UKC

For a single 36 year old man, moving to Leeds for a job. I'm originally from Pontefract but haven't lived in Yorkshire for many many years, so I'm completely starting afresh, no friends etc. Where would you recommend to live and any general tips?

In reply to Andy S:

Need a bit more info.
Where is the job?
What is your budget?
What sort of house are you looking for?
Do you drive?

We live in Beeston, it's a scruffy area but it's cheap, has busses in to Leeds center every 10 mins, there are 2 doctors and a dentist, a asda and a coop, loads of takeaways and you can be on the m1, a1, m62 within a couple of minutes.
Renting starts around £400 a month for a back to back, £550 for a modern 2 bed flat etc.

The wife used to work in Pudsey though and even though it only takes 20 minuets to drive there it was over a hour on the bus. It seems that Leeds is like a bike wheel and all the public transport links run down the spokes to the center so changing areas often involves going to the center and back out again.

In reply to Andy S:

I've lived in the Stanningley/Pudsey area for the last 6 years and I really like it. I'm walking distance from a train station, a supermarket and Pudsey town centre with all the local amenities you'd expect. I'm also walking distance from the Climbing Depot and in the delivery range of the best Indian takeaway I've ever found. The area is a bit scruffy but not rough and rent is fairly reasonable.

Dax's points are good. Traffic in Leeds can be horrendous so keep that in mind. I used to commute from Pudsey to Seacroft every day and it would be a good 45-55 minute drive to go 13 miles!

In reply to Andy S:

More Bradford than Leeds (short train or drive away), but I really liked living in Saltaire. Great bouldering crag in walking distance from home (plus a crap quarry for routes which is apparently classic), great access to Yorkshire grit crags generally, on the way up to the Dales and Lakes.

It's got an excellent pub, it's friendly, and architecturally it's a lot like living in the Hovis advert. Top place. But not actually Leeds.

In fact, I'm thinking of moving back, it's brilliant.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I knew that name rang a bell, it's on the train journey from Sheffield to Skipton, quite a picturesque journey in parts.

In reply to Timmd:


It's worth stopping off to have a look round the mill one time if you pass that way. It's got a nice cafe/restaurant (quite posh), a fantastic bookshop and art galleries including a Hockney exhibition which I think is crap (but great if you like David Hockney I suppose). The architecture is really impressive though.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

It's also surprisingly reasonable to rent/buy there - the benefits of a BD postcode instead of LS I guess. We gave it quite a bit of thought when we moved house in October but in the end proximity to a climbing wall and wanting to remain a reasonable cycle commute distance from central Leeds swayed us to Pudsey.

In reply to climbingpixie:


Yes, very reasonable, I rented one of the little terraces right down by the station for 500 quid. And who needs the wall when you've got the Glen?

In reply to Andy S:

Hebden Bridge! if you (a) can face commute and (b) can face the prices ...and (c) the water

In reply to climbingpixie:



I'm originally from Farsley, which is fairly close to Stanningley, and pop back occasionally. I agree with all of the above, it's certainly much less rough than more central locations in both Leeds and Bradford. Saltaire is nice, but it's a bit of an oasis in a fairly nondescript bit of Bradford, and Pudsey has far more ameneties than Shipley, (where I used to live but regretted moving there).

In reply to Andy S:

As a student at the Uni I've always lived fairly close to campus; I wouldn't recommend this unless you're going to be based on or near the University. I'm now technically on the edge of campus and it's great for getting to the lab in a morning but it's expensive and can be loud on pretty much every night (due to proximity to SU). My boyfriend lives in Wortley, which is really nice. It's mostly quiet, houses seem reasonable, great public transport links to town and great proximity to main roads.

If you can, try and avoid living on the main rush-hour hotspots like A660, A65. If you're a climber I'd recommend living somewhere you can easily get to the Depot or the Leeds wall; might be a good way to make some local friends. You could also look at Leeds MC.

Best of luck with the move and job!

In reply to Ridge:


I lived in Farsley for 20 some years, always found it a bit of a strange place.
Basically split between private housing estates and council ones, the council side is not a sink hole though, it's a nice place.
We lived on the private estate and my van was broken in to at least once a year.
Living in a rough ish part of Beeston for 15 years now and up to 18 months ago we have had zero crime but around 18 months ago someone removed half a panel from my garage roof and 2 weeks before this Christmas I was called out at 2 am, got home again at 5 am and found the cupboard under the stairs didn't have a door anymore. Nothing stolen in either case though.

In reply to Andy S:

Horsforth is very pleasent but expensive I suppose. I rented there and found it fine. It doesn't really have one centre though and I ended up walking about a mile to shop for food even though I was central !!??....

In reply to Andy S:
North is where all the top clunge hang out. Chapel Allerton is full of it.

As John says Saltaire is nice as are village / towns in the Aire / Wharfe valley with speedy rail links - apart from Keithley which ought to nuked from orbit, just to be sure.

D

In reply to Dauphin:
The OP really needs to let us know more about himself: where he's working, what he likes doing apart from climbing etc.

As Jon says Saltaire strikes me as a great place. But then again so is Ilkley (biggest cycling club in the country), and lots of other places in north leeds.

We have mates who live smack bang in the centre (next door to Malmaison) and love it.

Personally I'd head up the Wharfe or Aire vally, depending on how rich you are.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I'm the next stop up the Airedale line, in Bingley. If you work in Leeds, lots of places on the Airedale line are an easy commute.

In reply to Dauphin:

Keighley- or Mordor to give it its full title... as people have said, lots of options. Plenty of city centre flats if you are working in the city centre and don't want to commute. Citybloc, Leeds Wall and the new bouldering wall in Kirkstall would all be in easy range. North Leeds is considerably more expensive. Commuter towns in the Aire and Wharfe valleys can have some bargains- under 30 mins into town on the train and you can get a head start on getting out to the Dales/Lakes.

West Leeds is full of shit kickers.

hth.

In reply to Andy S:

I used to go out with a girl who lived in Beeston. Therefore, my experience of Leeds is limited, but can offer: don't move to Beeston.

In reply to Andy S:

As others have said, it's hard to know exactly what your needs are without knowing a bit more about you.

I live in Yeadon myself and love it. Easy commuting distance to work at the University, perfect for escaping North to the Dales on the bike, great running on the Chevin, and within a few miles of some great crags (Caley, Almscliff etc.).

As I said above, unsure of exactly what your needs are, but I will actually have a room available to rent at my place from ~ Feb 1st if you're looking to rent somewhere short term whilst you find your feet and explore the area.

Feel free to message me if you want more details on the area or the room and best of luck with the move!

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:


Oy don't go knocking Beeston, it's a lovely area.
You can watch the alcoholic tramps pissing against the bench in the park at 10am, you can take a walk through the Bangladeshi area and count burned out houses and view the filth and rubbish everywhere, you can walk through the predominantly white Estate and count the staffies on bits of chain, we have not one but 4 or 5 Polish shops where no English is spoken, just down the hill is the Holbeck red light district.

I like Beeston, it has character.
Never had any problems myself, the local's tend to keep away from me but it possibly helps that I am a big Hairy heavily tattooed biker with lots of big Hairy tattooed biker mates.

In reply to jameswoodman1:

Thanks for the offer, James. How long would it take to get to Leeds Dock on a morning?

I haven't looked at this thread since I wrote it and it's lots of replies! Thanks everyone!

In response to 'we need to know more to offer good advice' - fair point. So...

I'll be working at an office right on Leeds Dock, which is right in the center of Leeds.

I like open mic nights, gigs etc, and play piano and guitar myself, so being reasonably central I think might be a good idea so I have easy access to these sorts of things.

Being a man, and single, I like women, so being somewhere that has lots of them would be good too. One poster pointed out that, "North is where all the top clunge hang out. Chapel Allerton is full of it."

Given all of these things, I was already thinking North of the center, Chapel Allerton, because it's also on the 'right' side of Leeds i.e. you can get to Caley, Almscliffe and all the rest of the Yorkshire Grit without having to go round or through Leeds. I know it's still quite central, but my job will be at Leeds Dock, so...

I don't know the area though and I don't know what commutes are like in Leeds.

Any further advice much appreciated!

In reply to Andy S: You can ride into town from Chapel Allerton in 15 mins, Uphill on the way back..

In reply to Andy S: Leeds Dock is central-ish, but it's definitely not "right in the centre" - a good ten minutes walk from the centre and a bit barren at night.

In reply to andy:

True. To be fair though, not a bad place to live if you like quiet.