Potential move to Leeds

[2catsandatoddler]

Me and DP are very seriously considering moving to Leeds. We currently live in Hertfordshire near family and have 1DD. We want to expand our family and we can't afford it where we are now. DP has the opportunity to relocate his job there. Neither me nor DP know Leeds massively well. We absolutely want to rent there for a bit then eventually buy when we find the right place. We just need to know whereabouts is good to raise a family, with good schools. Any help will be greatly appreciated

Should probably add our budget for an initial rental is about 1000-1300

Hi OP,
I’ve lived near Leeds for twenty years and I love it. I do think you need to do lots of research and then visit here for a good look around: not easy with Covid!

I live in the Wharfedale valley and parts of it are very expensive; some of those moving from the south assume that all homes here are as cheap as chips and it isn’t true. I live on a train line which gets me into the centre of Leeds in 30 minutes. Schools are very good in this area, both primary and secondary.

The weather is definitely wetter and greyer so be aware. The air is cleaner and the lifestyle can be great.

Do you know anyone who lives in Leeds? Moving away from existing friends and family can be very tricky. In my case it really worked but I know some of my friends struggled.

I moved to Leeds from South London, and lived there for 17 years. I think I might have lived near you @LOLeater. I used to get a train in to Leeds on the Wharfedale line - much quicker than driving.

I then moved to Pudsey before moving to South Yorkshire.

I agree that people often think housing is sgnificantly cheaper up here, but in many cases the difference isn't as great as you think.

I've lived here 10 years after studying in London and kind of moved spontaneously with my DP while he studied. Love it and now own our own house which would never have been possible in London. Areas which are nice are mainly around north leeds, alwoodley/adel/horsforth/roundhay/chapel allerton/scarcroft/scholes/west park. Depending on budget you could get a nice 3 bed semi upwards of £250K. AVOID beeston/harehills/seacroft/parts of middleton/hunslet/holbeck/belle isle.

@LOLeater thanks for that! We live near DPs family at the moment, my family are an hour away. We don't really have friends here as both of our groups of our friends are from university so we see them every couple of months. The fresh air and good schools are really appealing!

@addictedtotheflats that's the appeal for us to. DP works in London atm and it would be impossible for us to buy a house there. We want to get more for our money and be able to get our kids into good schools. Plus northerners are a lot friendly than Londoners lol

Leeds is a big city, and it can get very congested at rush hour. If you can get an idea of where your DH might be working, then people can suggest suitable places. And not suggest complete inappropriate places that will takes ages to get to!

I'm in York, but we have friends who live near Ilkley and that's a great location with great train access to Leeds city centre.

We relocated to Leeds from the US 2 years ago. Started in Roundhay which is expensive and a bit conservative and ended up in Headingley which is much more liberal and our speed. Leeds isn't cheap as so many people want to move here and live in a city with green space - property flies off the market right now. Schools in n Leeds are all great - we have one at Lawnswood and another at Carr manor but all schools are over subscribed so time your move well. Good luck! It's a great place to live with a great mix of businesses and universities.

We moved to Leeds from London, via a stint in the Midlands. We have been here for quite a few years now. It is noticeably greyer, wetter, colder and darker here than down south.

Some schools in Leeds are appalling. The good ones really are good, but usually have a microscopic catchment area. Oversubscribed schools are a problem all over the city so you have to be careful with this. Our DC were not of the standard intake ages, while house-hunting and going through conveyancing, we contacted every school within striking distance of our proposed house purchase and none had spaces - we ended up going private to give them some certainty.

OTOH I concur that Headingley/Far Headingley is a fabulous place to live. The "central" part of Headingley going towards the city is still quite studenty (still quite a lot of HMOs with grotty gardens and litter). But I still like it. The parks and green spaces are lovely and within an easy walk - the woods and streams of Meanwood Valley for example, during lockdown we spent every moment we could there. Good food of all kinds from the best fish and chips to the most gorgeous Italian to mouth-puckeringly authentic Thai. Strong local community spirit, they organise events etc. And (not that it matters right now) the bus service into the city centre is really regular and generally reliable.

@addictedtotheflats

I've lived here 10 years after studying in London and kind of moved spontaneously with my DP while he studied. Love it and now own our own house which would never have been possible in London. Areas which are nice are mainly around north leeds, alwoodley/adel/horsforth/roundhay/chapel allerton/scarcroft/scholes/west park. Depending on budget you could get a nice 3 bed semi upwards of £250K. AVOID beeston/harehills/seacroft/parts of middleton/hunslet/holbeck/belle isle.

I agree. Headingley is quite nice too. Weatherby is a nice area too. It may be well out of your price range.

@Charlieeee76, I really like Headingley also but having rented there for 5 years the vast amount of students put me off staying. Having said that its not all saturated with them and there are some nice family friendly spots.

Ahhh I see. Fearnville is a lovely Street I use to live their about 13 years ago. Oakwood is nice also.

Garforth is only about 20 minutes from the centre of Leeds by train (York a bit further in the other direction on the same line) and a nice little suburban town with great road links, supermarkets, a few independent butchers/grocers, pubs and restaurants etc and nice places to visit in the local area.

The secondary school certainly used to be great, not sure what how it's rated now.

Just checked, Garforth Academy's last ofsted inspection was Outstanding.

[quote addictedtotheflats]@Charlieeee76, I really like Headingley also but having rented there for 5 years the vast amount of students put me off staying. Having said that its not all saturated with them and there are some nice family friendly spots. [/quote]
The crime rate there would put me off living in Headingley as well.

Will he be working in Leeds? Whereabouts in Leeds? Leeds city centre is large and depending on whether he wants to travel via train or drive and park or use park and ride will influence the commute and where to live.

I know everyone always says North Leeds but the ring road congestion put us off and I am a glad that it did. I agree with addicted on where to avoid. I think renting will really help you get a feel for an area. Some areas are too studenty for us.

It all depends on what you are looking for in terms of local amenities, community, commute, proximity to parks or green space.

As a Northerner who has never lived further south than Bristol I have no idea what Hertfordshire is like. What do you like about it? Are you trying to replicate it?

And as for wetter and greyer, yes it is but we are a lovely friendly bunch with weather appropriate clothing

Be mindful of commuting and how far you’re willing to be from motorway links when considering north Leeds. If your DH is getting the train everyday then it’s perfect but I used to drive and it can be an absolute nightmare to get from north Leeds into the city events or to the motorways.

You’d also get a lot more for your money elsewhere. East Leeds is worth a try - a PP mentioned Garforth but there are other similar towns and villages that way out that are nice. Some on the Selby to Leeds train line also.

Thanks to everyone for your replies, they've really helped. So DP would be working at the department of health which from the looks of things is right in the centre of Leeds.

There's not really anything from Hertfordshire we're trying to recreate, we're not particularly attached to living here.

DP is also happy to either drive or take the train, he used to commuting into London so it wouldn't be that much of a change for him!

If the department of health is still at Quarry House then I'll reiterate mine and the PP's suggestion of East Leeds for access, especially if he does drive or take the bus. It's about a 10-15 minute (?) walk from the central train station.

Some of the areas closer to the city on that side are a bit less than salubrious though so choose carefully! Anything east of Crossgates / Rothwell should be ok

(Caveat; I left Leeds some years ago although family still live there, please other posters feel free to correct me if I'm outdated with my info!)

Agree with traffic in north leeds. I live in West leeds and work very close to quarry house and its a 15 minute commute on the ring road. East Leeds is a good suggestion. Temple newsam is really nice in East Leeds and considerably cheaper than the north Leeds please I mentioned

What's your budget for an eventual purchase OP and what are you hoping to get for that? Quarry Hill is a bit of a PITA to get to, although close to the bus station. It's pretty accessible from Chapel Allerton and far Headingley /Weetwood bith of which are areas I like.
What vibe are you going for as well?

Just to add that Leeds is a really good city to live in. It's big enough to have a decent food/shopping /cultural scene but not sprawling like Manchester. It's really close to really beautiful countryside.

I’ve just been to Hertfordshire once briefly and I thought it was really posh! (Borehamwood) and that was a Council house last year. I was shocked it looked really fancy compared to Leeds.

I’m interested to hear how you get on OP.

For Quarry House east Leeds is perfect. The train is ok but it's a 20 min walk from Leeds station to QH. From Cross Gates there are several bus routes that take you straight to QH and I think from Garforth there's at least one.