Aibu to not want to move up north

[time2changeCharlieBrown]

My dh has been offered a great job opportunity a high payrise
the catch is we have to relocate up north near Leeds
so my main concerns is the weather
I hate winter, rain and snow and up there seems to get more?
also I joined a few online community groups recently to get a feel for it and learn about the areas and what’s around
all I have mainly seen is awful things about robbery’s and car theft and violent crimes! It’s really putting me off!
we have a son who is not too far off an age to go clubbing and for nights out and even though he is 6 foot 5 he’s very striking looking mixed race (Greek) and I worry about him being a target and our eldest daughter too also very striking ,but both quite naive as we currently live in a small village and don’t often go into big cities and they are at small schools.
my dh is from a different town up north not too far from Leeds still has friends there and says it’s fine and all city’s are the same and the kids will be fine as not in any gangs and unlikely to be. I am a worrier so Aibu to not want to move?

What? Really?

No not really. I’m teasing. I just happen to prefer accents from the northeast rather than northwest.

Phew! nearly kicked off there big style. Flat vowels and everything.

Just popping some options for you to browse here
Spofforth is the most middle class village you can possibly imagine, based between Wetherby and Harrogate. Quite an easy commute into Leeds or surrounding areas as the M1 and A1 both go past Wetherby.

Lots of new builds in Collingham at the moment which is out of Wetherby on the way to Leeds via the A58 but full of middle class families as it's spitting distance to two private schools. Doesn't feel too rural but very village-y and easy to get into Leeds for teens. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148084796 Another option that's a newish build but not brand new.

Clifford is stunning and very much best of both worlds with each commutes into Leeds and onto motorway but feels like a chocolate box village. And walkable to Boston Spa which has a lovely high street with nice restaurants etc.

Cowthorpe is out of Wetherby but still easy reach for amenities. A commuter village really but very beautiful and rural feeling. And this house is just drop dead gorgeous!

Garforth is more of a town feel than a village but is becoming increasingly popular so might be worth a visit. Also has a train station which might make life easier with teens. Depends on your priorities.

Hope this helps you to get a better feel for what your options might be OP!

Where do you live now?

Oh god, op, coming from the south can’t live anywhere…. normal. Op has got £500-600k to spend. Her options are limitless lol.

Look on the bright side. At least you'll get gravy and curry sauce in the chippy in Yorkshire.

@time2changeCharlieBrown has already said that they have £500-600K to spend. So they can afford to live in some/any of the nicer areas of the city (or beyond).

Of course.

I don’t think you have the space anyway!

@time2changeCharlieBrown 50 years ago my mum was you. My dad got offered an incredible job opportunity so they came to Leeds from Chelmsford with 18 month old me and my DSis. My parents got divorced ten years later but my mum never went back to Essex so she must have found something appealing about Leeds 😂

Nonetheless it’s still a daunting prospect especially for the kids. You’ve not said how old they are, are schools a consideration? As you’d need to do your research there. Some high schools leave a bit to be desired to be fair

I echo not to consider Kirkstall - it’s not especially rough but a lot of it is back to back terraced streets. There is the Abbey there but can’t see that thrilling teenage DC, and a couple of small shopping complexes. Driving into town from there is a nightmare as Kirkstall Road is single carriageway. There is a train station but I couldn’t tell you if the service is good.

Headingley would have to be the furthest bit out of it (near West Park) to tempt me as very studenty but the bus services are good and there’s loads of bars and restaurants .

Roundhay is fantastic but as a PP said beware the exaggerating estate agent who describes somewhere as Roundhay when it’s more on the border with Harehills. There are some nice places to eat (and in neighbouring Oakwood) and Roundhay Park is stunning

Garforth is a bit in the sticks for me 😂 but I have colleagues who live there (and Kippax which is next to it) who rate it. It’s fantastically located for the motorway network

If you do see a house you like feel free to PM
me the street name and I can give you an idea what the area is like. I’m a cop so know the city well!

Like @DrPeculiar i was brought up in Alwoodley (how old are you Doc…?) and we still live there. It’s a really nice place to live as near enough the city centre for commuting (and for Harrogate too) but at the edge of the countryside 😊

@alrightluv
I definitely was!

Thought so 😉

Chip butty and gravy😋and maybe some scraps

Your budget is £500 - 600k. Some lovely villages have been mentioned. I'd make a list from the suggestions here and start haunting Rightmove.

I haven't been to Hebden Bridge in a long time but am told it's a lovely interesting place.

The only warning I would give is look deeply into schools my sons partner said some have no 6th form, some are deprived. She had to travel miles to the right school when younger then attended a sixth form college which was chaotic education wise.

YABU Leeds is great

There are no more ROBBERIES up there than in London

Consider Harrogate

Yes of course it would be different if I was living in a more deprived area of Leeds but you can say that of absolutely any town. Where I live in Leeds is much nicer and less crime ridden than where I lived down south.
The OP also has a good budget so can afford to live somewhere decent.

Why, when people talk about moving to Leeds, does Harrogate get trotted out every time? There are some perfectly nice villages/suburbs in Leeds.

This is the opposite of my experience. I'm a southerner with a very posh accent (wish I didn't have but I can't change how I speak). Growing up down south I was bullied at school for being posh. As an adult I often had people telling me I was like the queen, couldn't believe how posh I was etc. Non-posh southerners couldn't help commenting on my accent!
I was concerned that I'd get even more stick up north, but I've had not one single comment in twelve years of living here!! Working class southerners have much more of a problem with my accent than northerners.

OP - you mention being worried that your son will stand out for being half Greek and striking. Whilst I'm sure your son is gorgeous he won't be striking here! In fact, he'll blend in perfectly. Most of the kids at our school are either brown skinned or have an olive complexion. My own kids are half Indian and certainly not in a minority. Over 65% of the kids in their school are from ethnic minorities.
Leeds is the second most diverse city in the UK, after London so people with darker skin don't stand out!

Leeds is brilliant, but you also don't need to be anywhere near Leeds itself to get there easily for work/whatever.

For example, Wakefield station is 15 mins from Leeds with multiple trains/hr.

I live in a tiny, very rural village but can be in Wakefield station in 15-20 mins, so from our village to Leeds city centre is easily done in 30-45 mins.

A lot of people are suggesting villages close to Leeds but if you don't want to be anywhere near the city you don't need to be. You can live every bit as rurally as a village in the South West and still easily work in Leeds.

As for the weather... 🙄

Leeds is drier, sunnier, generally warmer other than depths of winter when it's close to the same, and it has longer days than the southwest!

See attached data for Padstow and Leeds, for example.

Just look at the industrial northern cities you don't want to live in.

www.alamy.com/stock-photo/west-yorkshire-village.html?sortBy=relevant

Two of my friends recently moved to the area, one in central Leeds one in a village nearby. It’s just lovely, if my job allowed it I’d be keen to move myself.

If you are happy where you are then don’t move but if it’s just not being sure about the area maybe get and Airbnb there for a week and see how you feel about it.

Harrogate used to be a awful to commute to and from Leeds in rush hour, heavily congested roads. Not sure if it's any better now with more people working from home.

As well as Harrogate, people always trot out Chapel Allerton (which is not 4 minutes from the city centre unless the poster actually meant Chapeltown to the Arena, which even that is a stretch), Alwoodley and Headingley, with no consideration that it's likely to make commuting and travel across the rest of the county a complete drag.