In the past five years the number of Londoners moving up to Leeds has risen by 58%, from 2,720 in 2013 to 4,296 in 2018. Home to several universities and a cosmopolitan population, Leeds boasts a flourishing cultural scene, quality nightlife and large-scale regeneration that has transformed the West Yorkshire city in recent years.

Beyond the Victorian architecture of the city centre, there are leafy suburbs of Victorian terraces and high-rise apartment buildings. With average house prices around £182,700, 62% lower than the capital, Leeds is proving attractive to first-time buyers, families and renters alike.

A 10-minute walk from the station is Holbeck, popular with startups and young creatives, while Marshall Street and its surroundings make up the new “south side” district where the HS2 station will be located. Quieter suburbs such as Chapel Allerton, Meanwood and Kirkstall are sought after by families and first-time buyers, and still under construction is the “climate innovation district”, bringing family living back into the city centre.

Jonathan Wilson, a development director at Citu, believes northern cities such as Leeds offer space and opportunities for living differently that are not possible in London. “If you develop land on the outskirts of London you have to travel 40 minutes into the centre to meet a friend for a drink. If you do it in Leeds, you can be in the centre in five- to 10 minutes.”

Citu’s development projects in the climate innovation district include the Secret Garden, where modern four-bedroom homes overlook the River Aire and eliminate the need to commute by car. “Our customers from London have fallen in love with the ability to have a lifestyle that involves community, living more sustainably and that allows easy access to all the amenities of the city centre – that combination has been the real pull. Leeds offers opportunities to make really progressive changes towards a lifestyle many people don’t even know they need yet.”

Bella Gamsu, 30, abandoned the capital four years ago for Meanwood, an up-and-coming suburb boasting mature woodland, a village-like vibe and close proximity to the city centre. “The food and drink scene is amazing in Leeds, as is the shopping. There’s a great variety of independent food and drink places, coffee roasters, a vibrant market and pop-up food spaces, especially in the summer. The local towns use Leeds for shopping, eating and drinking so it’s always really busy at the weekend.”

The director at Santander recently opened the first Work Cafe Santander in the UK, a free co-working, coffee shop and bank space in the bustling city centre, a stone’s throw from the grandeur of Briggate, Leeds’s historic shopping street often referred to as “the posh bit”. Gamsu said: “Santander chose Leeds as it’s booming, attracting Channel 4, and it has a huge number of new businesses in digital and creative. Leeds has loads going on and will continue to grow and get better with more young professionals.”

Ellie Wilson: ‘If we invest as much in cities like Leeds, they can be just as exciting as London.’ Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

Another draw for young professionals is the city’s national reputation as the leading legal hub outside of London. Trainee solicitor Ellie Wilson moved after securing a training contract in Leeds. “London can feel like the centre of the world sometimes but if we invest as much in cities like Leeds, they can be just as exciting. I have so much more variety here in terms of clients and the matters I deal with and I have the reward of seeing an outcome for an individual or small business.”

As well as the affordability, Wilson finds Leeds has plenty to offer in the way of arts, culture and quality of life. “Just outside are the Peaks – lots of lovely places to go walking and hiking, and in the city there are art and sculpture galleries, the theatre, the opera, it’s great for music and there’s a huge nightlife scene. It’s reminded me that there is life outside of London.”

Leeds finally seems to be coming into its own as a destination for young people, according to NHS worker Anna Cale, who moved back after five years in the capital. “Things are changing now for Leeds, it feels like a vibrant city – the arts scene has blossomed, there are festivals and nightlife, you get that feeling of city life but also of community. Graduates here are starting to choose Leeds to start their careers. It’s offering a place to be as a young person.”

Rachael Fletcher at Granary Wharf: ‘We have a garden and we live right next to a canal.’ Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

Senior account executive Rachael Fletcher lived in London for three years before making the move as she turned 26. She and her boyfriend, Ryan, a trainee NHS clinical scientist, rented a tiny one-bed flat in Angel, north London, for £1,500 a month. Within a month of moving to Leeds they had bought a three-bedroom townhouse in Newlay on an estate popular with younger couples and families. With a mortgage costing less than half their London rent, Fletcher found her money was going much further and enjoyed the change of pace.

“I’m able to save, I bought a car, I can go out and spend money and not feel stressed about it. London is such an exhausting and expensive place to live. I do miss it sometimes but I wasn’t happy. Work was a slog – I was regularly leaving the office at 8 or 9 o’clock, it was horrendous.”

Though Leeds public transport leaves much to be desired and doesn’t have London’s after work drinks culture, Fletcher said the change of pace was welcome. “Here I leave on time every day. I set up a book club on our estate, we have a garden and we live right next to a canal – you don’t realise how little green space there is in London until you leave. When I go back now and get the tube I think to myself, ‘I don’t know how I did this for so many years’.”