Why Leeds professionals love living in Huddersfield

Huddersfield is a large, bustling market town located to the south-east of Halifax and the south of Brighouse.

With over 1600 listed buildings, Huddersfield is full of architectural character, but it’s also a lively university town with a thriving centre.

In this article, we’ll explore what living in Huddersfield is like and why it’s such a popular choice of place to live for those young professionals working in Leeds city centre.

Huddersfield’s transport links

Huddersfield is located 14 miles away from Leeds, so you might expect the transport links to be infrequent and slow. However, they’re quite the opposite!

The M62 runs conveniently past Huddersfield, meaning drivers can jump straight onto the motorway and be in Leeds within just half an hour.

The M1 is also just a 20-minute drive away when you live in Huddersfield, making meetings in other major cities easy to attend, too.

If you don’t drive, that’s no problem in Huddersfield; the town boasts a large railway station that offers direct trains to Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, York, Scarborough and Hull. Of course, you can also then jump on another train to go further afield, if you wish.

When it comes to commuting from Huddersfield to Leeds city centre via train, you’ll be pleasantly surprised; the average journey time is 34 minutes, but some routes take just 19 minutes!

The trains are also incredibly frequent and run from very early in the morning to very late at night, so you can be in the office whenever you’re needed.

Getting home from Leeds to Huddersfield is just as simple, with plenty of trains, so you’re never waiting long, and very late trains, so you’re free to go out for a drink or five with friends or co-workers after a hard day in the office.

If you’d prefer to use the bus for your commute, you could take a look at the 202 and 229 routes. Commuting by bus will be slower than the train, but it is likely cheaper and gives you more time to read your book, prepare for a meeting, listen to your podcast, or catch up on social media.

There’s always something to do in Huddersfield

There’s always something going on in Huddersfield, whether it’s the annual Contemporary Music Festival, the literature festival, or Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival.

The town centre is full of independent shops, alongside all your essentials, as well as a range of restaurants, heritage and real ale pubs, and a variety of entertainment venues.

When it comes to your weekly food shop, you are spoilt for choice in this town, with an ASDA Superstore, a Tesco Superstore, two Sainsbury’s, and a Morrison’s. There are also some alternatives if you prefer to shop elsewhere — not forgetting the market!

The great outdoors in Huddersfield

Outside of the town centre, Huddersfield is 72 per cent countryside, meaning that when you live there, you experience the best of both worlds; you certainly won’t regret exploring the area on foot with friends or housemates or taking in the panoramic views from Castle Hill.

Oakwell Hall is a local Elizabethan manor house that’s well worth a visit. The house is furnished as it would have been in the 1690s when it was a family residence, and it is situated within 110 acres of period gardens and country parkland.

Art in Huddersfield

If art is more your thing, Huddersfield won’t disappoint — it’s home to Huddersfield Art Gallery, and changing exhibitions are also displayed at Batley Carnegie Library Hall and the West Yorkshire Print Workshop.

Sport in Huddersfield

If you love sport, then you’ll adore living in Huddersfield.

The birthplace of Rugby League, the game was founded at the George Hotel in Huddersfield on 29 August 1895.

The town is proud of its sports teams, which include the Huddersfield Giants in the Rugby Super League, who play regular fixtures at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Two other big local clubs are HRUFC (Huddersfield Rugby Union Football Club) and Huddersfield Town A.F.C.

If you enjoy golf, then there are two courses locally on which you can pay and play.

Fun facts about Huddersfield

You might be interested to know that Huddersfield was the birthplace of many well-known names, including:

• Former Prime Minister, Harold Wilson
• Writer, Simon Armitage
• Premier League footballer, Fraizer Campbell
• Actors: James Mason, Jodie Whitaker, and Zoe Lucker

The Sex Pistols also visited the town in 1977 and played two shows, which were to be their last ever British shows; the band split up during the US tour that followed. The shows took place at Ivanhoe’s nightclub on Christmas Day, and one of them was a matinee for the children of firefighters who were on strike at the time.

Interestingly, the town is also where the Yorkshire Terrier dog breed originated.

If Huddersfield sounds like your kind of area, you can browse our Huddersfield apartments for rent on our website. We also offer rooms for rent in Huddersfield house shares.