[Closed] Tell me about Leeds (and the surrounding area)

leeds city center is fantastic. proper buzzing, smart bars/pubs and place to eat.
lots of nice places to live, by the river is getting a bit cheaper at the armouries end.
just outside the city center is a shit hole, and to be avoided like the plague, then it gets a bit nicer again, apart from south leeds, where I live, which is terrible.
me and my wife are thinking of moving somewhere on the river in a year or so.

Commute from Newcastle? Every day?

No way - you won't last five minutes.

John - no, I agree. Not every day. Parents live north of York so I have more local bolt hole and Universities typically allow some remote working. It wouldn't be long term.

Commute from Newcastle? Every day?

It's not [i]that[/i] bad, I did it two days a week for four years whilst my OH did her medical degree and I was going out to Guiseley. The 7.08 train gets you in at 8.40 which would be enough time to get up to the Uni.

Fair enough - a train might be bearable. In a car you would be killing people by week two.

I like Leeds, and the uni is good - I know a few people there. Some people commute from my town but it would probably be a bit far for my taste. If working there I'd probably live somewhere to the north, perhaps around Skipton (end of the decent train service), depends how much you value nightlife over countryside.

Fair enough - a train might be bearable. In a car you would be killing people by week two.

Oh yes, but that goes for driving in Leeds in general.

depends how much you value nightlife over countryside.

Otley would be my suggestion for where to live. Great town, riding from the door, climbing up the road, great pubs.

Great city, and getting better every year. You do need to take local advice on where to live as half a mile can make a big difference in desirability! Most areas of Leeds have nice bits and naff bits and some really expensive areas are only a few streets away from some absolute grot. Personally I like the bit of South Leeds I live in, it has great motorway links and is 10mins away from Leeds centre by train (or 6 miles along the canal). Leeds Uni is good too (I studied there and keep in touch with my old faculty). Good levels of research and a vibrant feel.

Did have a brief look at Otley. Houses in our price range (~£160k, with garage), looked a bit hard to come by! Would have to find some more pennies. Looked very nice online though.

I like rodley and farsley. both seem ok.

At £160k you will be in the less desirable places. I think there are a few nice 2 bed terraces in Otley for around £200k though.

Ten miles due west of Leeds you have Bradford. Houses generally cheaper, and to the north & west you have some great riding. Roads in the Leeds-Bradford area are seriously congested at most times, not just rush hour. Public transport links not as good as you might expect for a county containing over 2 million people.

Leeds is ace. Great city, loads of work, loads of stuff to do. Excellent woodland single track all over north Leeds and within the city boundaries. I live 3 miles from the city centre in a buzzing, mulicultural local neighbourhood yet I can be on trails in 5 mins which take me out into proper countryside without seeing another house. I love it. Great hill riding (north peaks, calderdale, southern yorks dales, Hambletonian hills) all doable in 40 mins by car. Lakes, Wales, and other areas all under 2 hrs

Yep cracking city with a great centre for drinking and eating and some good riding nearby. Unfortunately I live on the flat side of Leeds!!

At £160k you will be in the less desirable places.

Pish!!

160k will buy you a nice 3 bedroom house where I live in sunny rothwell.

el_boufador , do you live in my buzzing multicultural neighbourhood of the junction of chapeltown potternewton chapeltown?
Leeds is very nice good thriving city centre of bars shops restaurants some nice local outer areas Horsforth, Chape- Allerton (the Nottinghill of the North {pmsl}) Otley Wetherby.

The roads between leeds and Bradford leeds and wakefield and all city centers can easily grid lock so if you need to commute train or bike is best.

Surrounding countryside to the north and west is lovely too.

oh east Bradford gives you leeds benefits at Bradford prices.

£160k will get a nice house in a nice area to the north of Bradford eg Bingley Baildon and maybe Saltaire

East Bradford sucks though. Laisterdyke, Thornbury, Holme Wood, Tong Street especially

bearnecessities - Member
At £160k you will be in the less desirable places.
Pish!!

Thanks for the heads up on the bad road situation, that is very helpful and not something I knew about. North and north of Leeds looks to make most sense in terms of travel and access to the countryside, if we can find something we can afford (or find some more money!).

In my couple of limited trips to the city centre, it does seem nice and good to hear good things about the Uni.

Grew up in Leeds and now I don't live there I like it that much 🙂

It's not bad as cities go, most of the nice bits have horrible bits nearby. West and North tend to have more nice bits than South and East.

If you're planning on working at Leeds University and can't wangle a staff parking space forget the car, even with parking a commute to where the University is will have you bald and insane within 6 weeks.

A commute from north of York will not be nice, York itself is pretty much gridlocked on a morning and the A64 isn't the best once you get to Tadcaster you can normally hit a clearish run onto the A1\M1 and down to Garforth where you can get a train into Leeds.

If you're moving into the city with no ties I'd probably recommend somewhere out of Leeds to the East where it's flat, decent links to motorways and there are plans for a major Park and Ride improvement around the Micklefield area in the next few years which should make the commute in better.

Fair enough - I guess it depends on the size / type of place they want.

Re commuting from York, I can get a train from Malton (about 15 mins drive from my parents).

Thanks for the heads up on the bad road situation, that is very helpful and not something I knew about

It's not that bad, yeah peak times can be bad but otherwise i find it fine most of the time.

I live in a bit where I can be on the M1, M62 or A1 in less than 5 minutes, or train into Leeds from my village is only 10ish minutes. And the canal goes virtually past my house as well.

To be honest, I drive to Durham, any big city will be a shock in regards to the roads!

Ahsat - What's your field?

Leeds Uni is a pretty good place to work; the usual interdepartmental spats occasionally, and politicking aside it's like many others IME. The '50s brutalism architecture takes some getting used to, mind. I lived and commuted there from Calderdale for six years I think - driving, on the train or on bike; it wasn't as bad as it's often reputed to be. And in Calderdale the riding is acceptable 😉

The '50s brutalism architecture takes some getting used to, mind.

You're not talking smack about the Roger Stevens are you?

Ahsat - What's your field?

Like you say, every Uni has its problems 😛

£160K should get you a 3-bed semi in a reasonable bit of Skipton, if that's your kind of bag. Train is 40mins into Leeds.

Might bump into my Mrs! She commutes by train each day ftom skipton way. Have a look south of skipton along the train line. Places like silsden, Steeton, cross hills. More for your money & cheaper train season tickets. Seems to jump up if your going ftom skipton. Lots of places to avoid but I'd rather not risk offending anyone! Just ask any estate agents for some advice..We found they were extremely honest when we moved up as to where to avoid if you don't want to see your house value drop.

Surely we've not reached this many posts without a discussion on the merits of different bike shops? We can't have a thread about the joys of living and working in Leeds without the customary mention of the cracking job Al and the team do at [url= http://www.garagebikes.co.uk/ ]garagebikes.co.uk[/url] (south Leeds)

(I don't work there)

Ah one of the lasses on one of the girly mtb groups I'm part of has something to do with garage bikes. Folk to ride with!

Hi ahsat

Thanks for the great advice about the spitfire Iv got one now and it's ace! I'm a leeds boy born and bred. I grew up in East leeds and have lived, worked and experienced every corner of it. It's bed time here but send me an email to my profile and il send you the whole lowdown. We have lived in headingley, Horsforth, chapel a, and now Pudsey. Iv got friends who live in Farsley, Rodley, calverley and thackley too.

Commute in from Harrogate, much nicer to live.

As a former post-doc in earth & environment at Leeds, I feel qualified to answer 😉

I lived in Otley. Probably one of the best places to live, ever. I could ride Singletrack straight from the uni and nearly all the way home although usually I took the fixed road bike in. Riding from the door, stainburnnearby, and proper riding out over Blubberhouses and Skipton way. Pubs and fish n chip shops galore. Market, butchers etc etc.

I miss it and would move back if I could. Now I'm in Norway and planning a move back to academia (Manchester....)

Move towards Sheffield if possible?

Skipton is nice but full of older folk. Hebden Bridge has nightlife (great live music/club venue with national touring acts) as well as nice countryside, but for £160k you'd probably need to be looking at Mytholmroyd.

send me an email to my profile and il send you the whole lowdown

As a former post-doc in earth & environment at Leeds, I feel qualified to answer

Thanks all for the advice.

Not much to add other than I am a student in the Earth and Env Department currently, I think it's really good (although I have little to compare it to). The staff I've interacted with have all been great, from a student's perspective. The uni itself is really nice and vibrant.

The riding is pretty great, once you get into the woods to the north of the city centre.

The architecture is good at the uni, I love the brutalist buildings, particularly Roger Stevens!

The architecture is good at the uni, I love the brutalist buildings, particularly Roger Stevens!

Always great to hear of happy students, that suggests its a good Department. Hope you carry on enjoying your studies.

Having just Googled it, its more attractive than Durham's student union! Its not all 1000 year old Cathedrals up here

I think Dunelm House (the Durham SU building) gets an unfairly bad press. With a lot of hidden-to-the-public service areas, the floorspace is enormous in relation to how, from pretty much every angle, unobtrusive and small looking the building is.

It presents about one and half storeys to the road, and with very broken up frontages on the river side, it is a very clever design indeed - it's really only looking from the side (a view that doesn't impose on anyone) that you get any sense of the true scale of the place.

I also love the similarly modern and reinforced concrete pedestrian bridge over the river next to it.

We lived in Morley for +10 years (many years ago), decent enough especially compared to some of the 5h1t parts of Leeds.

One thing though, before looking to buy somewhere try commuting from there...

Skipton is nice but full of older folk. Hebden Bridge has nightlife (great live music/club venue with national touring acts) as well as nice countryside

Cheeky sod. Most of the old folks get shipped in from the cities for the day. They disappear into the Edinburgh Woollen Mill and various dodgy eateries. Town is lovely and quiet before 11am, and after about 4pm.

I take it you've never heard of the legendary Auction Mart music venue? The smell of animal faeces never fails to enliven the live acts I've seen there. And if you were ever wondering what the hell happened to Toploader, then this is the kind of place they've ended up playing. 😀
Then there's Kooky nightclub, always good for a fight.

What is Shipley like? Looks like good links to Leeds (train) and only a 12 mile ride looking off road the whole way to the Uni. Looks affordable. Still incredibly speculative (havent even applied yet!) and will depend where the OH gets work. Just working out if we can actually afford the move!

Edit: just found [url= http://www.ilivehere.co.uk/shipley-west-yorkshire.html ]this about Shipley[/url]! There is a reason its cheaper!

Shipley is a hole. However, Saltaire, which borders Shipley, is nicer, with lovely historic terraces, Salts Mill. You may also enjoy [url= https://twitter.com/fannysalehouse ]Fanny[/url]. Not sure I'd want to be in the oasis of middle-class affluence in the middle of that lot though. Not without window-locks and an bloody good alarm, anyhow.

Love Leeds. Fantastic place to live. A great choice of independent bars (Bundobust, Friends of Ham, North Bar, Tapped, Adelphi, etc, etc.), restaurants (Reds Tru BBQ, Corner Café, Fuji Hero, etc, etc.) and shops (I don't do that much shopping but there's loads to choice from and more coming). Loads of mainstream places and chains too.

There's plenty of money being invested and growth happening and lots of sporting and cultural events taking place.

North Leeds seems to be very popular and a good place to start looking. Roundhay, Oakwood, Chapel Allerton, Meanwood, Alwoodley, Adel, Headingley, etc.

Think parts of Meanwood more so as it's on the way up with the introduction of Waitrose and Alfred (a sister bar to North Bar) and a few restaurants. It also has quick access to Otley Road and Headingley but remains at arms length from the students. More importantly Meanwood Park is the gateway to some decent riding.

Having lived in Sheffield for 12 years previously (I've now lived in Leeds 5) I'd say the riding is much better (from the doorstep) in Sheff. That said I enjoy my riding here and there are some lovely wooded singletrack elements to link up and play with. I think my loop is 32km. Plus there's still plenty of stuff I don't ride, don't know about or have not discovered (that the Leeds cycling community can help with).

Personally I really like the riding Bingley way (40 mins at most by car or train) but there's Ilkley Moor and Otley Chevin in reasonable distance. Halifax/Hebden/Calderdale. Dales. Peaks. Lakes all one to two hours away.

If you need or want any more info let me know (email in profile).

I take it you've never heard of the legendary Auction Mart music venue? The smell of animal faeces never fails to enliven the live acts I've seen there. And if you were ever wondering what the hell happened to Toploader, then this is the kind of place they've ended up playing.
Then there's Kooky nightclub, always good for a fight.

Hmmm taxi to Skipton for a night out is probably only about £100 return, maybe I should go and see what I'm missing. 🙂

A bit further up the Aire valley from Shipley should provide a reasonable house in your budget in nicer places, 30min train ride into leeds (way better than trying to drive in) and hills/riding/country pubs on your doorstep.

Wharfedale similar, but more expensive (Otley a bit cheaper, but no train).

I know lots of leeds and bradford uni employees that live in one of the two options above.

Glen, are you a university employee?

Well I am still waiting to hear about the job - full interviews wont be till the end of the year if I even get one, but been starting to look round a bit more at stuff. Steeton area does look interesting and affordable! I know a lot of people from the Department I have applied too live in Chapel Allerton, but we were ideally wanting something a bit more rural (with good train link!) - I know moon on a stick! Anyway, some of it will depend where the OH gets a job. Anyway, if the very small chance of me getting a job comes off, I may well take kingofbiscuits and stumpy up on their offers of advice!

a reasonabnle place to live would be Idle, or Greengates.

Once the station is finished then the house prices will start to go up dramatically, its a great location for riding, and is developing quickly.

Some great houses tucked away and some good indian restaurants and a couple of good pubs, but you have Calverley, Thackley, Esholt woods on your doorstep then Baildon moor, Bingley just a couple of miles away.

I live in Otley, been here 23 years now. It's a great small town with all mod cons but only a bus ride out of Leeds. You can also get the train from Menston and there's a regular bus link to the station.

The people are friendly, there's off-road riding within five minutes, you are only an hour from the proper Dales and there's Gisburn and Stainburn (closer) within easy distance. I ride out and take Stainburn in for a bit of teeth jarring fun.

As above, If prices in the Wharfe valley are too steep, look at Saltaire, Baildon, Nab Wood, Bingley, Steeton, Silsden, basically anywhere down the aire valley except keighley.

Great, thanks all. Some places to go and have a drive round next time we are down there, to get a feel for things. Otley does appeal - just fancied a train ride rather than the hour bus into Leeds, but a bus link (or Brompton), but still make that work.

So....6 months later, this is all happening! We will be in Leeds by the end of August! I got one of the University fellowships (massive shock!) and the husband has followed up getting a new job too (based in Bramley!)! House is on the market (though slow) and we are in the desperate throws of looking around Leeds. We have decided to up our budget to ~£230k. Currently looking at LS16 type postcodes of Meanwood (like kingofbiscuits suggested), West Park, Moortown, Adel etc. Also considering Guiseley and if we can afford something, Menston! Also wondering about Farsley, but feels a bit more 'trapped' between Leeds and Bradford in terms of escaping! Think we have decided though we love the likes of Bingley and Baildon, the commute is just too much.

The market is moving so fast in Leeds we might have to end up renting so we are competitive with offers, but trying to avoid it if we can. Thank you for all the advice to date - these places are starting to make a lot more sense having spent a lot of time looking at maps lately.

Next we will be asking for ride suggestions!

nice 3 bed semi going in rothwell. 150k or 100k and a nice camper van.
😀

nice 3 bed semi going in rothwell. 150k or 100k and a nice camper van.

Rothwell a bit of a b***h for getting to Bramley! Otherwise you would have just saved us sooooo much time and hassle!

Have a look round Apperley Bridge - BD10

Handy for canal, new train station just built and a load of new housing being built (or soon to be built)

Have a look round Apperley Bridge - BD10

No one's said Ilkley. On the train line so under half an hour from Leeds station, or a nice ride in at this time of year. I say nice. Okay. On the crossbike.

Main downside is that it's correctly described as the graveyard of ambition. Move to the good life here and there's a strong risk you will lose any enthusiasm for work.

If I was in your position I'd probably go for somewhere in or above the Aire valley, but if you're looking at Menston have a look at Burley too. Next stop along on the train...

We are just finding as we go further along that line, the prices just go up and up (unsuprisingly!). And seeing we have quite major requirements for a garage, it just doesn't work! We had a look at a house at £230k in Ikley and it was shocking! Lol!

Aire valley does look good and better priced, but just a bit worried about the husbands drive to work. He does 12+ hour shifts so epic traffic just isn't ideal. Any views on this in terms of getting to west Leeds would be appreciated.

If I'm driving in it's in late/back late for clearer roads. Dunno about Aire valley. I can think of a potential rat run from high up baildon through menston, back of the chevin to west leads. Yeah, go for baildon. Though I'd've thought £230k would get a small semi in Burley no?

Or go for Tinshill, or as people who've just bought there call it 'Horseforth'.

We really like Baildon. I have to change trains (I have to go public transport to the Uni) and the OH isnt keen on adding that to my travel. Houses are a decent price though.

We could get a terrace in Burley for that money, but no garden and I like a veg patch!

Lol at Horseforth!!

Rothwell a bit of a b***h for getting to Bramley!

agreed.....40 minutes in the rush hour traffic. I work in armley, 30 minutes in the car, 25 minutes via the canal on the bike.
16 years without using the car... 😀

I drive through Farsley quite regularly - seems OK, nice mix, nice houses. Would be very good for Bramley, train into the centre from New Pudsey is pretty good, and is close to the ring road for getting the hell out of Leeds purposes.

I take it you can't afford Calverley? That has similar advantages.

Thanks Martin

I take it you can't afford Calverley? That has similar advantages.

My folks live near Farsley, not too bad and not as trapped as you think. Not far from Rodley if you fancy a canal-side ride, reasonably easy to get out of Leeds to the Dales.

Commuting is reasonable as there are plenty of bus options, train station at New Pudsey and not far from the new Cycle Highway between Leeds and Bradford - the latter may or may not be a good thing as all sides seem up in arms about the design.

the latter may or may not be a good thing as all sides seem up in arms about the design.

Looks decidedly crap to me. Seems to be stopping at every side junction unless they plan to give it priority, which the unmarked design suggests to me is the case.

Or go for Tinshill, or as people who've just bought there call it 'Horseforth'.

Hey - when we lived there we called it 'Cookridge'! Really comical how Horseforth has become a desirable location!

Really comical how Horseforth has become a desirable location!