I live on the northern most edge of Bradford, near the airport on the Aire Valley. I have lived in lots of places but for bang per buck it's hard to beat the lifestyle that you can have/afford here. I love it, I've the canal and river 5 mins from my door and can tootle along the flat (20 miles) to Skipton when I am sick of the interminable hills.
But I hate to admit it, if Leeds was not next door (I ride along the canal there) then I wouldn't be so content. Because Bradford, like many retail regional losers, no longer really has what you would call a functioning City centre, and in a big city that is very noticeable. So, I use Leeds and make good use of the Dales, Harrogate, Otley & Ilkey too, I don't think many north Bradford residents do not use Leeds in preference to Bradford.
2 or 3 years back, my daughter's class filled in their details on a school form, they'd have been 8 or 9 years old, many of the pupils put down "Leeds" on their address forms. When the school looked into this, the kids never actually visited Bradford centre, they all lived on the Aire Valley route where they also spent their leisure time, Skipton to Leeds, "going to town" for shopping or whatever, to them, meant Leeds.
Oh, it is utterly segregated too, I never see an asian face locally unless they are driving a taxi or delivering fast food leaflets. If I go to Manningham, where I play 5 a-side once a week, I am the only white face around.
