Property in leeds

[Defrack]

Hey all we've decided to leave London and after a thread on chat and lots of personal debating we've decided Leeds would be a really good fit for us.

We went up and looked around a couple of areas and liked horsforth, chapel allerton, roundhay, otley, Ilkley etc etc. Basically we liked it all

However we have a modest budget of 300k, 350k at the absolute maximum and have some criteria and realise it may be hard to get property in any of those places.

We want,
Big garden, planning a family and we work from home so would like to have space to sit outside and work etc.
Train station close by, maximum 15 minute walk.
3 bedrooms, preferably 3 double bedrooms

Could anyone help as we can't seem to find anything fitting the bill.

Moorland Crescent, Menston, Ilkley
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74086142.html

Is the train a deal breaker OP? Like PP said other parts of Leeds do have a good bus service as long as your not travelling at rush hour.

I was in Garforth the other day for the first time in a long time and the high streets really nice now. Couple of chain shops, Costa, wetherspoons and a few independent cafes. Brilliant greengrocers and butcher as well. There are two train stations not sure if there's a direct train to London but very easy to get to York for a day out. It's also on the Eastern edge of the city very near countryside but great train links to city centre. The local high school has had an excellent reputation for about twenty years and is classed as the best state high school in Leeds.

They are also opening a new retail park just up the road in Colton (near cross gates) with a cinema, next, river island and I believe M&S simply food. Close to the motorway and A1 too.

Crossgates does have the train station and parts are nice and I have noticed there are a few interesting looking restaurants opened. It's not really got the community feel if the other places you have mentioned as I thinks it's a little bit closer to the city centre then Horsforth etc.

We live in Saltaire/Shipley area. I can't say enough good things about it. Direct train to Leeds (15 mins) and Bradford (10 mins) and lots going on ie restaurants, shops, etc. There's even a direct train to London from Shipley in the morning. I had a baby last year and have met a ton of other moms as there is literally a baby group in walking distance everyday!

www.shipleymums.com

We moved up from London 2.5 years ago and don't regret it for a moment. There's a lot of young families and other folks that have moved from London. It's a bit cheaper than the other places you are looking at because it's technically in Bradford not Leeds. I'd also look at Baildon and Bingley.

To illustrate what you can get:

FERN HILL MOUNT, SHIPLEY, BD18 4SW
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66602836.html

Ivy Grove, Moorhead, SHIPLEY, West Yorkshire
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53651970.html

Lindisfarne Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD18
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55375848.html

Avondale Road, Shipley, BD18
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54093792.html

Honey Pot Fold, Baildon, Shipley, BD17
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75166868.html

Ashfield Crescent, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75124895.html

I live in Cookridge and grew up in Horsforth. One thing you should consider if looking at these areas/Guiseley/yeadon is the airoplane noise. Parts of these areas are directly under the flight path. If you are also looking at using the train, the services from horsforth station (that is on the edge of cookridge) are a lot more frequent, every 10/15mins in rush hour compared to the other station in horsforth (kirkstall forge) where they are hourly. The tickets are also a lot cheaper £3.90 from horsforth whilst from guiseley a return is £6.90 and ilkley is £8.80!

My younger sister (29) lives in chapel Alperton and a lot of her friends are moving out for more space. The areas they are moving to are meanwood, rawdon, West Park and cookridge - not sure if you have considered any of these other areas?

Wow what can I say, thank you so much everyone

So now I have to look at Shipley area, menston, garforth as well

I would say good connectivity to the city is important to me, but if this could be achieved by a great bus service I would use it.

@Nordstrom that bungalow looks lovely.

@BIWI thank you, that garden is massive , and just what we wanted.
The house would need some work but is a great size, alebiet a strange layout.

@gigi566. Looking at the houses now, but the area sounds amazing. How is schooling?

@Sally. That sounds great, will look into it further.

I think with that house, there's obviously been some kind of extension? I'd certainly be tempted to make the little bedroom at the front into an ensuite bathroom for the bedroom next to it, and combine the kitchen and sitting room into one bigger open plan area. Although that may exceed your overall budget.

Chapel Alperton is fab but you won't get the type of house you want for the type of money you have. Terraced, mainly with no/small gardens unless you have a lot more £ to spend.

Also what the EA calls 'CA'' is often not! Some of the adjoining areas South and South West are not exactly desirable.

Oakwood and Roadhay are amazing, but too expensive for your wishlist and budget.

Meanwood is a great compromise except no train.

Why do you want to be so near a train station?

Leeds isn't like London where people really use the train as main form of transport - most people would dive or bus into the city center! From CA you wan walk into the city center in

These would be worth a visit.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53559675.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56109876.html

If it is right on the main road might be a bit too main road-ey

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74704400.html

Lovely garden, bedrooms might not be enough for you.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55547874.html

Worth a viewing, you'd have cash left over to do something decent with the house. Or use the cash saved to buy David Lloyd membership...! just across the playing fields!

FYI schools in north Leeds are hugely oversubscribed.

I would actually consider this location Chapel Allerton proper, just. Looks like it has been really nicely done but not sure if the garden is big enough for you.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74745182.html

People don't use the train because there aren't trains in most places. But for me having a train station close is a massive advantage to living in Horsforth. I don't even use it for day to day commuting but when I do need to travel it makes it so much easier. Plus it is cheaper and much quicker for getting into town.

@whatsthecomingoverthehill yes i'm sure having a useful train is a bonus, but IMO it is a bit silly to write off any where in Leeds that is not close to a train station!

What about Garforth? It's not very pretty, granted but it's on a direct train line to Leeds, frequent buses and from what I've seen of it over three years (my grandparents live there) it seems to be improving slowly with coffee bars, independent shops and restaurants/cafes springing up on the high street.

Three years? The years! Been visiting for 34 years, not three!

100% agree with Srbska. We're in Bramley (I don't think it's what your looking for OP) and the train station is a nice bonus. Sometimes use it to go to town as can be cheaper than parking and did use it the other day when taking DS and Nephew to Eureka.

Shipley and Saltaire are lovely, they aren't Leeds but do have a character of their own. However this can mean that by having a Bradford postcode your getting a lot more for your money but I've also been told it can push up things like car insurance premiums (unsure of how true this is mind).

Would you be wanting "nights out" in Leeds OP as whilst above places have excellent train links during the day I'm not sure what time the last train is and taxis could be pricey,

If it’s going to be your long term home and you want a family, in your shoes I’d prioritise area with best schools. Buy a place with potential and extend it later if necessary

Shipley / Saltaire has much to offer, but it's very much "not Leeds". Its identity is clearly Bradford. If you want to feel like you're really in Leeds then Chapel Allerton, Roundhay, Adel, Moortown, Cookridge, Meanwood etc are all places you could look at as others have said. Moortown is on the way up, as is Meanwood.

I'm in Burley in Wharfedale, lovely place but schools are a big problem as all local ones are over-subscribed and that situation is getting worse, unless you're Catholic in which case St Mary's at Menston is the golden goal.

I went to St Mary's and is definitely a good school. I personally would avoid east or south Leeds. Look at north and west. Are you wanting to walk to a train station or would you be driving and parking up?

Whilst the north is much more fashionable, it does mean prices are much higher.
Here is one in south Milford a quick google found
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/47104993?search_identifier=7219e0c0edd6d48f544c4d68c4f19f02
Close to train station with direct and quick trains to Leeds. Plenty of earing places in both that village and Sherburn ( S. Milford is considered nicer than sherburn, decent local primaries.

Eating, not earing!

We bought in Sherburn because we couldn’t afford to buy in North Leeds. We really like it. It’s great for children, traffic is practically non existent compared to the Horsforth side of leeds and it’s also close to York as well as leeds. I wouldn’t go back to North Leeds now.

Schools in Saltaire/Shipley are mixed - some good, some not I guess. I'm not that up on the school stuff tbh. There's two near us that are good which we are likely to get into.

Before we moved up we hired a car and drove around lots of areas and just really loved the feel of everything here. We were also insistent on good transport links and wanted to be able to walk to things as that was one of the things we loved about being in London. While this is far from being London it's great that we still have that here. In fact, 2.5 years later and we are still car free. Transport is good and when it isn't taxis are cheap. Obviously car free isn't for everyone! But one car is very doable here especially if you work from home.

We looked at Ilkley (was too far out as DP commutes to London regularly), Guiseley, Menston, Horsforth just felt very suburban to us and we weren't keen.

Thanks @gigi.