Relocating to Leeds area - recommendations

musashi10

HI there.

I am moving to Yorkshire.

My work will be in Leeds. So I am looking to buy a property in the area.

I don't have a family so I am not bothered about local schools. I also do not want to live in a flat. Ideally a 2-3 bedroom house with a small garden or yard is fine.

I really like the outdoors, so would love to live nearish the countryside. From what I can gather, the whole area isn't too far away from beautiful countryside!
Other important factors for me are area safety. Doesn't have to be the safeist place in the world, but I don;t want the worry of being broken into or anything like that or having drug issues. It's important to have good public transport links to the city centre as well as the countryside.
I also don't want to be preoccupied with flooding dangers either.

My total budget is £170k absolute max, and that would have to include a house pretty much ready to move in.

My research showed that Ilkley looks amazing. But also amazingly expensive! 
The other areas that look quite nice are Saltaire - but not that many houses on market and a little expensive. - Bingley.

And most recently been looking at Pudsey and Bramley areas. Which to me seem like a good compromise on the face of it. You get a lot more house there and there is Bramley station. Interestingly when I extend the search a little from that area, closer to Bradford, just by 1 mile, the house prices get even cheaper! Where I live not much happens in a mile. But I have heard that Bradford is not the best area. So I'm not sure if moving out a little further into Bradford would be a mistake or not? (I know sometimes people exaggerate how "bad" some areas are)

That's my thoughts so far..

I would really appreciate it if anyone can provide me with some feedback on the places mentioned. OR perhaps even suggest some other places that I could conduct searches on considering the above information.

It would be really appreciated.

Thank you

Scotbot

The closer you are to the countryside the more you will pay. I think areas of Pudsey and  Bramley are under the flight path for Leeds/Bradford airport hence lower prices. Check it out. I like Roundhay but that is out of your budget. Try Horsforth not sure whether that is still affordable. Don't  know Bradford

AlwaysWanderlusting

It depends where in Bradford, of course, but if it’s the Pudsey/Bramley side then I know some parts of that are not great. 

Can’t comment too much on the specifics of Pudsey/Bramley as it’s been many years since I’ve been to that side of Leeds, but generally I think they’re okay. 

Most of Horsforth is likely out of budget but some parts of LS16 and LS17, that would put you within a 15/20 minute walk of the station, may still be within your budget if you haven’t looked there already.

You seem to doing what I would suggest, which is looking along the Bradford train route. Saltaire/Bingley etc. are great for getting out into the countryside as well. 

Another train route to consider looking in areas along is the Skipton line.

musashi10

Yes Thank you. I heard that that trainline is relatively good compared to some others for example heading towards Harrogate.

I guess another option is somewhere between Leeds and York - but haven't looked at those areas yet, or checked out the commutes. And guessing the closer to York you get the more expensive also.

musashi10

Baildon area is also somewhere I am looking at.

kangoora

You could look at Pontefract and areas around there to the east, M62 and also A1 on your doorstep and 15-20km to Leeds city centre. There also looks to be a few railway lines running around there you could be able to use for commuting if you can get somewhere close to a local station. We've been thinking about this area for our next (and last) move and prices seem very reasonable. The closer you get to Harrogate the house prices seem to go up exponentially

orangecrush

Are you relying on public transport?  The trains from Horsforth are ok - relatively frequent and you can usually get on.  Look around Cookridge as you may get something like that for your money there? 

There are some nice parts of Pudsey, and it has a train station as you say but the closer you are to the station the closer you are to the ring road - offputting for some.

I've heard good things about Saltaire, but haven't lived there myself.

Are you after more suburban/ rural areas?  Rather than in the city itself?

musashi10

For work I'm looking at commuting by train, or possibly cycle. I've heard that driving is terrible.

Aside from work I spend my time walking and hiking, so the closer to the national parks the better.

Also just looking at Skipton and Cononley - although tiny bit further than would have liked - but bearable . 

pinkteapot

Would you consider renting first? We relocated to the other end of the country a couple of years ago and renting was absolutely worth it. Once actually living there we quickly ruled out some areas and villages that we had assumed, from afar, would be ideal for us. Until you’re there it’s really hard to judge what transport and amenities are like. 

ElizabethRose

musashi10 said:

My total budget is £170k absolute max, and that would have to include a house pretty much ready to move in.

£170k won't buy you a lot in most parts of Leeds especially if you want a house ready to move into.

Bramley is an interesting area although quite a few under your budget. I'd suggest looking at crime rates etc. 

Pudsey is a better area with good links to Leeds and Bradford. 

Bradford is another interesting area and whilst you do get more for your money I'd definitely suggest doing full checks into the area and going at different times of the day.

Others have suggested Horsforth or Cookridge which are both desirable areas and Horsforth has the train station. Houses under your budget are fairly rare and the majority of the ones available are ex council. 

South of the city is cheaper so somewhere like Morley which has a train station and next to the motorway might be better. There's a lot of 2/3 beds under your budget.

I think if you're relocating like @pinkteapot says you'd be best renting to get a feel for the areas. In places like Horsforth houses are selling so quickly you need to be local to view it before it sells.

macman

You can go further out on the Airedale line if you don't mind a slightly longer commute. Skipton is the terminus for the commuter services (41 mins into Leeds, half hourly service), and you can get  a 3 b/r house there for 170K, though for the nicer ones you can pay a lot more. And of course it's the 'Gateway to the Dales'.