Why I shall never leave the North

[Terpsichore]

Actually, I love Yorkshire, and seriously considered moving up there at one point, but work took me in a dfferent direction.

 

Now here is a question for you northerners.  If you were a southerner, contemplating moving north, where would you go?  There are several important points dictating location:

 

1.  Must be within public transport distance of an airport used by budget airlines as well as BA etc.

 

2.  Must be close to a town which can be reached easily by public transport.

 

3.  Must not be out in the middle of nowhere.

 

3.  Must have lovely scenery within short distance. 

 

 

I look forward to hearing your answers!

 

More or less anywhere in the green belt of the metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, West and South Yorkshire and indeed large parts of the surrounding shire counties,  

 

All the major airports - that is to say Ringway, Yeadon, Speke and Doncaster - are connected to the rail or bus networks and all the budget airlines use them, There are long haul flights from Ringway and Yeadon and plenty of good connections to Schipol, Paris, Frankfurt and Heathrow  from all those airports.

 

I incline towards Jim O'Neill's view that the more or less continuous conurbation from Leeds and Sheffield to the Irish sea should think of itself and function as one city in the way that Southern California from Orange County to Ventura (and arguably San Diego to Bakersfield) does. After all the Coastal Range is higher and broader than the Pennines and the distances are much greater. Evan Davies expressed it well in "The case for making Hebden Bridge the UK's second city" 31 March BBC.  Pleasant neighbourhoods within our conurbation are Holmfirth, Ilkley, Dore, Knutsford, Buxton, Alderley Edge, Southport and almost anywhere in the Wirral except perhaps Birkenhead (and even that borough has a cracking park).

 

Benefits of living up North

 

Beautiful scenery - Yorkshire is one of the most picturesque places in Britain

Culture - Ballet, Musical Theatre, Theatre, Art Galleries, exhibitions, Museums all within 30 mins drive of my home in 2 fabulous cities (Leeds & Sheffield)

Tourist Attractions - there are 497 tourist attractions in Yorkshire according to Trip Advisor

Peace - rural location within 15 mins of 3 town centres mean I have the best of both worlds

Transport - London is 2 hours away by train Wakefield to Kings Cross. 

House prices - loads cheaper - you get more for your money 

 

London is lovely to visit, but why would I want to live there when I have the best up North!

 

You must not forget the Hepworth and Yorkshire sculpture park in Wakefield or the National Media Museum and Salt's Mill in Bradford which are even closer to us than Leeds or Sheffield.

 

Manchester with the Lowry, Bridgewater Hall, Royal Exchange, Museum of cience and Industry, City Art Gallery etc etc is slightly closer to Holmfirth than Leeds or Sheffield.  Once you get on the M62 or M56 Liverpool with its magnificent new Museum of Liverpool not to mention the Walker Art Gallery, Tate, National Maritime Museum, Philharmonic Hall and the gents' loo in the pub across the road are close to hand.

 

If I need to  get to London I can reach Luton Airport parkway in 2 1/2 hours by road without breaking the speed limit where I can park for £2 at weekends and £3 after 10:00 during weekdays. I take the Thameslink for Central London for under a tenner using my senior rail card which I have to remember to renew tomorrow. When I lived in Surrey my morning commute into Waterloo took well over an hour after which I had to traipse across Waterloo bridge could take nearly as long -especially when sheep strayed on the line between Wimbledon and Earlsfield, leaves fell on the track or we had the "wrong sort of snow".

 

I see everything that I want to see in the House, Coliseum or Sadler's Wells. I have attended 4 meetings of the London Ballet Circle since the start of the year as well as everything that is available here.

[Jan McNulty]

The Lowry, of course, being in Salford - a city in its own right.

 

We've got coastal walks, of course, and there are plenty of country rambles but it is flat! 

 

My friends are very keen on the walks around Malham, just over the border into Yorkshire and I know there are plenty of walking areas around Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire. 

 

Of course no-one has yet mentioned Derbyshire and the Peak District or indeed the Midlands.  Proximity to Birmingham brings Birmingham Rep, CBSO, BRB and lots more into reach and, depending on where you live there are theatres in Cheltenham and Malvern too.

[2dancersmum]

Theatres also in Worcester, Evesham and Tewskesbury that all get regular ballet companies visiting - not to mention Stratford-upon-Avon and the RSC and the proximity of the Cotswolds as well as the Malvern Hills for the scenery - all still an hour from Birmingham or Bristol and only 2 from London by train.

 

Basically the UK has some lovely areas to live in and visit and is far more than London.

[Fonty]

Well it all sounds blissful, but people have mentioned cars.  I have rather poor eyesight, and hate driving.  I haven't owned a car for 15 years, nor have I needed one. 

 

I might have to stick with the tube. and just visit oop north for holidays. 

[Jan McNulty]

Well it all sounds blissful, but people have mentioned cars.  I have rather poor eyesight, and hate driving.  I haven't owned a car for 15 years, nor have I needed one. 

 

I might have to stick with the tube. and just visit oop north for holidays. 

 

I think only Terpsichore mentioned cars.  I deliberately didn't.

 

Let's face it - the UK is a wonderful and varied country where ever you live!

[hfbrew]

Well it all sounds blissful, but people have mentioned cars.  I have rather poor eyesight, and hate driving.  I haven't owned a car for 15 years, nor have I needed one. 

 

I might have to stick with the tube. and just visit oop north for holidays.

 

You can get to Worcester and Malvern by train from Paddington!

I was born at home within sight of the Malvern Hills in the days of proper country doctors...

But I digress, it is a lovely part of the world.

[Terpsichore]

Well it all sounds blissful, but people have mentioned cars.  I have rather poor eyesight, and hate driving.  I haven't owned a car for 15 years, nor have I needed one. 

 

I might have to stick with the tube. and just visit oop north for holidays. 

 

One does need need a car where I live. There is a bus stop a few yards from my front door with regular buses to Huddersfield from where one can get a coach or train to almost anywhere else in Great Britain.

 

I am only a mile from the nearest station from where one can travel to Barnsley, Huddersfield and Sheffield.

 

That is a much better service than I had when I lived in Surrey. I remember getting up well before dawn to walk down to the trolleybus terminal on the Middlesex side of the river a mile and a half from my home in that terrible winter of 1962 to 1963 when I was just 13.  I took the 667 trolleybus to Hammersmith Broadway which took at least 90 minutes and then another half mile walk up the Hammersmith Road.

 

Bus travel is actually free for me though I use my bus pass only in London. Rail travel is heavily discounted though I use my railcard only between Luton Parkway and Farringdon. The reason I do not make more use of public transport is that I enjoy driving. Our less cluttered roads are yet another advantage of Northern living,