Best places to live in Leeds, West yorkshire?

tescofan

Hi guys,

I am looking for a place to stay in Leeds, having stayed in student housing in LS2 the past four years, I dont know much about the surrounding areas of W Yorks.

Work will be at either the LGI or St James Hospital, if im lucky, or Bradford, pontefract/pinderfields/dewsbury, harrogate, Halifax/Huddersfield, Keighley if im unlucky. both of us will be working in either one of these locations.

I would still like to be based in Leeds area as that's where I'm familiar with and have friends at. (and hopefully, be working in LGI/Jimmy's)

Im not too sure which areas are more suitable: im simply looking for somewhere safe. no need for a posh area or anything like that. somewhere along the budget of 125 grand for a two/three bedroom semi d. my partner isnt keen on terraced housing and i am not keen on flats. since there'll only be two of us (and perhaps kids in the future), we dont require too big a house.

Ive googled it but there isnt much information apart from :

1.) Roundhay, Chapel Allerton, Alwoodley, Oakwood (LS8, LS7, LS17 and LS8 respectively) are relatively affluent areas and
2.) Seacroft, Beeston, Holbeck, Hunslet should be avoided (LS9, LS11, LS11 and LS10 respectively)


any leeds residents would like to share some thoughts? cheers, appreciate it x

EDIT: places recommended by other moneysavers (in addition to the ones I mentioned):
-LS28 (Stanningley, Farsley, Pudsey)
-Morley
-Birstall
-East Ardsley
-Drighlington
-Wortley
-Rothwell
-Horsforth
-LS16/17
-?Middleton LS10
-Far Headingley
-Burley/Kirkstall

places to avoid (in addition to the places I mentioned):
-?Bramley
-Cross Green
-East End Park
-Gipton
-Halton Moor
-Armley (although some parts of Armley are nice)
-Stanks

daveyjp

If you are to be working in Leeds the areas you mention are fine, but budget ma not be! Leeds 28 is also worth a look, this is also handy for Bradford.

If you end up working south of Leeds you don't want to be in the north as cross city commuting is a pain. Look around Morley, Birstall, East Ardsley, Drighlington as they have good access to motorways.

If you end up in Keighley strike Leeds off your list, it's a long commute on very congested roads.

rich11

Wortley is ok and you will get a good 3 bed semi for £125k.To be honest you may be better waiting until you find out where you will be working as it is a big old place is Leeds.Can take well over an hour to get from one side to the other let alone to Bradford or Keighley

dancelikeamonkey

Hi, I had exactly the same search a few months back for about the same budget. I moved to Leeds from Newcastle a year ago and had never even visited Leeds before never mind having any idea where to buy a house.

I stayed in a flat in the city whilst asking around work colleagues to get ideas of which areas were peaceful with the least amount of feral youths roaming the streets. In the end I settled for Rothwell. I've only moved in 3 weeks ago, but it's really peaceful and everyone around seems really friendly. I think there are rough parts in Rothwell (like most areas), but the part I live in is all private houses and cul-de-sacs so no reason for people to walk through there unless they live there.

This isn't the house I bought, but it's just along the road from my cul-de-sac and is the same style ( I paid £135 for mine but that was with a garage and brick build conservatory) http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/17266999. There were a few for this price a couple of months back but they've all sold. I'm sure there'll be more shortly.

Winkle1908

I live in LS28, and it is ideal for Leeds and bradford as its just off the dual carriageway and public transport is good (especially Pudsey) there is a bus station and New Pudsey Station, in the middle of LGI and Bradford Royal infirmary. Jimmys is further out but where I had my baby (at max its about 7 miles) and would take about 15 minutes when not in rush hour to get to. Halifax would take about 30 minutes to get to by car and Huddersfield Keighley 30-40 mins

In LS28 you have Pudsey/StanningleyFarsley/Calverley, you would easily find something in Pudsey for your budget and possibly Farsley but Calverley is really expensive. Stanningley is cheapest and is ok actually, we have just moved from there, it puts a lot of people off because its near the main roads but good for commuting, a 2 bed terraced would cost in the region of 105k-120k here I like terraced houses here as you get more for your money. You would be able to get a 2 bed semi for this amount though. Schools are also good in these areas.

I would agree with your statement of where to avoid. I would include Bramley to your list.

The affluent areas you mention are at the wrong side of Leeds should you be assigned to anywhere other than LGI or St James. I would class Calverley as being like this type of area.

There is a shopping centre in LS28 with a huge Asda and M&S called the Owlcotes shopping centre, that is right next to the train station and 10 minutes walk from the bus station. Which might be worth a start.

All postcodes in Leeds have council estates in them so you probably need to do a bit of research. Let me know if you need any advice.

Winkle1908

Just wanted to add you will get a lot more for your money in other areas of Leeds, as this area is priced due to the transport links and schools being extremely good.

daveyjp

Bramley is a huge area and where it changes to Armley, Wortley, Swinnow, Pudsey, Stanningley, Rodley, Kirkstall could be debated for hours. As a result don't discount it all, just avoid the huge estates.

It also has a railway station which is always a bonus for trips to Leeds. Rail fares are less than half the cost of bus fares.

MillyMolly01

tescofan wrote: »

Hi guys,

I am looking for a place to stay in Leeds, having stayed in student housing in LS2 the past four years, I dont know much about the surrounding areas of W Yorks.

Work will be at either the LGI or St James Hospital, if im lucky, or Bradford, pontefract/pinderfields/dewsbury, harrogate, Halifax/Huddersfield, Keighley if im unlucky. both of us will be working in either one of these locations.

I would still like to be based in Leeds area as that's where I'm familiar with and have friends at. (and hopefully, be working in LGI/Jimmy's)

Im not too sure which areas are more suitable: im simply looking for somewhere safe. no need for a posh area or anything like that. somewhere along the budget of 125 grand for a two/three bedroom semi d. my partner isnt keen on terraced housing and i am not keen on flats. since there'll only be two of us (and perhaps kids in the future), we dont require too big a house.

Ive googled it but there isnt much information apart from :

1.) Roundhay, Chapel Allerton, Alwoodley, Oakwood (LS8, LS7, LS17 and LS8 respectively) are relatively affluent areas and
2.) Seacroft, Beeston, Holbeck, Hunslet should be avoided (LS9, LS11, LS11 and LS10 respectively)


any leeds residents would like to share some thoughts? cheers, appreciate it x

Unfortunately Leeds is a fairly pricey city despite being in the North. Also, Leeds is awash with back to back houses which does somewhat limit your options. You also have to be VERY careful about where you end up buying as the not so pleasant areas can be AWFUL. Do your research and do it well.

I think you'll struggle to get a semi in the areas you've listed as affluent for £125K. If you do come across a 'bargain' please make sure that it isn't on the border of a not so nice area i.e. some parts of Chapel A border onto Potternewton and Chapeltown. Some parts of Oakwood border onto Harehills. Personally I'd steer clear of these.

Other areas to avoid include Seacroft, Cross Green, East End Park, Gipton, Halton Moor, Armley (although some parts of Armley are nice) and Stanks. Generally speaking, north Leeds tends to be better than the other parts of the city but you still do need to be careful (avoid anywhere near the Hawksworth estate) and you pay a premium for a north Leeds postcode.

With your budget in mind I'd be focusing my search on Pudsey, Rodley, Farsley, Rothwell and Morley. You may be able to get somewhere in Horsforth if you're lucky, or a flat (if that's an option?) in the better parts of LS16 or LS17. Middleton in LS10 has historically not been one of the better areas but a MASSIVE new 'village' has been built on the outskirts by 5 big name developers (for some reason it has two names; Heritage village and New Forest village) which offers affordable housing. This new village has really improved the area and I'd have no reservations about buying there. Building is still taking place, I forget the names of all the developers but Bellway and Barrett are definitely two of them so see their websites for more info.

Good luck!

MillyMolly01

And another thing, not all of Beeston is bad. I think the area east of the Cross Flats Park should be avoided but the west side just off Old Lane is fine. Take a drive out there if you have time to see for yourselves.

If you want to avoid student land then stay away from Hyde Park and certain parts of Headingley. Far Headingley is a different story, very nice and quiet but again I think you'd struggle with your budget. You may be able to get a decent flat on the Weetwood/Far Headingley border though. Burley/Kirkstall as an area is fine, but perhaps not very attractive, a mixture of students, young first time buyers, renters and a few families, but the majority of the houses are back to backs.

i_want_to_believe

My daughter has justed started at St James as an F1, she was in the same position as you not knowing the area. We found a delightful flat for her in Chapel Allerton, 15 mins away from the hospital.
Hope it goes well.

Middy

I have lived in Leeds and Wakefield for 5 years and I can add a few more places to avoid list:
. Little London - full of druggies
. Dewsbury - half of the town is Asian and the other half Karen Matthews type women and their 6 sprogs from 4 fathers. I am not racist.

For around £125k in Alwoodley - you can only get flats or ex council housing - which looks like its built with non brick material.

This property in Pudsey looks nice and nicely priced http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38534954.html?premiumA=true

A reasonable 3 bedroom end terrace (I know people that don't like living in terraced but live in an end terrace but feels like a semi - ie one side is free from housing) http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Pudsey.html?sortByPriceDescending=false&minPrice=100000&maxPrice=125000&includeSSTC=true&_includeSSTC=on&index=50