Anyone know West Yorkshire (Leeds in particular) well?

spirit

kathrynha wrote: »

Even in the nicer areas of the city their are patches of not so good, but round where I am you can pretty much tell those areas by a visit to the place, or if you are interested in NW Leeds I am willing to pm you a list of specific places to avoid.

That would be very kind of you kathrynha

spirit

hanfrangipane wrote: »

Glad you have found it useful so far! The exclamations thing is an issue with the board today - mods have been editing the spam filters to try and tackle the spam attack this morning, it will disappear soon!

Hunslet/Belle Isle aren't great, no. But they are close to the centre and are generally better than they have been in the past. Part of their address is stourton grange - looks about 1970s modern housing? when there in the summer, I wanted to go to the cash machine. DS walked me to the nearest shop and warned me that we took a snicket? through an estate (walking) and through that alleyway, well it was like Beirut there! I wouldn't want to walk there in the dark, or want DS or DiL to!

If you are moving to be close to them then I would personally stick south of the river. Commuting wise Rothwell/Oulton for example are really easy to get into Leeds Centre but you're also close to both the M62 and the M1 within 5-10 minutes so it opens up job searches to Wakefield and Sheffield or even as far as Manchester if need be. Also handy for if you were wanting to nip south again to visit any friends or family you have down there. Rothwell we drove through (i was driving so not looking around much) when we went to Oulton Hall spa. we also went back that way for the graduation dinner with DiLs family, there is a big Carvery place there. DD has moved to Warrington for work, so that makes the above areas of interest.

My sister commutes into Leeds uni every day from Robin Hood which has a direct bus route (110) and she finds it fine. If you can get to Leeds bus station there is a city bus that takes you up to the uni. excellent

Also, if your Son and DiL get settled on the south side of Leeds I'd say they're more likely to find something within their budget rental wise in the areas surrounding Rothwell than they would in North Leeds if they wanted to move closer to you in the future. It depends how close you want to be to each other! good thinking!

Personally, I find driving over to North Leeds a pain as it involves going through city centre or going right round the ring road. I couldn't be bothered with that every day, hence choosing a house in Wakefield. I find south leeds transport links much better. I found this to my cost in July! I was evidently the wheels for the week, evertime we went somewhere, it seemed to be across the other side of leeds. We looked at a wedding venue - Weeting something or other? again, I was concentrating on the directions!

Price wise, you will easily get a 3 bedroomed semi in South Leeds for <£200k, probably closer to £150-175k. You'd be able to find something North Leeds but (based on my search a few months ago) you'll get a lot less for your money and I found you had to be on the edge of the not so nice areas to get what I was looking for around that value. Good to know, thank you

Let us know if you have any more questions!

My comments in red

Errata

I wouldn't touch Rothwell / south east Leeds with a bargepole. Wakefield and Castleford are on a mission creep and not in a good way.

spirit

MillyMolly01 wrote: »

A quick scan of Rightmove has come up with plenty of food for thought for the OP. I’ve divided them up by area type, the best way I can. All £200k or less.

Wow, I'm blown away with the amount of work and time you've put in to show me those houses, thank you so much.

funnily enough I had the very first one on my saved rightmove search! quite a few of the others I've now added. Thank you for that.

To show what I have now - This one is round the corner from me and is pretty much identical - other than I don't have a conservatory. My garden is a bit bigger I think.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-31894134.html

spirit

hanfrangipane wrote: »

Hi Spirit,

It sounds like you'd be better placed being on the South Leeds side of things if you want to be close to your family. The North to South drive isn't horrendous but in my opinion it's far enough that I chose to stay this side to be close enough to my own family. I agree with the posts by MillyMolly that there are some really lovely areas to live on the Northern side and you wouldn't go far wrong with quite a few areas that side of Leeds, all of which she has given some great pointers on. On the flip side, there are some areas much closer to your family that are also nice, I know a LOT of people who have lived around our area their whole lives as they like it so much and it really does have a good community atmosphere. It's really lovely that people have spent time answering my questions and finding properties - brilliant.

It depends on priorities really and a good drive around all the areas that you're thinking of. I'm also at work at the moment but I'll try and link to a few nice houses/areas on the South side as MillyMoo has done for the North so you get an idea. The South ones that she has linked are all pretty close to your Son and DIL but she rightly points out that these are bordering on the not so nice area. I looked at a few of these myself and I think they are overpriced for what/where they are. that's where it's more tricky for me, i look at some of the houses and think, wow that's cheap, but then I'm comparing to down here.

Just out of interest, what age are you and what kind of work do you do? Might give a steer on what areas you might like more and where might be best for job hunting etc. 57, divorced years ago and no intention of remarrying. Um, I work in mobile comms - at HQ. Sort of customer management, but more to it than that I have govt security clearance.

And yes, people are friendly My mum's neighbour lets the dog out for her most days if the is a little late getting back from work and takes her bins in and out for her. It's been like that wherever we have lived in the surrounding area! Sounds ideal. people here are not particulary friendly. Even people on the work-provided bus don't speak to you! yet when I lived in Winchester before here, people in the village stop and speak, my ex neighbours are my 2nd mum and dad, even now I've moved.

Keep us updated - happy to chat over PM if you want to know anything else

You are very kind too. can't wait to move now!

spirit

kathrynha wrote: »

"Yeadon" Airport as it is known locally is right at the top end of Yeadon, and although so close to the airport it doesn't suffer from plane noise as it isnt under the flight path, unlike Headingley and top of Horsforth which the plane come in to land over.

Ilkley Moor is still visible from some parts of Yeadon.

Yeadon is a nice place, not that I'm biased or anything.
If you want to find family check out Aireborough Historical Society. Aireborough is the old area of Rawdon, Yeadon and Guiseley before they came under Leeds City Council.

Ah, thanks for that, I will check them out, thank you

pleasedelete

I wouldnt live in South Leeds including Rothwell and Oulton. It is cheaper for a reason.

If i were single in my 50s I would look road by road (they vary) in far headingley, meanwood ,chapel allerton or even a city centre flat. Easy commuting- city living. There are some good blocks of flats with professional tenants. These areas have really changed since the private student flats were built all over the city- they are much less studenty than they were and many more less private rented houses-the students want en suite designer city centre living.

Yes there are students but if you don't like students don't live in Leeds!

That said I wouldn't live in Leeds by choice. York or Harrogate are nicer with good transport links.

spirit

pleasedelete wrote: »

I wouldnt live in South Leeds including Rothwell and Oulton. It is cheaper for a reason.

If i were single in my 50s I would look road by road (they vary) in far headingley, meanwood ,chapel allerton or even a city centre flat. Easy commuting- city living. There are some good blocks of flats with professional tenants. These areas have really changed since the private student flats were built all over the city- they are much less studenty than they were and many more less private rented houses-the students want en suite designer city centre living.

Yes there are students but if you don't like students don't live in Leeds! (my son was a student there until this summer)

That said I wouldn't live in Leeds by choice. York or Harrogate are nicer with good transport links thank you, I will check those out too.

Out of interest, what do you see as the problem with Rothwell/Oulton?

I love gardening and I have 2 cats, so flats aren't really on my radar.

DD (who is working in Warrington) drives but DS and DiL don't. I don't see that changing anytime soon, so I have to bear that in mind.

Errata

spirit wrote: »

Out of interest, what do you see as the problem with Rothwell/Oulton?

/QUOTE]
Much too close to Wakefield, Castleford and Pontecrap which in my very personal my experience have no redeeming features whatsoever.
North east Leeds is one of the points on the Golden Triangle, much nicer.

pleasedelete

spirit wrote: »

Out of interest, what do you see as the problem with Rothwell/Oulton?

I love gardening and I have 2 cats, so flats aren't really on my radar.

DD (who is working in Warrington) drives but DS and DiL don't. I don't see that changing anytime soon, so I have to bear that in mind.

Parts of South Leeds were (are?) traditionally BNP hot spots. They do not represent the rich and diverse culture of Leeds. They are not really part of Leeds- slightly cut off and isolated - as someone else said merging into extending housing estates of west yorkshire. They are towns but with quite limited facilities for the number of people who live there. I dont think that living in Rothwell is living in Leeds (hard to describe)

A single friend lives in the victorian/1920s houses near the spire in chapel allerton which has a nice vibe, lots of activities, restaurants etc. If i had £200k to spend I would start there- you really do need to look road by road as there are some hidden gems of quiet roads. Have a drive around- I still find roads I didnt know existed from time to time. It is very near Leeds met campuses (between the 2).