Garforth can be found just outside of Leeds. It's a quiet town, with schools and pubs and a somewhat village spirit. Yet some people seem to think it's not a good place to live.
With a population of around 14,957 in the 2011 census, it's a modest size with quite a lot to offer. However, it came close to the bottom of the list of the best places to live in the UK.
As someone who grew up in the town for 20 years, that's just complete nonsense. Garforth has a lot to offer, especially to those who choose to live there.
Garforth is a dormitory town. It exists for parents to raise children, old people to retire and for commuters to get quick access to Leeds. But that isn't all it's about - it has green spaces, activities and events and in the past five years, the high street has flourished.
The report, published by Garrington Property Finders ranked its entries using the following categories: Natural beauty, quality of life, green ranking and price band. Out of the 1,372 places on their list, Garforth came in at number 1,307 which was only 65 places from the bottom.
That is, quite frankly, ridiculous. It somehow managed to fall 50 places in one year compared to the data from 2021, but why? When I was growing up, the whole town was a playground. I'd spend hours out on my bike, riding around the streets, down the lines way and occasionally annoying the residents (sorry). The town, in my mind, gives off an Enid Blyton style, it's quiet but it's not rural and stagnant.
I lived a lot of life in Garforth. I went from nursery to sixth form there and experienced all the landmarks of growing up. Having my first pint, that was Garforth, having too many pints, that was Garforth and making friends for life, that was Garforth.
I would argue that it is not by any means a bad place to live. Every town and city has its perks, there are reasons people choose to live in Garforth. Garforth has wonderful schools - the waiting list alone for the high school is so long that every year parents fight in the catchment area to get their children in. It's a place to grow up and grow up well.
It's also great for kids and families who want to be away from the big city with two train stations only one stop away from Leeds. Also the pubs, you are never more than a few minutes away from a pint.
Sure, it isn't a cheap place to buy a house in Leeds. The average property costs, according to Rightmove and HM Land Registry are around £244,403. Some of the outlying towns near Garforth are cheaper definitely but I would argue that if the costs are high, surely it's because it's an attractive town?
I left but that's not because it was a "worse" place to live, it was because opportunities lay elsewhere. It's a town, not a city so you have to realise it's not going to fit the needs of everyone, especially younger people like myself.
Now that I am older, I appreciate it much more. My time in Garforth was when life was more simple, I had fewer worries and it was just school, friends and enjoyment. As you get older you naturally start to appreciate things in the past and for me, my hometown is one of those.
Every time I return to Garforth I get a sense of overwhelming nostalgia, I see things and remember those times. When I lived down south and came up a couple of times last year, I and a friend always felt a feeling of melancholy when we left.
It was our home for a long time and it's some people's home for their entire life. It doesn't deserve its ranking by any stretch, it's a decent town with community spirit, a solid Main Street and speaking from experience, somewhere I enjoy coming back to.
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