovely although I wouldn’t have the first idea what owning a house with a septic tank entails!

The other place is gorgeous but tbh the Grade II aspect would put me off. I know a couple of people who’ve taken on listed places and they seem to be money pits waiting to happen. Definitely very much the kind of thing I’d like otherwise though.

I work in student welfare atm which I love but hoping to train as a CYP mental health practitioner over the next few years as the financial implications of term time only hours aren’t really sustainable. I’m doing a second evening/weekend job to make ends meet already and looking to increase those hours so from spring 50 hour weeks will be the norm 😵‍💫

The ideal is to move to Yorkshire, do away with my mortgage and earn enough that I only need to work 4 days a week.

I'm in rural Essex and would move north in a heartbeat. It's becoming so crowded round here that I could scream. My local woods have been hacked down to make way for a new estate, and another new estate is being built at the other end of the village. The traffic is now so bad I hardly go out. I gave up yoga, for example, because I couldn't get there after work. And I won't bother driving to a local beauty spot on the first warm spring day because I won't get parked. Besides, instead of birdsong all you hear is the screeching and exploding of souped up car engines. My quality of life is really deteriorating because there are just too many people. I sometimes think the south east is going to end up as one giant new build housing estate.

I love Yorkshire. I love the landscape, and I'm a fan of the Brontes and also of the poet Ted Hughes. I've also got a secret yearning to live in rural Scotland. I went there on holiday as a kid and felt like I was returning home somehow. A lot of my ancestors were Scottish, so maybe there's some genetic thing going on. As for making friends, I'm sure you will. People are definitely friendlier in the north than in the south. I know it's a cliche but it's true.

I live in the SE. As soon as my house sells I'm moving to Yorkshire. It's home to me. Do it!

And if anyone wants a house in Kent, let me know.