From Paul Clarke

Tuesday, 7 April 2015

Catherine… just do it.

I have never regretted moving here for one second. It is a lovely place to live and loads going on so you will make friends quickly.

From Dave R

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

I came back to the area (during the Autumn of my life), and have rarely regretted it.

Things will have changed greatly. But lots of academics retire here, there is an active U3A locally and lots of groups: Local history; photography etc. Good rail links and a good bus service (with free off peak travel for pensioners)

It has changed a lot so I would perhaps advise that you holiday here, book a cottage for a few weeks off peak and peak time, to get a feel for the town now.

Hope that helps.

From Katrina Mountfort

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Catherine, we are in exactly the same position. The current plan is to move in around five years. We spent a weekend in the area last year, and have just been again, to get a feel for the place. We stayed in Cragg Vale, in a lovely cottage.

And checked out the local pubs etc. The friendliness of the locals was striking, particularly in the Fox and Goose, a community-owned pub. Every shop doorway heaved with advertisments of local community initiatives, groups, classes etc.

I'd recommend a weekend in Hebden Bridge - I'm sure it'll make you feel as certain of your future plans as we now do. Good luck!

From Graham Barker

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

I'm slightly uneasy about all this - it smacks of 'are the natives friendly?' Perhaps as reciprocation we should enquire if the people who want to live among us come up to scratch.

From Paul Clarke

Thursday, 9 April 2015

Locals were merely singing the praises of where they live.

No mention of the natives but rather locals which includes people who have lived for ages and those of us what have the cheek to move here and make contributions to our community. ,

All people were doing was telling people thinking of moving here that there is plenty to do with people who grew up here and other who have chosen to live here.

From Catherine Redpath

Thursday, 9 April 2015

Thanks for all your responses. We plan to visit again in the Summer and spend some time in Hebden with our children but I have no doubt a move will still be on the cards.

Graham, I'm sorry if I've offended. I can see, in retrospect how my enquiry might have come across. Let me explain. We have lived in Lincolnshire for 17 years with our jobs (although I'm a West Yorkshire Lass by birth), and frankly, we've been so tied up with work and bringing up our 5 children (only 2 teens still at home now), that we have found it hard to make good friends. Lincolnshire is RAF county and people really don't stay here long enough to get involved in the community.

It is really important to us to feel we could fit in there (despite our jobs we are not given to correcting shop signs or imposing our views on locals - we want to integrate not assimilate) - because we have a daughter who has just been diagnosed with an incurable and very rare mitochondrial disease. She is 15 and will probably lose her sight, possibly her hearing, and develop other life changing symptoms. This has made it more imperative that we move to a community where she will be accepted if the worst happens and she, as well as us, can be surrounded by good people.

Again, sorry if my original post came across wrongly. I should have thought more carefully before I wrote it. I'd hate to think I'd naffed someone off before we got there.

From Andy G

Friday, 10 April 2015

Hi Catherine. Please don't be put off by Graham's vaguely negative comments. He is, of course entitled to his views and to express them publicly, but I have to tell you that since my wife and I moved to Hebden Bridge just over two years ago, we have had an overwhelmingly positive experience. Admittedly we had previously been regular visitors for more than twenty years and already had many friends here, but it took us next to no time to get involved in the community and local organisations and get to know many new and diverse friends. In fact I can honestly say that in just over two years of living in Hebden we have made more new friends than in twenty-six years of living at our previous location in North Yorkshire.

I am certain that you and your family will have a similar positive experience when you move to this diverse, caring, sharing, liberal community and that your daughter will benefit from the local environment.

If I were to be pressed, I would have to say that the one negative thing that we have found in Hebden is the appallingly high level of air pollution in the town centre, caused entirely by the ever increasing volume of traffic on the A646. I would therefore advise you, if possible, to look for a property a little way out of the town centre and up on the hillside.

Good luck with your plans and we hope to meet you and your family before too long.

From Anne H

Friday, 10 April 2015

Catherine, one thing you will notice, especially from this forum, is that a lot of people in Hebden have strong opinions on most things - including whether people moving to the area are an asset or not, whether we need more tourism, and how much and what kind of development we need. The strength of opinion simply means we care about the town and yet we are happy to accommodate people with different opinions.

As for finding like minded people, I think you've answered your own question as you say you like the artistic nature of the community. I think you'd fit right in!

If your daughter needs medical or social care, I would suggest you find out how that compares to your current area, maybe by contacting local support groups. Calderdale is not the best I've come across for supporting disability (but not the worst either!).

From Catherine Redpath

Saturday, 11 April 2015

We absolutely will be looking to buy on one of the hills because currently we live in a tiny village where there is very little traffic noise but I confess, we hadn't given pollution a thought - so thanks for that great advice. We also like the look of Mytholmroyd - I spent some time there as a child as my parents had friends in the area.

Anne - the problem with Anabelle's condition is that it is so rare that little is known about the disease and how it progresses. It's really a case of "She might.../She might not..." etc, etc. Because of this, she has to be monitored by specialist units and currently we have to travel to Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham. We are hopeful that one of the Manchester or Leeds hospitals will have genetic specialists who will take over her care but you are quite right that we should look into local provision for if/when she is disabled by the condition.

Having had a good look around at previous posts on this forum, I see that lively debate and sharing of often differing views is pretty much the norm. That just convinces me further that Hebden Bridge is the right place for us because locals clearly feel strongly about their community. Nothing could be further from that in our current village - often nicknamed 'The Graveyard of Discontent'.

We'll be back again after the marking fest in mid June. If any of you lovely folk fancy a pint while we're there, it'd be wonderful to meet with you. You can find me on Facebook (profile picture = middle aged woman with red-hair) or just let me know on here. You too Graham.