Best places to live in Leeds, West yorkshire?

tescofan

Hi all,

thank you for your kind and helpful replies. Its been really informative-especially amongst people who aren't students!

I'd like to state a few things:
-the 125 grand is a rough guide, I've calculated that with some help from my parents, I'll be able to afford a 25%-30% deposit for the mortgage which will allow me to 1.) access lower mortgage rates and 2.) with forecasted income, be able to pay off the remaining within a decade. I just dont like the idea of being indebted to a bank; I shudder at the thought of a monster 25 year mortgage

We can probably go up to about 140k, but that's the maximum for us.

Terraced housing should not be a problem, I think i can convince the gf that it's alright
both of us aren't keen on a flat -having lived in a "house flat" for the past four years, we know first hand the inconvenience of having inconsiderate, drunken and unruly people staying in the same building, especially when it comes close to exams!

obviously when money isnt so tight anymore, we'd move to a bigger place in a better area.

again, thank you all for the kind advice!

Strapped

Chapel Allerton - I'd second what's been said about "not the Harehills side". :eek:

itsamystery_2

Middy wrote: »

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

I live in Dewsbury and I think you are being a little harsh on the town. There are places to avoid but it's actually a decent place to live.

Whilst the town centre doesn't have much going for it, lots of pound shops, charity shops, poor pubs etc., it does have a very good market where I go every week to buy my groceries.

In addition, it has the benefit of excellent transport links, in particular the railway line. You can get to Leeds in less than 15 minutes, Huddersfield in 10 minutes, Manchester and the airport in 50 - 70 minutes.

Roads are good too. I work in Wakefield and it takes my 30 minutes in rush hour.

It also has the benefit of being close to Heckmondwike Grammar School. It might not be in the catchment area but it's not far away.

The town is on definitely on the up. There is the re-generation of Pioneer House in town, a great park at Crow Nest and there is a 60 acre Nature Reserve being constructed as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

Kathy535

I was in a similar position to you about 12 years ago. I had a job in Leeds (not far from Jimmy's) and needed to find a house. I had no knowledge of Leeds but quickly found out that all the areas I liked, with good schools (my child was 5yrs old at the time) were way out of my price range. A colleague suggested Wakefield as it was on the M1 and A1 so good for getting back down south and only 12 miles or so from the office. She was travelling the 8 miles or so from Horsforth and it was taking her longer to get to work than it takes me now. wakefield has some rough areas and isn't very pretty, but there are some lovely villages on the outskirts which is where I ended up so I'm very happy. Plus it's much cheaper.

Anyway, I found that Leeds seemed to have a lot of very nice areas which suddenly changed in the course of one street to really rough areas. I rang the fraud department of the local council and asked them for their views on my short list, they were very honest and helpful.

StuC75

I would suggest Cleckheaton \ Liversedge area, 3 bed semi's abundant, and good motorway access into leeds. Plenty in the £140k range that might be able to negotiate on price wise..

embob74

Kathy535 wrote: »

Anyway, I found that Leeds seemed to have a lot of very nice areas which suddenly changed in the course of one street to really rough areas.

I always found Leeds amazing in that every great area borders a really bad area! E.g. Chapel Allerton is great but borders Chapeltown which is bad. Roundhay is great but borders Harehills which is bad.

Have you looked into the town centre flats OP? I hear they are really cheap now as there is such an abundance of them. Ones near the river tend not to be too close to the main town and the pubs/ clubs so would be great for a young couple. Obviously you would need to get one with parking as this is extortionate in Leeds centre.

I recently moved from Wetherby which is a lovely area, very affluent with lots of amenities (local shops, supermarkets, schools and good road access) although it may be out of your price range unless you go for the council estate which isn't so nice but better than most.
It may seem a trek to LGI or Jimmys but only took me about 25 mins (12ish miles) which is about the same time as someone living closer due to the built up areas they have to go through. And it's only about 20 mins to Harrogate.

embob74

I also know Seacroft and Whinmoor areas. The trick is to find a property on the outskirts of Seacroft (those near the Ring Road) but Whinmoor is a nice area. It was quite a big council estate but a lot are privately owned now.
As PP said you can be on a great street and turn the corner for it to be dog rough so perhaps when you have narrowed your options you can come back for opinions :-)

embob74

I always find Rothwell to be quite pleasant although the town shopping area has all but died now. The middle area (Manor Road) is still a lot of council but ok nonetheless as it seems to be full of working people and Lofthouse is also nice. Lots of greenery about so it looks pretty :-)

Good links once again to Leeds centre without being part of it.

Middy

itsamystery wrote: »

I live in Dewsbury and I think you are being a little harsh on the town. There are places to avoid but it's actually a decent place to live.

Whilst the town centre doesn't have much going for it, lots of pound shops, charity shops, poor pubs etc., it does have a very good market where I go every week to buy my groceries.

In addition, it has the benefit of excellent transport links, in particular the railway line. You can get to Leeds in less than 15 minutes, Huddersfield in 10 minutes, Manchester and the airport in 50 - 70 minutes.

Roads are good too. I work in Wakefield and it takes my 30 minutes in rush hour.

It also has the benefit of being close to Heckmondwike Grammar School. It might not be in the catchment area but it's not far away.

The town is on definitely on the up. There is the re-generation of Pioneer House in town, a great park at Crow Nest and there is a 60 acre Nature Reserve being constructed as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

To be fair, I moved from Wakefield 5 years ago the weekend just gone so not visited Dewsbury since then.

meer53

StuC75 wrote: »

I would suggest Cleckheaton \ Liversedge area, 3 bed semi's abundant, and good motorway access into leeds. Plenty in the £140k range that might be able to negotiate on price wise..

I second this. I live in Gomersal but work in Leeds. I use either the M62, M621 and the M1 to get to work, depends on how i feel ! I can be in Leeds centre within 30 mins on a good day ! At least i'm not limited to just one route.

Good schools nearby, my son went to Heckmondwike Grammar. Some dodgy areas same as everywhere else but not as many as Leeds. Birkenshaw would be a good place to look too.