Progressive towns in the north

[Evasmum88]

Me, my husband and 2 kids are on the hunt for a place to move to from the south west, we have considered Hexham, Kirkby Lonsdale and other places and were going round in circles a bit until we both realised our main criteria was a town/village or even a small city that is progressive if possible, somewhere where that is known for being more focused on gender equality/diversity/LGBTQ equality issues etc than others. We really don’t want to move somewhere where there is a strong sense of having to fit into the norm, or where there are very old fashioned views as a norm.

Very open to any ideas. We would ideally love to be near some countryside or the town/city have green spaces. Basically we want to fit in and I want my two girls to be able to be who they want as they grow up. I lived in deepest darkest Somerset when I grew up and did not have the best experiences there for those reasons.

Many thanks

Hebden Bridge? Lesbian capital of the UK. Lots of alternative stuff going on. Pretty town feel, lovely cafes, on the doorstep of nice walks and easy drive/train to Manchester and Leeds. But depending on which bit you live some major flooding issues.

York?

Used to be a big gay scene there back in the day when I used to go out clubbing. Not sure about now obvs but it's very student orientated and right on.

@readytosell

Hebden Bridge? Lesbian capital of the UK. Lots of alternative stuff going on. Pretty town feel, lovely cafes, on the doorstep of nice walks and easy drive/train to Manchester and Leeds. But depending on which bit you live some major flooding issues.

Love Hebden Bridge; gorgeous little place to visit. And yes, very progressive.

Hebden Bridge vote.

Hebden Bridge
Chorlton-cum-Hardy, just outside Manchester

You might also consider Glasgow, especially the West End and Southside. Glasgow itself is very green the name literally means 'dear green place' and the countryside around it is absolutely stunning.

Hebden Bridge does have a reputation for its drug scene and the secondary options aren’t great.

York!

Ulverston Cumbria. At least 3 gay couples on my street!

I was going to say hebden bridge

Chorlton is not just outside Manchester!!! It’s very much in it

I was going to say Hebden Bridge too. I've found it has a healthy progressive attitude and its's close enough to bigger cities to get a 'fix' of city life if needed. Much further North then it becomes a balancing act regarding access to good transport links and quality of life.
I lived in Newcastle, great city but so far away from major cities - nipping to London wasn't really possible very often as the train costs a fortune. Driving down was 5 hours plus. Similar for Birmingham too.

@StrawberrySquirrelThief

Hebden Bridge does have a reputation for its drug scene and the secondary options aren’t great.

And the floods!

How about Marsden or Slaithwaite in Huddersfield?
Nice villages with a bit of a hippy vibe and I have Gay friends who live there and they seem pretty happy.
Direct trains to Manchester and lovely countryside
Huddersfield town centre isn’t the best but due to The Uni it’s pretty multicultural and diverse

Sorry pressed too soon.
My DD has Gay, Bi, Trans friends and they all seem pretty accepted. My BFF has just left her husband and gone into a same sex relationship and as far as I know nobody has batted an eyelid.
As I am straight I can’t directly say what the situation is but I know plenty of people who aren’t who live in this area and from what they say it’s fine

Everywhere is more progressive than Somerset (or London) was twenty odd years ago. The north is not some backwater where we don't get Channel 4 and have never heard of women's lib . I live in the NE and my not very progressive town is currently bedecked with rainbow flags for the Pride Parade and there's a good range of childcare options because the majority of mothers work. Or are you looking for something more blue haired?

I was going to say Hebden Bridge too!
Second choice - Saltaire.

Everywhere is more progressive than Somerset (or London) was twenty odd years ago.

There are plenty of places that have regressed. Mansfield, Rotherham, Ilkeston spring to mind.

Evasmum, I'd look at the suggestions around Manchester.

Definitely Manchester or even Liverpool. There are plenty of quieter villages/towns within driving distance from them both too. Both within driving distance to countryside and national parks and Liverpool also has local beaches.

Thanks so much all your suggestions are really helpful. We are going up for a nosey around in a couple of weeks, so far got on the list:

York
Manchester area
Newcastle
Hebden bridge
Saltaire
Ulverston
Huddersfield area

Can’t do Scotland unfortunately job-wise.

Would villages/towns around those areas offer similar progressiveness e.g knaresborough near york, etc or not?

Many thanks

As I said I’m not Gay so don’t have direct experience but I doubt that areas such as Knaresborough or any of the more white Mc places in North Yorkshire are going to be as progressive as some places mentioned.
If you are coming up to Huddersfield to look at Marsden and Slaithwaite try Lindley and Honley too.

What's your budget?
Villages around York will have a live and let live attitude.
Selby might be a surprise.

Knaresborough and Harrogate are pretty progressive especially as so many people have moved there from London etc.

I think this is a bit difficult to say, best thing would be to go and visit and even better stay for a few days and see what you think. My own experience of living rurally is that most people tend to have a live and let live attitude in that they keep themselves to themselves and unless you’re pissing them off they won’t have an issue with you. That might change if you want to become part of the local am dram scene, chair the village fete, join the parish council etc but even then I think you’d be unlucky to find much prejudice. It depends what you want to do with yourself but I think most places you look would be fine. Just look at the Archers!

How about Sheffield?

It's just the satanic Mills in Hebden that put me off. The drive to and from is quite depressing.

Most places in Manchester you can live as you are happily, but I would not say they all have a community feel that is actively progressive and open minded. Some places with a stronger sense of that would be Chorlton, Didsbury, Prestwich, urban towns not far from nature, but it greatly depends on your budget. I would also consider Hebden Bridge, Leeds, and areas in South Liverpool like Aigburth.