Making a fresh start, where would you live?

quotememiserable

LeapOfFaith wrote: »

Manchester does have a special place in my heart, I have also considered Didsbury & Chorlton as I could just about afford a small house there with a little garden.

I've lived in quite a few places around the country, right now I live in Chorlton and I wouldn't swap it. It depends what you want though, I like it for its trendy bars and independant restaurants, some good green open spaces and the mersey valley, plus now we have the tram and it's only three stops to didsbury or the other way into manchester town centre, which is full of gig venues and theatres. Other places that have been mentioned like Saddleworth are only 10/15 miles away but are completely different, much more living near wide open spaces, but very little night life and without the transport links.

moneyistooshorttomention

trailingspouse wrote: »

Read your OP, and came on here to suggest Hebden Bridge - then discovered that it had already been mentioned!! We rented a 4-bed 'executive' style house between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden for £850 - that was 5 years ago, but a budget of £900pm should still get you something worth having. Hebden Bridge has its own style, definitely worth looking in to.
Other areas in West Yorkshire that are worth looking at - Ilkley, Skipton, Bingley.
Or what about Northumberland? Closer to Scotland, and towns like Morpeth and Alnwick are lovely - and if you want a city, Newcastle is easy to get to.
It sounds lovely, being able to work anywhere - we were in a similar situation 8 years ago. We'd been working abroad, and as we ran our own company and worked worldwide, we could live anywhere - it's a hard decision to make.

If you're fine about living further north - Todmorden does look interesting to me. Just in process of getting 3 more (modern style) eateries. Check out "Incredible Edible Todmorden" and I'd certainly be in that if I lived there.

DottieDam

I went to uni in Leeds then lived there for a while after. I think the problem is finding a nice area to live near the centre that isn't student-ville. And that also isn't an industrial-era terrace to buy (although you might be OK with this).

Hebden Bridge is quite far away and is still a small town so I wouldn't call it happening. Yeah it is pretty and got a good art culture but you will struggle to get a train home from Leeds after a gig say.

Your areas in Glasgow seem well suited for what you want. But then I recently chose an area of the UK to live and chose Glasgow so I am biased. We were in Edinburgh but couldn't afford to buy a house with a garden. Also Glasgow has more stuff going on and is easy to get out to countryside.

LeapOfFaith

trailingspouse wrote: »

Read your OP, and came on here to suggest Hebden Bridge - then discovered that it had already been mentioned!! We rented a 4-bed 'executive' style house between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden for £850 - that was 5 years ago, but a budget of £900pm should still get you something worth having. Hebden Bridge has its own style, definitely worth looking in to.
Other areas in West Yorkshire that are worth looking at - Ilkley, Skipton, Bingley.
Or what about Northumberland? Closer to Scotland, and towns like Morpeth and Alnwick are lovely - and if you want a city, Newcastle is easy to get to.
It sounds lovely, being able to work anywhere - we were in a similar situation 8 years ago. We'd been working abroad, and as we ran our own company and worked worldwide, we could live anywhere - it's a hard decision to make.

Thank you for your reply

It certainly is a great position being able to work from anywhere, it just throws up a huge decision on where to move :rotfl:, however it is certainly a first world problem!

I do love Hebden, not much on the market at the moment, however it would certainly fit with my budget when something comes up, 2 Beds seem to be between £500-£700 . Will also have a look at the other areas in Yorkshire that you mention. :T

LeapOfFaith

quotememiserable wrote: »

I've lived in quite a few places around the country, right now I live in Chorlton and I wouldn't swap it. It depends what you want though, I like it for its trendy bars and independant restaurants, some good green open spaces and the mersey valley, plus now we have the tram and it's only three stops to didsbury or the other way into manchester town centre, which is full of gig venues and theatres. Other places that have been mentioned like Saddleworth are only 10/15 miles away but are completely different, much more living near wide open spaces, but very little night life and without the transport links.

Thanks! I do love Chorlton and I am viewing somewhere there on Wednesday... Like you said.... I do need a bit of nightlife, I'm still a single girl, so it would be nice to meet someone eventually and not cut myself off too much!

I previously lived in Dids (east) and did enjoy it but Chorlton has a bit more of the vibe that I'm looking for.

LeapOfFaith

DottieDam wrote: »

I went to uni in Leeds then lived there for a while after. I think the problem is finding a nice area to live near the centre that isn't student-ville. And that also isn't an industrial-era terrace to buy (although you might be OK with this).

Hebden Bridge is quite far away and is still a small town so I wouldn't call it happening. Yeah it is pretty and got a good art culture but you will struggle to get a train home from Leeds after a gig say.

Your areas in Glasgow seem well suited for what you want. But then I recently chose an area of the UK to live and chose Glasgow so I am biased. We were in Edinburgh but couldn't afford to buy a house with a garden. Also Glasgow has more stuff going on and is easy to get out to countryside.

Thanks Dottie, Yes I do have Glasgow on my list... I have had a good look around Leeds and spent the day yesterday there... I do love the place/people etc but I did find a lot of the areas quite studenty.... Chapel Allerton seemed nice though.

The areas in Glasgow (Hillhead, Broomhill, Kelvinside) would be at the top of my budget , from looking and viewing a few places it seems that for a 2 Bed flat in an old tenement is around £800-1000 PCM. Like you mentioned, Edinburgh is lovely but for what I want, would be a bit too out of my budget. What other areas of Glasgow would you recommend ? I've seen a lot around Shawlands but not sure of the area...

scottishminnie

Perhaps worth having a look at Stirling or Bridge of Allan if you are open to a return back to the frozen north. Stirling is a lot more cosmopolitan than the sleepy town it once was and the transport links to Glasgow/Edinburgh and the south are pretty good. It certainly fits the plenty to do on the social front requirement.

Dundee is also very much up and coming these days with the new V&A museum and a lot of regeneration going on.

Neither of the above are particularly cheap however I guess in comparison to London they may be a snip!

hazyjo

Leigh-on-Sea!

Happiest place to live in 2016. Second place in 2017.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-3741240/Leigh-Sea-Essex-coast-happiest-place-live-UK.html

I'm only 4-something miles from Southend Airport so you'll prob get North and to Scotland in less time than being in the middle of the country and driving or getting train!

airandwater

Ha! My other half is from Ayrshire.

£900/Month for a 2 bed with outdoor space rules out the South East so the north it is.


My advice is make a shortlist of cities like Bristol, Manchester and Leeds. Then use AirBnB to stay at all three at £20-30 pound per night.

Benzanna

I had this dilemma at your age. I moved away from my home area - Sussex. I did a fair bit of research and chose Wokingham in Berkshire. Great links to London and the South coast. Brilliant schools, low crime and it's got a real community feel. It's a market town, but isn't too small. It's also come top of various lists for best places to live...