Relocating up north - looking for recommendations!

[Relocationlady]

This is my first time using mumsnet so hope I’m posting this in the right way but I’m after some advice please!

My husband and I think we’d like to relocate up North (currently in Sussex) for better quality of life, house prices etc but all our family and friends are local to us now so we really don’t know where to start!

We have a 1 year old and would like to continue growing our family so somewhere suburban, family friendly with good schools, parks, nearby towns as well as green space would be ideal, bonus points if it’s within a reasonable driving distance from the beach.

Has anyone got any recommendations of nice areas we could research? Or has anyone ever done a move like this with new prior connections and might be able to share their experience/some tips etc?

thank you in advance!

Ok, my knowledge of Sheffield is quite old I admit- that’s good for Sheffield , in my day Bradford was still a bit posher than Leeds so I think things have changed and not always for better 🤷🏼‍♀️
keighley is my bloody predictive text - I know it has no t..🤦‍♀️

Beverley - Just outside Hull.

Beautiful little town / village.
Hull is a fantastic University and the city is vibrant and friendly.
The beaches of Bridlington, Withernsea, Hornsea, Cleethorpes are all in easy reach.

The whole area around Hull is one of my favourite areas of England tbh.
Hull gets a bad reputation, but it's a fine city in my opinion.

Very few of the places mentioned so far are actually "up north"

(waves to Northumberland folk from Cumbria)

It is amusing - considering we live in the UK - that clearly Up North means North England.
I don’t support the SNP, but this is why many Scots want out of the UK, because only England appears to matter.

The Wirral is indeed lovely but your £400k won’t get you a 4 bed detached in the nicer beach accessible parts or somewhere in the best school catchment areas.

yep- budget is a really good place to start, as in many many places north of Sussex, that budget wouldn’t get you close to a four bed Detached. Wirral is lovely but nicer bits well out of reach. Same for almost all of south Manchester- no chance (£500k for a 3 bed semi here… and going over asking by a long way).
BUT!
look at parts of Lancashire - some you’re already priced out of (Ramsbottom for eg) but there will be some ‘coming up’ bits that you’ll be lucky with. Also consider some parts around Northwich etc in Cheshire East- much is too expensive but there’s definitely some bargains to be had in some spots.
Coastal though… I’ve heard the North East is the place to go with your level of budget…
good luck!

Quite a few of those are on the list of worst places to live in England and quite a few more should be.

Could this be why?
www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/20674003.police-rubbish-claims-bradford-europes-dangerous-city/

I think you need to go for a trip tp the oop North and see which bits you like first. Depending on where your 'North' starts (I'm in Scotland so I'm guessing it's not what I would consider to be north) you'll have very different options, prices, opportunities and scenery. None of us can help you unless you narrow it down a bit.

I want to ask the same question as @Woooahnelly. Where have you been "up North" that you like? Because the UK isn't that difficult to get around so if you've never been anywhere in the north that you've made a connection with, either you've never been anywhere (in which case explore before you commit), or you've not found anywhere you've liked. If the latter it may be the north doesn't suit you that much.

I love the north with a passion, but it is not as well resourced as most parts of the south. Transport links and healthcare can be patchy (when it's good it's fantastic but there are bigger holes in the net you can slip through). Eating out, culture and food shopping are all just a bit less shiny and abundant. You have to really want and love the benefits the north does bring (beautiful landscape, distinctive histories and culture, amazing light, friendliness, cleaner beaches etc etc).

Also consider climate. West of the Pennines is cooler and wetter. East of the Pennines is drier - potentially short of water in some parts 20 years from now. Parts of the east coast suffer from erosion, and places in steep sided valleys are experiencing more and more flooding. As climate change bites, these will be even more important considerations.

Off I haven't put you off with this, there are plenty of great places in the north east already mentioned. You are not likely to afford Tynemouth but other bits of the coast are more reasonable. Look at Seaburn and Roker, which are on the coast and served by the Metro. I also adore Whitby and Scarborough

If you're not wedded to coastal, the Nottinghamshire countryside is gorgeous but not on most people's radar. You should definitely consider Wales too. Look at Swansea, Cardiff, Aberystwyth

Bradford has some lovely areas. Silsden, Addingham and Ilkley for example. Oxenhope, Haworth, Bingley, Cullingworth, Saltaire are all examples of “nice” Bradford too.

400k would get you a nice family home, with a garden in many parts of North and West Yorkshire. Detached might be a stretch, but do-able in parts.

I agree, but I moved from Kent to north Shropshire/Wales border and it still seems very far north to me! Plus so much quicker to get to the real north now

Thing is we are all jumping to conclusions and presuming OP wants something like 'you' personally would pick. OP might be delighted with a beautiful big house even if it's on a busy road if it's the right budget or she may be perfectly happy with a fantastic 5 bed detached in my original home town of Mansfield for under £325k - might not be what 'you or I ' would go for because you/I like to live in a perceived 'nice' area. All OP has said is they want to look up north and want a decent sized 4 bed house-- I don't personally like Sheffield- but lots love it. The best thing OP can do is check prices out in all kinds of areas and then take 5 days holiday to maybe drive around and get a feel for places. It isn't true you can't get places in the 'niceish ' areas - just probably not be in prime roads in those places .

I am a soft southerner but have been living in 'the north' for over a decade now. Much prefer it to down south. I would advise you think about flooding and water shortages when you make your choice.

Liverpool/Wirral

Sheffield Hallam is one of the wealthiest wards in the country!!

I think you need to be more specific. What do you like to do? North ( like South) has cities, villages, rough bits, very posh bits. It has beach, mountains, flat farmland, rolling hills, etc etc. My neighbours are a mixture of Londoners, Irish, Scottish, Jamaican and Pakistani so no you are not just going to be with northerners. I would say family is more important than house size though. Especially as they can help and maybe keep childcare costs down. Do you actually need to move?

Bradford has some lovely areas. Silsden, Addingham and Ilkley for example.

These places are within the council boundary, strictly speaking, but no-one local would actually describe these places as being "in Bradford". Most locals would say that Bradford stops around Bingley/ Baildon/ Shipley.

There are chunks of the Dales with a BD postcode, those aren't Bradford either.

Bradford has a beautiful architecture in the centre, and the film museum is great, but it is very deprived and run down. There are lots of reasons - a big one is that rhe transpennine rail line doesn't stop there, so it's a bit cut off. Better transport infrastructure would make a big difference, I think. Most of the major businesses (and therefore jobs and prosperity) are therefore in Leeds, and the deprivation means that crime rates are higher etc.

Look at the areas people have mentioned as being "Bradford but great to live in":

• Silsden, Addingham, Ilkley: These are not really in Bradford, regardless of council boundary
• Saltaire, Bingley etc: These are on the rail line into Leeds, to enable commuting into Leeds.

Manchester. Sadly £400k won't get you that 4 bed detached in the nicest areas but there are plenty of up and coming ones, great theatres, public transport, things to do etc.

You don't mention work. Do both of you WFH or will you be looking for work/travelling in one day a week?

Have a look at Knutsford, a pretty town in Cheshire and couple of hours from the sea, near airport etc.

Then Chester, on the boarder of wales so you have snowdonia plus all the sea side nearby, a beautiful city, Hoole and Handbridge
nice suburbs.

Altrincham, hale, Bowden on outskirts of Manchester are in the Borough of Trafford so access to excellent schools and grammar schools, but it's an expensive area to buy.

Shropshire is landlocked but you will get more for your money than the above places.... Shrewsbury.....

I think anywhere that's nice with good schools has a price tag unfortunately.,,, but I'd definitely have a look at all of the above...

Northumberland would be great. There lovely towns like Alnwick or Morpeth (Morpeth has trains to London). Tynemouth and Whitley bay are popular and family friendly. The people are just more friendly. I lived there for some years as a child and live going back.

No point bringing up the Scotland thing as it will get blanked by most other posters.

East Yorkshire? You'd get a 4 bed detached in villages surrounding Driffield. Hutton Cranswick / Nafferton. Not far from the coast.

Same in York!