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.

maitaimojito I drive my daughter to school on the ring road every day and it really isn't that bad. It's slower now but temporarily as they are doing roadworks to widen it.

@ToBeClear5 nice find!

Also you can wave at my old house... loved that house and location!

Might not have the garden the OP was hoping for though and the Methley’s are potentially more ‘urban’ than ‘suburban’. Bloody loved living there though. So close to everything.

You can get to countryside wherever you live in Yorkshire. There’s the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, Ilkey Moor. Peak District if you go a bit further or the east coast. Plenty of choice there.

You’ll always have to compromise on something when you buy a house. Try writing a list of the most important things down to the least and you should be able to narrow it down a bit. For me I drive a lot for work so I want good road links whilst having the benefits of living in a small village. Other people might prioritise restaurants and bars within walking distance or a train journey of

serbska yup we love proper urban living which is why we ended up buying in Headingley- a bit grittier than rows and rows of semis. I knew I wanted a Victorian which narrowed my choices in Leeds! I have lots of friends who love living in CA

Wow that's a great find!
That hiuse is lovely, garden a bit small but I understand you've to make sacrifices.

Is Oakwood and CA got a good community feel to it?
I think CA doesn't have a rail link either?

However when fighting other houses in the area they all look so nice, so CA and Oakwood get a big tick from me.

I would say my main priorities is that the house is a good size, so a nice kitchen diner and a living room. 3 good sized bedrooms, at least 2 being doubles.
And the garden is a lesser priority but something that I would like it possible.

@ToBeClear you’re making me home sick for Leeds again!

@Defrack If having a train link is an absolute ‘must’ then you’re going to have to look at the very few locations with a train station. North Leeds doesn’t have rail links.

IMO you don’t need a rail link in CA - Lots of good busses, taxi, car or even walk to the centre. That house is like a 2 min walk to the main road with a bus stop. It’s a 15 min innexoenaive taxi ride to the main line train station in rush hour. 10 mins non-rush hour.

I can’t speak for Oakwood but CA had a good community feel with lots going on a few years ago. It was very easy to make friends and feel part of the community.

defrack no rail links but you just a 20 min bus ride from the center of town and both have their own village center too with cafes, restaurants and supermarkets. I'd definitely focus on them if you want to be in town in a walkable area. I get the bus all the time! CA has a fab new ALDI too lol. From east to west Kirkstall, headingley, chapel allerton, Roundhay and oakwood are all great areas but headingley, CA and oakwood are my favorites. They're all easy to get too. Oakwood has the advantage of being right next to Roundhay Park. We're renting near North Lane there and love it till we move to headingley in October. I'd never live outside the ring road but that's just our preference. I know many who think we're mad buying in headingley near students but they want a completely different middle class vibe to us lol. You have to buy the house for you and not what other people think you should buy. It's quite difficult to ignore the 'noise' sometimes and not second guess yourself. Why not rent for a while like we have till you get comfortable with your surroundings? X

Joking the CARA (CA residents association) on FB. Great place to ask questions for all areas. They were super helpful when we were researching from the US. Oakwood does have a great community too and lots of 'trendy' restaurants are opening there. We love the city center too - The Ivy is opening this month, I get my haircut in the Corn Exchange, kirkgate market is the biggest indoor market in Europe, HarveyNichols restaurant/bar is fab and places like The Reliance offer cool gastro pub experiences. It's a great substitute for London without the London prices! Plus I can get to London in just 2 hours on the train when I need my fix!

Ok I think with a good bus link we could forgo a train station.
I'm still in London mind a bit with thinking of rail links.

I really do think I want more inner city area l, rather then a sleepy suburb. So I think chapel allerton, roundhay and Oakwood are good areas for me.

I agree on renting we're moving up in a few weeks anyway so will be renting while searching. Just need to find a place

@Ohwhatbliss me too!

The Methleys are great, and I like Chapel Allerton. Headingley as well. It sounds like a balancing act between bars/restaurants, countryside, transport links and so on.

I really like being in Horsforth. I pretty much walk out of my door into countryside, and the chevin is a 5 minute drive. But it's only 15 minutes on the train into Leeds. Having said that whilst there are pubs/bars/restaurants it is a much more suburban feel than Chapel Allerton or Headingley say. Lots of people are here because of the schools (which also pushes the prices up), so it's quite family orientated, and not so many young professionals/students (though there are some).

Lots of families in the city too - Roundhay school is excellent though oversubscribed and lawnswood is great and my kids love it. Great gyms too - the village in headingley is fab. It's not London so just be prepared that everything is on a smaller scale. I did however just have the most excellent lunch at Brasserie Blanc by the river. As you can see we love our new life in Leeds. I'm poppysstyle on ig if you need any help xx

Burley in wharfedale is full of crime. Don't move there

If you go to a slightly cheaper area, I think this isn't bad... Not too far from Headingley (and Kirkstall itself has a couple of nice pubs and restaurants), close to a station, ok schools.

glsgow107 😂😂😂how small minded. Did you vote for Brexit too😂🤦‍♀️

@Defrack I know local knowledge is invaluable, but honestly looking at a map would have answered that particular question

Sorry - I wasn't trying to have a go at you, it just seemed really obvious!

Oh no @BIWI it was fine . I could have looked at a map and now you mention it, would have made more sense .

North Leeds does have rail links, just not many; Headingley, Horsforth, Kirkstall Forge being the main ones I can think of.

Chapel Apple (as the locals used to call it!) is really nice but pricey. Headingley has some huge houses, but is quite 'studenty'. I say that not to be snobby, but some of the bigger houses could be noisy.

One thing to bear in mind in Leeds is that the train stations are sometimes weirdly named... Headingley station is way down the hill close to Burley, Burley Park station is practically in Hyde Park, Horsforth station is technically in Cookridge.

It is a big bonus being able to get onto the train into town though - parking is stupidly expensive. I've lived all over Leeds in the last 20 years and the areas on the fringes are IMO the nicest.

@whatsthecomingoverthehill Good point about Horsforth being more suburban. Better coffee shops and bars are springing up. We're on the dark side (Cookridge!) and tend to go for Horsforth for a few drinks now, rather than going into town.

Meanwood is actually worth looking at as well, although it doesn't have the rail link.

daisy2990 trafalgar street car park is just £8 a day! though I love getting the bus it's so much easier...

I grew up in Chapel Allerton. No-one called it Chapel apple! I am also amused at Moortown being described as ‘upcoming’ - it used to be the posh end up from the more ordinary Chapel Allerton.

I agree to not worry about train stations. There’s a story there (the bloody trams) but basically, just check the public transport option on google to Leeds train station from the property that interests you.

I like Meanwood, and you can just about get what you’re after within budget still. Farsley is also a great shout, but having grown up in Chapel Allerton I always think of it as farawaysley. You get more bang for your buck outside of North Leeds. I’d totally go for Oakwood if I could afford it. Calverley is pretty although further out than I’d prefer.

One brilliant thing about Leeds is how easy it is to access green spaces. I can very quickly (20mins) be out in green spaces that feel like the country. I have an abbey in 15 mins walk, towpaths, all sorts of great places.

We bought in Bramley because I couldn’t bear to pay another £30k to be the right side of the river, and had a tight budget. But your budget is more generous than ours and you should easily be able to find something suitable. What fun. Love a good vicarious house search.

reetgood being close to the Abbey is a huge bonus - I love the weekend farmers market, oakwood has one too every month.

Meanwood has some great properties and cool new bars popping up. Also a Waitrose.

I love some of the houses around Potternewton Park too though not everyone will want to be so far south of CA

This has been on the market months - since we started looking last year - I'm pretty sure it's just the terrible photos. It might be worth adding to your list as I bet they'd take offers. Might be great with some decorating?

Bracken Edge, Chapel Allerton
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-69401618.html

@ToBeClear The estate agent has been rather over generous in describing it as Chapel A. It is not Chapel A and is massively overpriced for its condition and location. That is why it hasn’t sold, true bargains don’t hang around long in Leeds.