Towns in West Yorkshire

I know I've asked a lot of questions trying to narrow down a particular town we should look for a house in, but I've got one more!  For some background, it's me (pregnant, due in February), my British husband, and our toddler and we're moving to West Yorkshire in November.  We came to decide upon West Yorkshire based on pricing, my husband's family, and familiarity.  Unfortunately, he's no help whatsoever in narrowing down what town to look in because he was just sort of oblivious to it when he lived there!

So far, the only thing I've really gathered is to avoid Bradford (which sucks, because there seem to be a lot of nice houses there in our price range!).  Also to note, we're going to be renting, looking at around £500 pcm until we're ready to buy a house.  My husband will be the only one working.

I check upmystreet.co.uk, but I've been told that its demographics are misleading, so I really only look at it for the crime statistics.  Based on that, I'd narrowed things down to Huddersfield and the immediate Leeds area, but then I was told that Huddersfield isn't a really nice area (run-down, dodgy, etc.).  Is that the general consensus?

Basically, I'd LOVE it if anyone could recommend specific areas that are safe and nice.  I'm not that bothered about being in an area with other young families, although it would be a plus.

Hmm, your housing budget may rule out some places as well. I think you might struggle to find a place big enough for a family at £500 pcm in the nicer areas of Leeds. Have you checked rightmove.co.uk?

To give you a data point, I'm in a fairly studenty area of Headingley (LS6). We pay £675 pcm for a so-so terraced house with two double bedrooms, a tiny office, and a small paved back garden. 

I think Mrs. Robinson will be able to give some advise on this as well-she lives nearish to Leeds..as does Andee

I live in Harrogate in North Yorkshire, near Leeds and York and we pay £525 for a one bedroom though it is notoriously expensive here...Other than that, I have no other advice     I just moved here a month ago sorry!!!  Good luck with everything  

Oh, and we used rightmove.co.uk to find out apartment as well! 

You can't really generalise about one city either as each one in this area has good and part parts.

If you're looking at Leeds my tips for nice areas which aren't as expensive would be Rodley or Pudsey.

Another thing I'd look at would be the small villages in the area. I'd assume they'd be cheaper than the bigger cities and if you get one on the train line you could get to those bigger cities fairly easily.

I wouldn't rule out Bradford.  Our friends live there (don't know what their house costs) and have a bigish house and big back garden.  There are loads and loads of Indian / Pakistani restaurants in Bradford, too though you'll probably find that in much of W. Yorkshire anyway.

I live in Leeds, a very nice area less than a mile from Mrs. Robinson.  We are about 20 minutes from Leeds city centre.  Our place is about 600 a month, but would be too small for you guys because the second bedroom is only about 4'x6'--OK for the baby, but not the toddler.

The larger houses in our area are more expensive of course.  Armley would be more affordable and close to Leeds city centre--we almost moved there into a big house for the same price, but it was much more house than we needed.  My husband really doesn't like Armley though and finds it depressing and definitely not as nice as where we are now.

I'll ask my hubby for some more suggestions when he gets home.

You can't really generalise about one city either as each one in this area has good and part parts.

If you're looking at Leeds my tips for nice areas which aren't as expensive would be Rodley or Pudsey.

Another thing I'd look at would be the small villages in the area. I'd assume they'd be cheaper than the bigger cities and if you get one on the train line you could get to those bigger cities fairly easily.

Agreed!  Rodley is nice and a 20 minute walk from my house.  I worked in Pudsey and have friends who live there (newlyweds) and I'm pretty sure their house is bigger than ours, plus they have a front and back garden.  Not sure what they pay, though...

To give you a data point, I'm in a fairly studenty area of Headingley (LS6). We pay £675 pcm for a so-so terraced house with two double bedrooms, a tiny office, and a small paved back garden. 

That's really interesting. We're only what...40 miles or so away in South Yorkshire and we pay exactly £500pcm for a 2 double bedroom terrace with a huge kitchen and a nice garden.  And that's not uncommon in the neighbourhoods we were looking at (middle of the road type places, some areas being fairly studenty.)  I think a 3-bed in those same neighbourhoods would run about £550-600 though.

West Yorkshire is a very varied place - rural, urban, hilly, flat and all sorts in between.  I am sure you will find somewhere to suit you!

What are you looking for?  Small town, big city, village or suburb?  I live in the small town of Ilkley and really like it, but the cost of housing is horrendously expensive.   We pad £500 pcm for a 3 bed semi four years ago - it would probably a lot more now.

More reasonably priced small town/suburban locations in my 'bit' of West Yorkshire (Airedale/Wharfedale) could include: Baildon, Bingley, Calverley, Guiseley/Rawdon, Horsforth, Pudsey/Rodley, Saltaire, Silsden.

I really like Halifax and Huddersfield as places to visit, but I don't know much about living there.  I wouldn't write them off.

Where will you need to be for work?  Traffic congestion (and the price of petrol) is a problem here, so that should be a big factor in deciding where to live.  I use the train every day to get into Leeds and am very happy with my commute (cheap, quick and lovely scenery).  Have a look at www.wymetro.com for bus and train information.

Happy hunting!

Brokensemaphore, where is your husband going to be working?  West Yorkshire covers quite a large area; surely knowing that would help narrow things down a bit.  Also, will he/you have a car for commuting and shopping?  Do you need to live near a train station or near a good bus route?  Do you think you'll be in this place long enough to be concerned about schools?  School starts earlier here than in the US, so maybe that's an important consideration.

I also wouldn't rule out Bradford.  There are nice, as well as nasty bits, as there are in Leeds and probably everywhere.  In Leeds, Horsforth and Shadwell are areas that haven't been mentioned, which are closer to the outskirts than some of the others.  There are several nice towns to the north of Leeds, notably Otley, Menston, Burley in Wharfedale, and Ilkley.  All of these except Otley are on a train line into Leeds.  Ilkley is pretty expensive, though.  Wetherby is a nice town a bit further afield, and there are several really nice small towns between there and Leeds, but you would probably need a car to live in that area.  Boston Spa is another nice area.

If you've found nice, affordable houses in Bradford, why not mention the areas they are in - people here may know whether or not they are ok.

Just read Yorkshire/Virginia's post, with which I am in basic agreement.  But thought I would mention that the commute on the train from Ilkley is a different propostion than from any of the towns closer in to Leeds on that line.  Ilkley is at the end of the line, so there is no trouble getting a seat during rush hour.  People taking the train from Burley, Menston, or Guiseley can have trouble getting a seat during rush hour, and people in Guiseley have even been left standing at the station because of crowded trains.

  In Leeds, Horsforth and Shadwell are areas that haven't been mentioned, which are closer to the outskirts than some of the others.  There are several nice towns to the north of Leeds, notably Otley, Menston, Burley in Wharfedale, and Ilkley. 

I live in Horsforth.  Otley and Ilkley are really nice but expensive.  Yorkshire/Virginian's house will be more than 500 a month these days, especially with 3 bedrooms.

With all the talk about NW Leeds I just had another thought (first time for everything!) - Yeadon could be an option if you're looking at Leeds.

I do agree with the people saying the biggest factor will be where your husband will be working. Even different areas close to each other could massively affect the length/difficulty of commuting.

Happy hunting!

Oh I was hoping you would show up!  You are the best person to answer this question, of course! 

I agree mostly with what everyone else has posted - Andee and I live in the same town (in NW Leeds).

I wouldn't wholly rule out Bradford and Huddersfield - like anywhere, I'm sure there are some nice & some not so nice neighborhoods there.  Huddersfield is too far out (commuting-wise) from Leeds for my tastes, but lots of people do make that commute.

Brokensemaphore , i am a Bradford born and bred lad and it's ok as long as you find the right areas. Skipton and Haworth both have bradford postcodes and both are beautiful places to live ( in fact the next time i move will hopefully be Haworth), also look into the Baildon, Willesden, Cullingworth, Thornton, and Denholme areas of Bradford. Good luck in your search.

Luckily, there are TONS of 3-bedroom houses, lots semi-detached, in many areas of West Yorkshire for around £500/month (based on rightmove.co.uk), so I'm not worried about that at all

My husband won't be looking for a job until we get there and find a place, so we're able to be free in that regard (we're lucky to have a large enough savings to not have to worry about employment immediately, although he does have a standing offer for employment at his brother's company in Dewsbury).

We're not looking for any specific type of area in particular, be it city, suburb, etc.  I guess somewhere with grass would be nice, but if we could get a bigger place cheaper in a city area, that's fine with us.  Really all I'm bothered about is size (enough space for a family with a toddler and infant), safety, and that sort of thing.  I don't think we'll be renting long enough to worry about schools yet, as we hope to be able to buy within 5 years or so.

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far!