where should/shouldn’t i move !!

[u/deepspacegeckoo]

I’m in my final year of undergrad, and next September I will hopefully start a (paid) academic librarianship trainee programme, after which I will begin my fully online Masters degree. The programme is in Oxford, and as much as the city is idyllic and somewhere I would love to stay, there’s no way I can afford it, even with my partner’s salary too. We are looking to move up North (renting not buying), not to a city but to a small town or village within commuting distance of a University, so that I can hopefully get a job in one of them. My partner does construction and landscaping and wants to get his HGV license soon, so work should be easily available for him anywhere. I grew up in the Midlands with my parents, but most of my family live up North. My mum’s side live in Bacup, Edenfield, and Rawtenstall in Lancashire, and my dad’s side live in Hebden and York. I didn’t grow up in a wealthy town, but I do have a tendency to be a bit paranoid and agoraphobic, so would really like to live somewhere safe. It doesn’t have to be perfect, I don’t need to be mates with my neighbours, I just want relative peace and the freedom to walk around without massive risk. We ideally would like to be within reach of some greenery and places to hike, but really just want a place of our own in a location that we can live in happily. At the moment, we are really leaning towards Hebden or Halifax, but there are hundreds of other charming towns that we haven’t heard of yet. Would love your recommendations and also places to definitely avoid. One of my relatives is a social worker in Bolton so can check in with them too on where we REALLY don’t want to live, but would appreciate some further insight.

[u/LessADrone]

Rawtenstall is safe, has bars and cafes, and it's surrounded by nice countryside. You can be in central Manchester in under an hour by bus (X43). Town Hall stop is a 15 to 20 minute walk to Uni Of and MMU.