Where to live in North England

[Cazleanne]

We need help with finding an area which pleases all the family and a place to put our roots and hopefully be forever.
We moved to North Sheffield for work commitments 5 years ago and we got it so, so wrong. To put it honestly, I can't stand it here.
My daughter is at Leeds uni and now she's in a long term and talking kids in next 5 years etc it's got me panicking we're all going to end up stuck here forever. I love my house and we have all conveniences on our door step but I'm not happy at all.
My 2 boys are 16 and 7 so we have looked at Ripon, Malton, Wetherby so far and even though we love the little towns, I don't think there'd be enough to do without having to keep travelling etc. We're not the hiking kind although we do like to get out for strolls and picnics etc.
I love having retail parks etc near by but I want somewhere with a village feel and less crime.
We can move to anywhere within the North really as long as it's within easy reach of trains for my daughter and commutable roads for us as we're contractors.
Don't want to get it wrong again so really need some help for areas we may not know that have what we need for everybody as well as good schools and where we can get a 4 bed detached with a good garden for a budget of around £450k.
Sorry for long post but I'm at the end of my tether here, we're so unhappy.

Wath-Upon-Dearne is not in North Sheffield. It is North Rotherham! Barnsley and Doncaster are closer to Wath-Upon-Dearne than Sheffield is.

There are many great places to live in Sheffield within your budget.

Think I am just fed up of people why say shit things about Sheffield when they don't even live there.

Just interested, that’s all (I did admit it was annoying). And to say you don’t look down on anyone but also you can’t wait to get away from the locals isn’t a very logical standpoint.

When you said North Sheffield I wouldn't have thought you meant Wath-upon-Dearne. It is Rotherham, and to the north east of Sheffield.

To me North of Sheffield would be Stocksbridge, Howbrook, Wortley, Thurgoland, Penistone, Silkstone, Silkstone Common and Hoylandswaine. And if you have £££££ to spend, Cawthorne.

Penistone and Silkstone Common are on the Penistone line with regular trains between Sheffield, Barnsley and Huddersfield.

If you are looking at North West Leeds there is Horsforth, Guiseley, Menston, Burely in Wharfeale, Ben Rhydding and Ilkley - all on railway routes. Otley is a lovely market town, but you would need to drive to Menston for a train. These are not cheap areas to buy a house though, especially after Wath-upon-Dearne prices.

Great that you liked Yarm so much. It does tick a lot of boxes in terms of small town feel, but easy access to busier stuff if needed. And so close to the sea too. I'm not quite sure about the travel times though. The A168/A19 is normally pretty fast, but it's still half an hour to get to the A1, when it's about 10 minutes from Ripon. But I don't know anything about your commutes and whether that will make much of a difference for you!

Whatsthecomingoverthehill thank you for your help.
We do love Yarm but because of the commute we are still looking at others closer to Leeds/York. We like the look of Northallerton too as it looks like a larger Yarm but don't know a lot about it, so the homework starts again 😆

No problem :)

I'm not sure that Northallerton gives you many benefits over Yarm to be honest, though it is a lovely town. The schools aren't supposed to be as good. It's further away from bigger towns/cities, and whilst closer to the A1 the roads aren't as quick so not much difference to your commute.

Northallerton is a bit of a mess about to get to the A19, it's country roads so does add some time to your driving journey. There is again a direct train from Northallerton into both York and Leeds and Manchester airport though.
Allertsonshire secondary is a decent school, I'm not really aware of the primaries but I'd put it on a level with Egglescliffe for desirability. They have a fab swimming pool though (we take DS there, it's about a 25 min drive from where we are)

Haha yes we go to that swimming pool (45m from me)

QforC, Allertonshire Secondary doesn't exist any more - it was merged to form Northallerton School, and last year was put in special measures.

We live in a village just outside York. Train into York Leeds and Harrogate. Good access to the ring road and onwards. We LOVE it here. PM me if you want some info.

And I work in Northallerton, has a nice feel, but maybe a touch 'small town'? But rail station is on the east coast mainline. Not too far from the A1, although I tend to use the A19 and A168, which can be bloody torturous with slow moving vehicles (tractors and wagons) but nice housing stock. Think you'd get more got your money there than in the pricier areas of York and Leeds.

@whatsthecomingoverthehill oh bugger, shows how long it's been since I was around secondary schools! oops!

Thank you all. I think we've decided on yarm if we're going north, it's definitely our favourite and ticks all the boxes.
We've decided to find one favourite place in the East Midlands too and then we can decide either to go north or south.
Fingers crossed this time next year we'll be settled somewhere for a fresh start

Scarborough!

Hi OP, good choice on Yarm, it is a nice town with lots going on considering its size. Also close to Middlesbrough and Darlington (not the nicest of towns but handy for shopping), and teesside park.

We live just outside Northallerton and I am concerned about senior school when we get to that point. Lots of issues over the last couple of years with the senior school in Northallerton but 🤞it is improving now.

Good luck with your house hunt!

Sheffield is a brilliant city and you could get a great house in a lovely area for that money. It's a bit like writing off living in South Manchester because you don't like Burnley or something.

Oh Dear OP. I can see why you are dissapointed with W-u-D!

Holmfirth
Penistone -maybe too small but great schools and 29 mins from MHall, Cortonwood and Fox Valley,
Harrogate

I live in Leeds. I'm not overly keen on Horsforth although it's nice enough and good for families. I think Adel is lovely. It's right on the outskirts, between Leeds and the countryside. It really does feel like a village and is surrounded by fields and countryside. You can easily get in to Leeds City centre by bus or bike and it's 20 mins to the Dales. There are some lovely places very nearby like the Chevin forest which is good for a walk and a picnic, Ilkley and Otley are a stone's throw away. I want to live there myself!

Actually Adel is a good call! The issue I guess it secondary schools but that doesn’t matter to you OP

@Cazleanne I grew up near Wath and agree it's shite. I also have family near Northallerton, which is nice but the commute seems a bit long and it is quite posh parochial round there.
I'm intrigued as to why you are ignoring all the comments about south Sheffield which is gorgeous and has plenty going on. One of the most desirable places in the UK (e.g. Totley, Dore). A world away from Wath.

Helmsley is lovely if you want to go further afield. I'd go South Sheffield though.

Otley
Ilkley

Harrogate.

Northallerton is lovely - it's a town with shops etc but lovely countryside on the doorstep, right off the A19/A1, you can be in Leeds in less than an hour.