Relocation to Harrogate/North Yorkshire

[MuDew]

Hi, myself, Him Indoors, and to a lesser extent the twin DDs are thinking about relocating to Harrogate.

DDs about to take gap year around Europe and Asia, then off to Uni down South so it's not really a thing for them. Once they're gone, they're gone. But Him Indoors is tired ofthe lengthy client commute to South Mcr and Cheshire for his business (garden design and horticulture), so we're thinking a relocate to a footprint that requires less intense travel for his client list (we live in a beautiful, but economically stagnant area, hence his client work is where it is - there's wealth. We don't want to live there, though).

The thinking is Harrogate, York, villages around it, and to some extent areas of Leeds are better heeled than where we are in West Yorkshire, and there will be traction for his business nearer his doorstep if we relocated here.

My work is flex and WFH mostly, so location for work matters little to me.

So, help me out Harrogate Huns, please:

A) demand and economy for garden design and horticultural consultancy?
B) transport links - car, train, buses, including public transport in and around the satellite villages.
C) Healthcare provision, local hospitals?
D) Cultural offerings - music, art, literature, cinema etc...?
E) Access to green spaces (and I don't just mean a small park. It's so hard to judge distance and convenience of access on a satellite map on Rightmove!)
F) Diversity of the community? My Aunt is a Lesbian, and we're very close - she visits often with her wife,particularlyat Christmas. One of my teenage nephews is so gay. He also visits with us each summer for a few weeks with my brother and sister in law. It'd be lovely to be able to offer him some local community whilst he's here. Not essential, but nice to have. Any insights?

Harrogate and surrounding areas are all lovely.

Ilkley and Otley may also be worth considering. Possibly also Wetherby and Collingham.

In answer to your questions:

A. Demand is pretty high. A relative does garden design and never seems to struggle to find clients.

B. There's a train line between Leeds and York that stops at Harrogate Knaresborough and a bunch of smaller towns and villages such as Weeton and Kirk Hammerton. Plenty of buses around both Harrogate and Knaresborough. There's also an excellent bus service between Ripon and Leeds with Harrogate being the half way point. But bus services to the smaller villages are limited. Plenty of taxis and ubers. Leeds Bradford airport is nearby. For driving there's easy access to the A1.

C. Local health care is good. There's a hospital in Harrogate with a&e and out of hours gp. There's also hospitals in Leeds, Otley, York etc. Like anywhere gp's are under pressure but I've never struggled to get an appointment or referral.

D. Plenty of culture and things to do. There's 2 cinemas in Harrogate (Odeon and Everyman) as well as 1 in Wetherby and loads in Leeds and York. There are annual events such as Harrogate International Festival, Feva (Knaresborough) etc. The Knaresborough Bed Race is an annual day out not to be missed! There are regular shows at Harrogate Theater, Royal Hall and Convention Center - particulary good for comedy shows. Leeds, York and Bradford have good theaters and there's an arena in Leeds. Smaller theaters in Knaresborough, Ilkley and towns do decent local productions and comedy shows.

E. Harrogate has the Stray which is a large (100acre) grass area surrounding the town center which can't be built on. There's also Valley Gardens, a couple of woodlands plus various small parks. Knaresborough has lots of nice walks around the castle, river and Bebra Gardens. There's also the Yorkshire dales and moors on the door step. So very easy to access greenery.

F. There's definitely an LGBTQ community as there are pride marches in both Harrogate and Leeds. Don't really know of any specific gay friendly pubs/bars etc, but in general I'd say the area is pretty liberal. There's not much racial diversity, but it is increasing (more so in the bigger towns and cities).

Happy to answer any other questions.

There’s previous threads on here about this so it may be worth a search. From what I recall quite a few people said Harrogate was becoming a bit of a mare because of services being under strain and this was impacting. Whenever I drive through I do feel it’s busy. I’m looking for car parking spaces etc.

This is fantastic feedback. Very useful. Thank you so much.

Forgot to ask- what are the local leisure centre amenities like? Pools? Gyms? Yoga classes?

Again pretty good, the local council run gyms/pools in Ripon, Harrogate and Knaresborough. David Lloyd and Nuffield have private gyms/pools. Plus there's Pure Gym in both Harrogate and Knaresborough as well as quite a few small class or pt type gyms. Obviously if you're closer to York or Leeds then there's loads of gyms/pools to choose from.

Don't do yoga myself, but have seen lots of yoga and pilates classes advertised.

The smaller surrounding villages will obviously have less but in the main towns you won't struggle for options.

Fabulous. Thanks you so much.

Agree with other posts. Most areas of the Leeds Harrogate York triangle will give what you easy access to all the things you are looking for. House prices are high because of this though. Selby area is cheaper and up and coming. Wetherby, no train line but vibrant community.

You need to consider your budget, the areas you have listed are not cheap, definitely not what you would expect for “up north” for a 3 bed house in a nice area you are looking at least £400k. If you want to live in south Harrogate you’ll probably need more.
Harrogate is nice, but a lot of the shops have closed and it’s looking a bit run down in areas.
You get more house for your money in places like ripon/knaresborough and they are ok size, have supermarkets, leisure centre etc. The expensive areas of Harrogate are round the dutchy estate, fulwith area and the HG3 postcode.
Pateley Bridge also has a leisure centre (but no supermarket except the coop), has lots of other facilities but can get a lot of tourists in the summer.

Harrogate is beyond overcrowded. Everything is oversubscribed to eye watering levels including schools and especially doctors & dentists. Takes over an hour to cross town at busy times and it’s only 2 miles! People are moving away in their droves as it’s just a nightmare to be surrounded by so many crowds of people all the time. Shopping in the town centre is intolerable, it’s like King’s Cross station at rush hour.

All fur coat and no knickers = Harrogate.