Where to live in Harrogate? Help!

[Whereinharrogate]

We would love to move to Harrogate but finding house prices a bit disheartening. Anyone know Harrogate or the surrounding area who can recommend where to look?

We'd like a 4 bed house with garden and ideally garage, hard top end budget £650,000. Near to good schools (primary and secondary) and walking distance to amenities. I guess the kind of area mn would describe as "naice". I would like those amenities to be central Harrogate but I think for a house of the size we would like we may need to look further out. Would consider living 2 or even 3 miles out of centre if there were things in that locality other than housing estates. E.g. would like pub, cafe, shop, maybe restaurant, park - things to do outside our front door. Don't really want to be in a village. Have looked at starbeck and wasn't keen.

Anyone got any recommendations?

But it's true! Why sugar coat it? I don't have enough space nor enough time to type examples of what I mean but believe me, it's 100% accurate. The town is a shell of its former self and has lost all character, since it became taken over by the Instagram lot, who've tried to turn it into the northern Surrey and have priced locals out of the town they grew up in.

DogLover24

Absolute bollocks. Harrogate's always been very expensive, and has always attracted incomers.

By your reckoning nobody should ever move from the place they were born in.

If that was the case, I'd still be living in Collingham.

Tbf she’s/he’s got a point. Loads of nice places in the north are being priced out to many locals because of ‘new blood’ from London. And let’s be honest the ‘new blood’ aren’t folks struggling to get on the property ladder down south but wealthy Londoners who’ve profited massively from property prices. Happening in York, Ilkley, Ripon to name a few.
I want to move back to the area from the NW (born, grew up there and have elderly relatives with caring needs) not a cat in hells chance due to prices. Couldn’t even move down south if I wanted to.

@DogLover24 I agree. But it’s spreading to other desirable towns, Otley, Hebden bridge, Malton, Tod as well.

@Applebeard yep- I live in Bath- we have similar issues - but so does anywhere that's a bit nicer than average but not South east money ( and to be honest there is not much in it here) so what's the alternative? Make sure nowhere is ever desirable in case your kids want to stay local? Ban anyone who hasn't lived within a 10 mile radius for last 10! Years from moving in? It's mainly incomers here too who have opened new shops, cafes , set up digital businesses etc. the solution was not to have sold off social housing, and indeed built a bit more- but too late for that sensible policy of not selling to take place.

@DogLover24 is correct. @Crikeyalmighty that's the question What is the alternative? It's London that is the problem, it is a huge problem. I guess anybody will move where its more affordable and that includes lifestyle overall.

@Uggtrending yep- it's not that I don't see it's an issue- it's that it's an issue I think you can't control

Doglover24, I agree, lots of things have changed in Harrogate, not as good as it was. I was born there (in the hospital that is now a housing estate on the road towards Starbeck) I moved away at 23 as London looked more exciting.

The old market place was great until they demolished it and built the Victoria Centre. Me and my classmates laughed at the ridiculous plans when we saw the artists drawing of the statues round the top. When the Victoria Centre opened it had lots of small independent market stall type shops and a cafe in the basement, I loved the stationery shop called Jotters. Then JD Sports ripped it all out completely taking over the whole basement. Some of these stalls moved to the top floor, great, until TK Maxx took it over.

I miss the Lowther Arcade, a lovely arcade of small shops, demolished to make way for the current Marks and Spencers. Littlewoods had a cosy cafe. Do you remember Victoria/Sunwin house, department store near the library? think it's a cinema now.

They completely trashed the old bus station. Do you remember Morrisons being under the Conference Centre with its underground car park. Do you remember the Royal Hall before Wetherspoons moved in.

So many happy memories of clubbing in Jimmy's, I went and stayed with my family in the Harrogate Apartments a few years ago (what Jimmy's has become) and wanted to throw myself on the floor and cry that it was no longer a nightclub, bar and taxi rank. What has happened to the other nightclubs BTW? Thomas's became a futon shop and I don't know what became of Po nana's, L'escalier.

Will stop, the kids are yelling for food. My parents still live there but I will never move back, I visit once a year.

All you people complaining about change - you do know that happens everywhere?

Of course shops closing down and houses being built is because of those awful London types ruining everything😂

OP Harrogate is great but the traffic is awful! If you want a town you can walk to / around you will not get that in North Leeds or a small village.

Otley is nice too and Wetherby is ok but a bit boring.

Personally I think York traffic is worse (or certainly no better) than Harrogate and Ripon and Boroughbridge are ok but a pain to get to from Leeds.

Yes . Don’t do it. It’s one massive car park

@GatherlyGal no one’s complaining about change per se, if you can’t see an issue with it fair enough but I guess it’s frustrating for locals when house prices shoot up because people decide they’re sick of London and want ‘a slower pace’ in the words of most escape to the country participants. Loads of places have changed because of it and not necessarily for the better. It’s like Whitby, the quirky down to earth vibe is quickly changing and it’s now filling up with second homes and naice but pricey boutique type shops. I’ve got relatives there and a lot of locals aren’t happy with it. Robins hoods bay down the road I think has just a few local folk living there, the rest are second homes or Airbnb.

I think you've massively missed the point 😆 It's not about change it's about hundreds of thousands of people moving to a town that is bursting at the seams AND in doing so, pricing out locals who were born there. That's a little more than just 'change'

Yes I was born in the hospital that's now the housing estate and I also remember the cafe in the basement of Victoria centre with the seats anchored to the ground! There was also a pet stall in the basement too wasn't there? I have vague memories of the original market hall. Very vague.
I do remember Sunwin House. The cafe in there was great if a little dark. Do you remember the amazing Santa's grotto on the top floor with the moving Sleigh?!
Yes I also remember Morrisons in the basement of the Conference centre (that long ramp you could ride your trolley down like the one in Asda!)

I worked at Po Na Na's for a while. Prob about 4/5 months and never got paid. Not a penny. Then worked at Jimmy's with my sis in law. They were good times

@Bananalanacake Po Na Nas became Moko Lounge but is now abandoned. Unsure where L'Escaliers was. That may be before my time. Was that the tiny club on Station Parade?

When I was desperately trying to get a school place for my DCs, North Yorkshire County Council Admissions told me that in Harrogate alone since 2016 they've had a little over 140,000 families apply for school places after having moved up from London and the south east.
Are you saying they imagined that?

*14,000 not 140,000! 🤦‍♀️

@Applebeard Here is a list of rural primary schools in North Yorkshire which have had to close due to air bnbs/holiday homes/second homes taking over villages and pricing families out. This then causes stupidly low pupil numbers, meaning the school cannot afford to remain open or it becomes not financially viable for the council or academy trust to keep the school/s open.

Fountain's Earth in Lofthouse recently closed after ending up with just ONE pupil.
Weaverthorpe C of E Primary in the Wolds
Naburn C of E Primary near York.
Kell Bank C of E Primary near Masham (they shut in 2021 after pupil numbers fell to six)
Clapham C of E Primary in the Dales
and the village schools in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Rathmell and Drax.
This is real. It's happening and it's a big problem. Whether you declare it "absolute bollocks" or not.

@DogLover24 lots of rural places have fewer people because people have moved away for jobs etc. My point is its change and it happens all over the country in many many communities for millions of reasons.

There are deserted mining villages which used to be thriving and towns which have grown. It seems weird to think its wrong that people move around the country.

DogLover24, you must be the same age as me then. I don't remember the grotto in Sunwin House, sounds fun though.
L'Escaliers was the same club as Po nana, before it became that, called so because L'Escaliers is french for stairs and you entered the club by the stairs. I'm outraged they didn't pay you! I can't remember the name of the club on Station Parade, was it X or Zoo? short name, next to Jack Fulton.
I left Harrogate in 2001, my DC go to school in Germany. Hope you get spaces sorted out

Again, you've missed the point. 14,000 people have moved up here from the south east and the town is fit to bursting at the seams. That's not just change that's happening everywhere....That's a mass exodus!

I was born in 84' and went to Rossett. Grew up in the new park area

You're only 6 years younger than me, I also went to Rossett. New Park is close to Bilton where I lived.

Fountains earth shutting wasn’t due to incomers buying second homes and forcing people out; it was due to local families voting with their feet and moving their kids out of a school that had poor SLT oversight, that got ignored for last 3 years. Similar happened to other schools in the trust. Naburn was the same - it was in special measures and parents went elsewhere

yes, second homes are an issue, but so is massive new developments by local councils which don’t have infrastructure (schools places) to support it and are pushing prices higher overall - the developments of exec homes at Green Hammerton and just off the A59 are examples of this. The rise in wfh and ok / good transport is driving people to move elsewhere.

And Harrogate and surrounding area has always been one of the most expensive places locally, it’s well known. I think it ranks with Rutland as highest / ‘richest’ area outside of London.

I’ve lived in Harrogate since I was born. - 1967 - and bloody love it. I live on Hookstone and walk to most places. I don’t find traffic that bad to be honest.

The club near Jack Fulton’s was The Elevens Club in my day but I usually went to Carringtons - opposite Waitrose.

I live in the area and would go Otley with your budget. I wouldn't say it was rough round the edges?! St Henry's good school and lots of shops/restaurants. People friendly.

Bus or drive to Menston Station for Leeds.

Ilkley is lovely but you'll not get a 4 bed detached for the money so depends what you priorities are.

If you need to be near the station in Harrogate or York it's crazy expensive plus all the over crowding issues mentioned above.

Ripon nice too and affordable. X84 to Leeds and good schools.

OP is moving from Leeds so northern and allowed to stay!!! The London incomers are v funny though, overheard some exclaiming to visiting family in a local cafe the other day that they were so happy they could still get decent coffee up here.