North v South living costs

irishman1

Hi all,

My first post after being a regular visitor to both the site and the forums before. What a great site and great advice you all hand out about anything and everything!!!!!

But now i need some advice for myself please....and go easy on me for being new and being irish:D:D!!!!!

Basically having lived and worked in Northern Ireland all my working life i decided it was time for a change. After applying for work i now have a choice to make.
I have a job offer around the leeds area:j:j but also a better job offer (2k more) in the bristol area:j:j.

Having looked into houses to rent and even knowing a small bit about the north south divide i wanted to know peoples ideas and thoughts about costs of living in these 2 areas.

Any input would be greatly welcomed.

Many thanks in advance:T:T:T.

tod123

Have you visited the areas to see which you prefer?

greenface

Depends if you like ferrets and pigeon raceing opt for Leeds. If you like cold beer and swinging ive heard Bristols the place to be. Bristol has Alcholics but Leeds is full of drunks.

hcb42

I dont think you will find a massive difference in cost of living between those two areas .

Savvy_Sue

Bristle's brilliant ... never been to Leeds, almost made it earlier this year but in the end DH went on his own!

Can't comment on the comparative cost of living, but they are both large cities, therefore each will have 'posh', 'not so posh' and 'downright crummy' areas in which to live, which will be reflected in the cost of housing.

mrsp80

Obviously you will be able to live a lot more cheaply in Leeds than in Bristol if you are having to rent or buy a house. Property costs will be substantially different. Even the cost of a round in the pub will differ. Given the choice and without any ties to either city I would opt for Leeds. A quick look on a site like Rightmove will show you the differences in accommodation costs and if you are considering settling in the area that will impact you then, if not now.

I would say the £2K more for Bristol won't cover your costs so don't even factor that in, if you calculate the net difference it'll be peanuts.

jemb

Hi, I live near Leeds, and contrary to popular belief, we've pretty much excercised the use of ferrets and pigions from our lives! My Auntie lives in Bristol, and is herself, looking to move our direction due to cost of living, better prospects etc in West Yorks. The £2k difference would be swallowed up in accomodation, let alone the transport, parking (nearly died when had to pay near their house, although central Leeds is pretty bad). Where abouts is the job? As I used to live in Saltaire (goole it, World heritage site) where the train took 10 minutes (every 15 mins is a train) and the cost was rock bottom. Mine and partners flat (x2 bedroom overlooking canal) was £550 per month, BUT, my frields also had a flat in the centre x1 bed and that was only £500 a month, so pretty cheap still. After the boom in flats in the early 00s everyone cottoned on, and thus all old mills, factories etc were converted. The only problem is, there arent enough people to fill them! I remember looking into it, and 3 years ago, of all the lats in Leeds 33% occupancy was held, so some deals to be had!

I know I'm prob biased, as I am a Northerner, but we're also a hell of a lot more friendly! Lol.

Good look in your hunt, and pm me if you want anymore useless West Yorks info! x

MELLA_2

I am really not certain about the northerners and being friendly. On business things I find northerners very clickly and can only go to conferences etc in a group. Whereas southerners are more individual and can manage to attend such things ALONE. Also whatever you do dont go to County Durham - there's a reason why BBC documentries eradicate it.....................! As Bruce Oldfield said in his autobiography 'the best thing that happened to him was leaving County Durham'......... :rotfl: