Steppenpig Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I spent quite a bit of time working out the median prices for various towns to see if I could afford to live anywhere, and it turns out that all the places I selected Up North fit my criteria, roughly the lower quartile for 2-bed houses under 100k. The only towns that didn't make the cut were York, Whitby and Chester. The list is roughly in population size, but that wasn't so easy either. I tried to select recogisable towns with a character of their own, separate from any major conurbations. I'm not sure about some of them (Newcastle, Grimsby) but I just liked the sound of them anyway. Some of the places probably sound a bit crummy (Blackburn?) but I quite like crummy places, as long as I don't get murdered or robbed or fall over dead drug addicts in my driveway. Feel free to comment on the towns in any way whatever, or suggest others of interest. One of the things that surprised me was that the housing stock of Preston was mostly reasonably pleasant, despite the town centre being a hell hole. In fact, most of the northern towns seem to have suffered a lot less from the mediocre modern housebuilding that plagues the midlands and south (presumably due to low population growth). (Sorry about it being somewhat on topic. There isn't a sub-forum for "North") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMark Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I spent a few years living in Blackpool, and visited both Lancaster and Preston. Frankly I didn't see a lot wrong with Preston town centre and Lancaster is not visually unattractive. Both from the perspective of two daytime-only visits. Going purely on bias based on what I know and do not know, Preston gets my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steppenpig Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Frankly I didn't see a lot wrong with Preston town centre and Maybe I'd had a tiring day. I remember the train journey between Preston and Lancaster as being spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Generation Game Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Well I'm boomeranging back from London to my folks house in the Yorkshire Wolds in 3 weeks. Lovely part of the world but employment's a bit hit and miss. Like most things it depends on your criteria. I visited Durham for a university open day many years ago. Very pleasant place but I'm not sure there's much there outside of the university (Newcastle would be almost diametrically opposite). Carlisle might be nice for access to the lakes. I've been to Preston on a couple of nights out and found it an ok place (although I think we ended up in St Annes/Blackpool). Scarborough and Grimsby have both seen better days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Wow - Whitby up there with York + Chester - in cost. Scarborough probably offers the best value to facilities going in the UK at the mo. (Im from Whitby). There are some great houses available for some great prices (relative to the rest of the UK). The town - bar a few bits - is not a sh1thole, something I could not say about a lot of towns - North + South. The countryside is fantastic - Dalby beats the New Forest hands down. You have the coast which is great. And you not too far from civilisation/goods shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Grimsy a crap hole. Scarborough is not - a bit rough edges. Bring your own employment though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turned Out Nice Again Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Stayed a week in Whitby a few years ago. Searched in vain for a mobile phone shop end was told the nearest was in Scarborough. No shortage of fish and chip shops, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northerner Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Huddersfield looks the best bet to me on that list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Carlisle has its fair share of crappy houses (although mostly older crappy houses) around the edge but I quite like the centre. It's also got the distinct advantage of not being in an area crowded with a load of other towns and cities nearby, so as well as the area not feeling like an overcrowded mess it's also not just a dormitory to somewhere else. It's got the downside that Carlisle United are have another bad season. Fickle supporter me, I went to more games when I was living in France than I have done in the last couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Sutton Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Why no Manchester? Would be my first choice (of anywhere in the UK), then Newcastle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northerner Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I went on a Recce to Huddersfield once and it was sunny! I moved there, and one day 2 1/2 years later it was sunny again! ... and you thought he was famous for his pipe ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Generation Game Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Carlisle has its fair share of crappy houses (although mostly older crappy houses) around the edge but I quite like the centre. It's also got the distinct advantage of not being in an area crowded with a load of other towns and cities nearby, so as well as the area not feeling like an overcrowded mess it's also not just a dormitory to somewhere else. It's got the downside that Carlisle United are have another bad season. Fickle supporter me, I went to more games when I was living in France than I have done in the last couple of years. Does it flood much or was it a one-off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eight Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 You missed my fine home town off that list! Direct train to London and everything! Don't let the gypsies scare you - one in ten of them are lovely people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Generation Game Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Stayed a week in Whitby a few years ago. Searched in vain for a mobile phone shop end was told the nearest was in Scarborough. No shortage of fish and chip shops, however. They do have a lovely assortment of shops selling 100 year old glass bottles though . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Why no Manchester? Would be my first choice (of anywhere in the UK), then Newcastle. ~ Cos it's too near Oldham? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Does it flood much or was it a one-off?Only the one big one that I know of (which doesn't rule out others by any means), and it wasn't the whole city. There's been a lot of work done on flood defences since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Stayed a week in Whitby a few years ago. Searched in vain for a mobile phone shop end was told the nearest was in Scarborough. No shortage of fish and chip shops, however.Sounds good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive Sadman Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Huddersfield looks the best bet to me on that list. Huddersfield is quite segregated, pakistanis and then every one else...i'd not consider any town of any size in Lancs or yorks for this very reason. Of the ones listed, Lincoln, Carlisle and Durham are probably the 'nicest' towns with lowest crime and disorder...though Lincoln has crap wages and Carlisle is pretty darn isolated. I've always liked Derby, its convenient for a lot of places, has a nice centre, and it seems more truly 'multicultural' than the proper north towns, perhaps because of a reasonable sized student population...if thats your thing, (ie not just 'bi-cultural' or muslims vs non-muslims) The others are on the coast. I dont like the coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Huddersfield ought to be a bigger Northern Bath - nice buildings and all that (Yes, I know about Saltaire). But its not, its a little Mipur/Kabul. My standard response to any pro-immigration person these days is to ask them when they are moving to Bradford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uptherebels Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Derby is great, but can not really be described as Northern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northerner Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Derby is great, but can not really be described as Northern. Agreed, but this map of the north does not clear things up either ... ... best just stick with the old favorite ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 South of Shap is southern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steppenpig Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 spyguy - Wow - Whitby up there with York + Chester - in cost. > a little more than Chester, but less than York. About the same as southern powerhouses such as Stafford,Northants or Peterborough Turned Out Nice Again - Stayed a week in Whitby a few years ago. Searched in vain for a mobile phone shop end was told the nearest was in Scarborough. No shortage of fish and chip shops, however. > If only I could afford Whitby Oliver Sutton - Why no Manchester? > I tried to avoid the major conurbations, as I thought it was probably not be easy to do the price comparisons, as there is probably more variatio within the cities than between them. Plus I don't know my geogrphy well enough. So if I do a search on rightmove, manchester is certainly cheap enough, but I look at the individual property and see it is in salford, so does that count? do I have to do separate comparisons for each district? too complicated. eight - You missed my fine home town off that list! Direct train to London and everything! > Darlington? Is that a serious reccomendation or a bluff? It certainly meets the price criteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steppenpig Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Derby is great, but can not really be described as Northern. In the beginning I was just looking for cheap areas, I just didn't realise they would all be in the North. There are probably a few other places in the Midlands that are equally cheap, but does anyone know why it is sicnifivantly cheaper than Nottingham for example? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 What about somewhere within an easy commute to Edinburgh or Glasgow ? Job opportunities must be hugely greater than most (All ?) of the places you noted ? Or is that too up North !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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