Nestled in the Craven district of North Yorkshire is one of the most sought-after market towns in the Yorkshire Dales. Known for its extensive history and outstanding beauty, Skipton is a town with lots to offer. With its unique advantages and lifestyle benefits, let us explain why Skipton is considered a highly desirable place to live for those seeking a balance between rural and urban living.
 

Advantages of Skipton Living:

Known as the “Gateway to the Yorkshire Dales”, Skipton provides the perfect rural location for your new home. With picturesque views, scenic walks, and stunning countryside right on your doorstep, it’s a vista of natural beauty. One of the many advantages of living in Skipton is the accessibility to explore all nature has to offer. You can take a short walk to really immerse yourself in the peace of the ancient woodland trails of Skipton Castle woods or enjoy the tranquillity of walking by the water along the 4km of beautiful canal side.

If a friendly neighbourhood and community spirit is what you’re looking for, then there’s no better place than Skipton, having won numerous awards for its inclusivity. In 2014 the Sunday Times named Skipton Britain’s “best place to live” among 101 other places, in 2016 Skipton was also awarded a trophy by the National Campaign for Courtesy, who named it Britain’s most courteous town. In 2020, Skipton was voted the 2^nd happiest place in the country, only following St Ives in Cornwall. Like most Yorkshire towns, the people are Yorkshire and proud. They are open, friendly, warm, and hospitable and, as these awards show, generate a community spirit and neighbourly atmosphere you’ll be proud to be a part of.

Another advantage of living in Skipton is the lower cost of living compared to bigger cities such as Leeds. With the current cost of living crisis and ever-increasing price rises, everyone is feeling the stretch in their budget. According to recent data, the average monthly spend is around £2700 (not including rent/mortgages) to cover basic living expenses, such as food, utilities, transport and other expenditures. However, in urban cities this can be as high as £3200 for a family of 4. This combined with the hefty mortgage and rental costs can mean a substantial increase in the cost of living in urban areas compared to rural settings such as Skipton.
 

City Living Comparisons:

The Skipton lifestyle is in sharp contrast to the typical hustle and bustle associated with city life. Major cities may offer more employment opportunities, but these usually come at a higher cost. City living tends to be more crowded, some might even say overcrowded, which in turn can bring its own problems such as increased crime rates, longer commutes during rush hours, more noise, traffic, and pollution to name but a few.

These challenges, unique to city living, ultimately impact the desired work life balance many are looking for.
Air pollution in particular has been recognised to have serious effects detrimental to health and wellbeing. Consistent exposure to it causes breathing difficulties and other long-term lung and heart conditions. Nationally, it has been estimated to cause up to 36,000 early deaths every year. In 2015, Leeds was found to have illegal levels of pollution and while it is making great strides towards reducing this, rural living in Skipton has a significantly lower air pollution level.

After a steep increase in recent years, house prices appear at last to be stabilising, but it can still be said that you may get more for your money in rural areas such as Skipton. The average price for a property in Leeds can be upward of £350,000 for a 3-bedroom family home and £508,000 for a detached property compared to rural areas where this budget can potentially stretch much further. In Skipton this budget can afford you a luxury 4- or 5-bedroom property, making for a sound financial investment.
 

Best of Both Worlds:

Skipton is undoubtedly uniquely placed to bridge the gap between that much coveted rural and urban lifestyle. Perfectly positioned on the edge of stunning countryside yet close enough to the universal cities, presenting an unrivalled opportunity for work-life balance. With plenty of employment opportunities to be found a short distance away in Leeds yet without compromising on the many advantages rural living brings. You really can have the best of both worlds.

Location, therefore, is a key contributing factor when considering Skipton as your forever home. Accessibility to nearby towns and cities is a huge benefit. With other charming towns like Wharfedale and the verdant beauty of villages such as Grassington and Kettlewell all a short drive away you will feel immersed in a rural lifestyle. However, take the A59 a short distance and you will find yourself in bustling cities like Harrogate or venture a mere 40minutes to reach the cosmopolitan city of Leeds. Skipton is seriously well connected to the major cities, and you can even be in London in 3 hours by train.

Rural living in Skipton provides the opportunity for more flexible working. With excellent infrastructure and broadband connections, more people are looking to work from home where possible, however, the excellent transport links and close proximity to the city allows the flexibility to find the perfect balance, should the need for a more hybrid approach to work arise. With the perfect work life balance this may allow more time potentially to volunteer within the community. Skipton has a strong community at its heart, and by working from home or having a more flexible work life balance you may find you have more time to invest in other pursuits, many of the volunteer groups regularly organise events such as community gardening and recycling programs to promote green messages and sustainability. 

That being said, don’t be fooled into thinking this is just a quiet, sleepy rural village. As we said, Skipton offers the best of both worlds, with a plethora of shops, bars, and restaurants to entertain and delight. Whether you are looking for a cosy pint in your local pub or getting glammed up for cocktails and fizz, there is something to suit everyone in Skipton. It has a strong social scene with regular live music nights, award winning restaurants and cultural and historical events. There are plenty of shopping options available to you from small independent boutiques to larger well-known retailers, but perhaps its most famous is its market. Skipton is well known for its bustling market which runs 4 days a week.

Education in Skipton is second to none with a high number of Outstanding Schools in the district. It even has two of the of the highest, top rated performing schools in North Yorkshire in Ermysted Grammar School and Skipton Girls High School. For a more in depth look at local schools, read our blog here.

So, if that Skipton lifestyle takes your fancy, and it really should, then take a look at what we have to offer on our website. Our exclusive 4- and 5-bedroom houses on our Ellerwood estate are perfectly placed to enjoy the best of both worlds. Get in touch and enquire today to be part of this historic market town.