Celtic Princess

My husband is looking at a job in Leeds and I need to work out whether moving back is realistic. We left (the south) because we couldn't afford a home. My husband is a professor and they get paid less than teachers and do not qualify for the housing help teachers get.

Looking on Rightmove, it would appear that we can buy an average house in the area for £70-£100k, which we could manage and would mean we could move home. But is this realistic for a decent area or do these prices apply to the rough areas (that every town and city has).

What areas would you look at, with public transport links to the university? He currently has a 1.45 hours journey to work so any improvement on that would be great. The closer the better really.

Thanks.

adele

Hi Celtic Princess

I'm from Huddersfield but studied and worked in Leeds for several years before moving to Canada at the start of this year. I would say that £70,000-£100,000 would buy you a very modest house in a less desirable area of the city, but for a nice house in a nice area you would be looking at much more than that. Which areas are you looking at? Being close to the University might be attractive from a commute point of view but living in a very studenty area can have its downsides, and some of the areas closest to the Unis (e.g. Hyde Park, Woodhouse) have high crime rates and are not attractive areas to live in, in my opinion. Headingley has a mixed student/young professionals population but gets very busy as a result. Slightly further out, there are Far Headingley and West Park too. Chapel Allerton is reputed to be a very nice, popular area but I'm sure the prices match. Note that this is just from my impressions and from what I've heard/seen/experienced.

Leeds as a city though is great. It has changed a LOT over the past few years and now has a very good reputation for business, shopping and culture. I really like it as UK cities go...but then I am a West Yorkshire girl so am probably a bit biased And the University of Leeds is a great University, I studied there and then went back last year to work for a while, a really good atmosphere and friendly people :-)

Will you have chance to go visit before making any decisions?

Good luck!

Adele

Sally Redux

I am very out of date as I was a student there a long time ago, but I still wouldn't think 70-100,000 GBP would go very far, confirmed by Adele. Headingly and Far Headingly seemed nice at the time, and they are close to the uni. If you are used to living in the south, the weather is significantly colder there.

Celtic Princess

Thanks for that. We haven't looked at any particular areas yet. We are just trying to figure out if it is a possibility. My husband doesn't want to put all the time and effort into pursuing the job if we cannot afford to live there.

I'll have a look at the areas you have mentioned and see where we go from there.

By the way, we don't want to live in Studentland. We would like somewhere within an hour of the university. After travelling 1.45 each way at the moment, he will think he is in heaven to only have an hours commute.

As for the cold, we're in Sweden at the moment. Yorkshire will feel somewhat tropical to us.

Sally Redux

Good luck with it all.

Celtic Princess

Are there any areas which should be avoided like the plague? Like the area of town where all the stolen cars end up.

Nu-Shooz

China town and Armley. Ruff Ruff.

Farsley and Pudsey are lovely villages in Leeds. But they are near City centre (10-15 mins). Also try Horsforth and Rodley, both desirable, esp Horsforth.

Kooky.

I sold a 2 bed, back-to-back end terrace (albeit Victorian stone and very nicely renovated) in Rodley for about 100k in 2003. Unless things are really bad there at the moment, and Nu-Shooz will know a lot more than me, I think your budget is very modest indeed - sorry.

I've lived in Chapel Allerton and Roundhay too - and a lot rougher areas when I was a student Both nice but pricey, as is Horsforth. Nu-Shooz is pointing you in the right direction, IMO - north west. Calverley is very nice too.

Avoid Seacroft and Gipton, take care in Harehills, avoid the area around St James hospital and yes, some parts of Hyde Park and Woodhouse Moor are a bit rough. Headingley is very studenty but has some nice areas.

Oh add Bramley (most of it) to the one to avoid. Lived there as a student in a council flat so bad that council tenants wouldn't live there.

I was in Leeds last month - annual shopping trip.

el_richo

I'd personally look outside of Leeds and just commute in. You get more for your money and you can avoid the rough areas for the price.

An example of what you could get for around your limit is here or here

About 45 - 60 mins commute at the most. Very close to York, near the river Ouse and the river bank for walks etc