North Yorkshire vs West Sussex

[Twopoodlesarebetterthanone]

I'm planning on relocating from Jersey next year. Budget for a house to be mortgage free is 425k for a 3 bed (or 2 bed with extra reception). One of my sons needs post 16 SEN provision so am looking at Chichester college, York College or possibly Eastleigh College.

I'm looking for a place to settle permanently with my son that has a safe and friendly community feel for us both with good off lead dog walks and trail running and biking from the door and nearby culture relatively accessible.

Given these options where would you choose?

Decent housing stock in ‘desirable’ areas of York is rare, lots of properties get snapped up before they’re even listed. Your budget in our area of York (walkable to the centre in about 1.2 miles) would just about get you a 3 bed terrace or semi with a small garden, slightly larger places or that have been done up are pushing 500k+

Id look at bus routes to the college and what goes direct and try and avoid the centre for that commute , as traffic and the one way system can really impact travel time. If he cycles, there’s a lot of good and easy off road routes to the college, which might give you options too. Round dringhouses, bishopthorpe and Copmanthorpe might tick your boxes

harrogate is nice but very expensive, I like knaresborough too, but it always feels a bit ‘end of the world’ to me (no idea why as it’s got lots of amenities and a train station etc!)

@tealgate ooh yes that looks nice love the cabin that you get with it ❤️❤️

@Moonglow3 thanks, yes I guess it would be closer to Jersey climate wise - I think it actually is windier and rainier here than in Chichester but we do get more sun than anywhere else in Britain and I feel I suffer a bit in winter anyway. Having said that it could be the wind and rain factor that is more depressing. Cold and dry is ok!!

Thanks @Oakdog I watched a youtube of the wolds way and it looks nice which I think is South of Malton (studies map). Train to York for my son would be perfect too as would volunteering on Notth York Railway. He has a 'guard' and 'conductor' badge on his coat already 😀
Can you run/walk off road around Malton from the town do you know?

@LittleMy77

Looking at Bishopthorpe, Poppleton and Strensall and also maybe further out - Stamford Bridge and towards Pocklington as places to scope. All have off road/river walks runs too according to OS maps!

What are your sons plans post 18?

Does this move tie you only to a 2 year course - or do you need want to put down roots for longer term?

Could you rent an air b n b for a significant chunk of time in a residential area (not touristy) similar to where you might live - to get a feel for it.

Even if you do decide on the area it’s good to rent locally before buying to get the nuances of a neighbourhood or town. I think rent is a good investment before jumping in.

@Twopoodlesarebetterthanone yes, the Wolds are sort of mainly south west of Malton, but you can be onto them, and loads of footpaths within 10 minutes drive.
There is a cycle route from Malton to Pickering which is mainly along bridleways, and really quiet lanes, and lots of other footpaths from Malton itself, including along the river.

Bosham, Arundel, Amberley museum, Midhurst, Cowdray Park, Emsworth, Watercress Line not far away.

Snow is very rare on the Sussex coast! They sometimes get it just North of the Downs though. And as for ‘sometimes hot for a couple of days’… recent summers on the South coast have given us extreme heat for quite extended periods. 🥵

West Sussex for me every time, better weather, easy commute to London, gorgeous villages, walks, major amenities, close to seaside.

you have Petworth House in West Sussex
originally i would have said Yorkshire
but for better weather it has to be chichester area.

We moved from the east coast of Scotland to the Chichester area, and in summer generally it is 10°C warmer than where we previously lived.

We find there is plenty to do - great walking and mountain biking up in the Downs, the beaches are great for walking along at low tide (although the Witterings are heaving in the summer), and there’s lots of interesting places to visit.

Easy to get up to London for a day out or to Portsmouth / Southampton or Brighton for shopping. Chi shops are fine for day-to-day stuff. The Festival Theatre and New Park Cinema are excellent - 16-30 yr olds can get £5 theatre tickets.

Your budget would definitely get you a 3 bed in the area.

I think they are worlds apart in terms of climate and landscape.

I don’t think that the house price differential is enough to make compromises to live somewhere for a long time.

Also depends on where family and friends are that you want to visit and where you see yourself and DC settling long term - are they likely to live near you or move away.

Sounds like Chi is a similar environment regarding landscape and climate.

Yorkshire sounds very different from where you are which may be a good or a bad thing depending on you and your DC ability to embrace change.

For me personally the weather would be enough to swing it to SE.

Re: weather, I live in Yorkshire but love visiting Jersey. The difference is best described as this - Yorkshire generally has 7 months of cold/wet weather and 5 months of finer weather (mid-April to mid-September roughly speaking). Jersey's mix is probably more like 5/7, so you'd be losing roughly two month's of better weather every year, plus colder winters.

I LONG for Jersey's milder weather, especially at the end of the winter like now. But, on balance, I prefer living in Yorkshire, there's more choice and variety of things to do and places to go - and I can be at the coast, Lakes, Dales or Peaks in 2 hours.

Apparently Chichester is the sunniest place in the UK.

the weather is better in Chichester than Jersey. Drier, less windy.

Jersey is a lot sunnier than most of the UK. You'll really notice the difference in winger as it gets dark very early in Nottinghamshire and would be earlier in Yorkshire.

East Sussex (so l
Close but not West Sussex) has more sunny days than most of the UK, but it's still pretty wet and miserable in winter. I found it almost always windy, and that made it feel colder. You might want metofdice data to work work out what's better for you.

Both stunning areas - what a lovely choice to make. In your shoes I'd be edging towards West Sussex due to weather and connections to London.

West Sussex is pretty picturesque too!

In Chichester theres centourian way which is a lovely path for running or cycling and goes from to chi to Lavant. Also google the trundle and Kingsley vale and halnaker as they are all popular for beautiful walks. Theres a running club in chichester town centre on weds and they hold half marathons in the town centre I think yearly.

Lavant is very quiet, has horse/stables and a pub which is about it. Midhurst has a little town but is further in commuting. Neither have trainlines.

The college is right next door to the train station and bus station. Many people commute from emsworth, fishbourne, bosham, lavant, goring by sea and bognor.

The weather is usually good as long as you are this side of the downs. As soon as you go past the downs you'll get snow and a slightly colder climate.

Good luck deciding.

Halnaker Windmill!
Walk the city walls.
Goodwood
Weald and Downland Museum where The Repair Shop is filmed.
Bosham Harbour and Craft Centre.

@Ooompaloopa want long term but yes will probably rent till we get a feel for the place

@Oakdog will definitely look at Malton as nearer the coast too

@hopefullyunrecognisable that sums up my dilemma I'm born and bred in Jersey and love the long season but I'm bored bored bored with no opportunities to do different things or give up my higher paying job to do the thing I love in Jersey

@Napmum for someone that can't help going down the rabbit hole of analysis this is disastrous www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/d29ad7056f3548eb8affeb1c0ad50106

Funnily enough there's a pub in Knaresborough called 'The World's End'

Oh wowwww I love that first pic! How beautiful