If you moved to York…

[toomanyducks]

…how did it go?

Me, my DH and our DD(5) are considering a move to York from a small university city in the South.

We adore West and North Yorkshire and my DH has family connections in the area. We visit often. We have jobs that are completely movable.

We like where we live, but we’re an outdoorsy family and find the options for where to go within a reasonable distance of where we currently are to be really limited and uninspiring.

My concern is that where we live is fine and perfectly pleasant. It feels a little bit of a gamble to give up pleasant and boring to chase something more. Although that more could be a much richer life that is far better suited to us!

If you have made a similar move, I’d be so grateful if you could share how it went for you?!

York is perfectly pleasant but has changed muchly over the last few years. The countryside immediately around is flat and dull.

It is over run with students and tourists, as well as vomiting hen parties travelling down from the NE on the train.

Other more rural parts of N and W Y are gorgeous.

Has this move up North been suggested by (potentially) ailing parents or parents in law?

No, no pleas from parents. The relationships are more sibling aged.

Total agree about the flatness around York (although it’s pretty towards the villages North) but we need to be close to somewhere with decent transport and our DD would be at one of the independents in the city.

Hopeful bump for the evening crowd.

We did it, and don’t regret it. It’s small enough to get around but has decent facilities (theatre, gigs, music, good shops, lots of kids activities / soft play etc) 35 mins to Leeds on the train, 2 hours on the fast train to London and within a hours drive you can be on the coast or in the countryside

Traffic can be a nightmare if you’re crossing the city in rush hour, so I’d factor that in for where you’re looking to live and school run.

It is full of tourists, but we tend to avoid the city centre on a Saturday afternoon so don’t have an issue.

Housing isn’t as cheap as other parts of the north and you’ll pay more for a nice area, the closer in you go to the city can also be problematic with permit parking etc. Closer to the city has better bus routes - further out in the surrounding villages is nice but lots of places are not served v well with public transport. Highlighting this for when your dd is older and wants to go places.

We live in Dunnington just outside York, some nice but flatter walks/bike rides around us but we also drive to the Wolds or the coast regularly.
I moved from South Yorkshire and my husband moved from Essex where it was very flat! He loves the coast walks here.

I used to live in York and worked at St Peter's School (which was excellent). I haven't lived or worked there for many years but would go back in a heartbeat if I could. I would want to be able to get public transport into the city though, it's a flipping nightmare by car.

How about Halifax op?

York is lovely, it's got plenty of shopping, nice bars and restaurants and it's relatively easy to get to the dales and the NY moors which aren't as flat as the surrounding area. Great coastal towns and close to bigger less touristy cities of Leeds and a bit further Newcastle.

We live in a village just outside of York with a station. There are lots of families here, many of whom have relocated here from london and other cities. We love it here. Very safe relatively for kids, good schools, good nightlife etc etc.

We have friends who live over towards Ilkley which is also very popular.

Halifax (choose the area carefully), Huddersfield (same), Ilkley, Otley, North Leeds.
I love York but the traffic can be awfula nd I do like somewhere a bit more hilly

What about Sheffield? It’s where all the climbers live. Nice city, big enough for good food and culture, not too expensive, and you’ve got the Peak District in easy day trip distance.

I moved in 2019 after 17 years in London. Moving just before Covid made it challenging, but do I regret it? Absolutely not. I commute to London 1-2 times per week.

I go off walking every weekend. Within an hour/hour and a half are so many great walks.

Would never consider living anywhere else now. That is me settled for life. The people just make it and there is so much going on. I feel so much more connected to people/neighbours/community than I ever did before. I can be at the Minster walking for 25 minutes or in fields with cows the same distance.

York's great.
Very good transport links, it's reasonably small and walkable and you have a massive amount of countryside near you - the Moors, Dales, Peaks, coast and it's also not too far to the Lakes.

Leeds is nearby and Manchester isn't too far.

I’m originally from a v hilly area near you…been in York now for over 20 years.
love it, but crucially be walkable to
city centre, I’m 15 mins away. I cycle to work so traffic not an issue, plus all the good bits theatre/cinema/reataurants/sports are then walkable.
i think if you live in one of the villages you lose that so may as well live in any village.
my kids are teens and it’s great for them
to be able to
do stuff without taxi service, either paid or us!

I tend to go to the coast for walks (an hour), but also easy access to beautiful Dales and Moors.

London easily doable by train for a day out as is Newcastle.

highly recommend!

😆😆 Halifax?!?! Not even in the same league as York!

@toomanyducks York is a beautiful, historic Viking city. I live in Harrogate just down the A59 which is also a pretty place, as is Knaresborough, but I love York more and wish I could live there quite honestly. Strongly considering it once DD finishes primary.

Yes there are hen parties but that's right in the city centre late at night. York is a big enough city to never ever come into contact with any of that unless you're on a night out.

The flat countryside surrounding York is also full of history as most of it was former RAF airfields during WW2 and whilst very little of them remain, there are still some RAF buildings, remnants of runways and quite a few air raid shelters still surviving. Clifton Moor retail park used to be RAF Clifton and the long length of shops was one of the runways.
Just outside York in Elvington is a wonderful air museum on an old RAF station which has been restored to how it looked during WW2. Fabulous, educational & fascinating place to visit.

Anyway, back to present day! Get lots of opinions from different walks of life. As some people haven't experienced all different areas of York.

We did the move two years ago, but didn’t move to the city, but to one of the small market towns between York and Leeds. We like it but it’s been a bit of a challenge to make friends. DD is in one of the local schools and is doing well.

on the whole we have been happy with the move but it hasn’t been without bumps

Give York a swerve and move to Beverley.

OP, we've just sold our house to move to York!
We have 2 primary ages kids. We currently live 20 minutes from a small university city in the South West so lots of comparables!

We're moving to be near DH's sibling and because I'm sick of where we live, having been here for 30 years!

Good luck.

I love it. I live a 15 minute walk from the centre, but like a previous poster said, I can also be in a field with sheep or cows if I walk for 20 minutes in a different direction. There's plenty to do for kids, and my teenagers are able to transport themselves to school/clubs/friends/jobs.

It's not the best place to live for well-paid jobs, it can be a bit insular, and the house price to wages ratio is pretty grim, but I do think it is an excellent place to raise children, and the train links are great.

We moved to York (Osbaldwick) about 7 years ago, having had 18 months in Hull before that, and relocated from Exeter before that. I'm originally from Kent.

Honestly? I find York a bit 'meh'. The immediate landscape is flat and dull, and having to travel to find dramatic landscape can be a bit of a pain, though it's always worth it. I found East Devon and East Kent far more interesting, and definitely miss having the coast nearby.

We opted to live in the city as it makes it very easy for both of us to get to our respective jobs and to school for our DC, but I do wish we lived more rurally and it's a decision we wrestle with fairly regularly!

The city centre does have a lot of history and culture going on which can be enjoyable, but that is offset by busy times.

And yes, traffic can be horrendous and house prices are expensive in places, comparable to both Exeter and Canterbury.

Beverley is a great little town. When we lived in Hull, I went to Beverley A LOT.

I live in York, Heworth area. (Yes I name changed for this, I’m not that obsessed with York). It’s a lovely place to live and the best we’ve lived in yet, and we’re always glad to come home when traveling elsewhere. It has gotten more rundown over the past few years but I think the entire country has tbh, maybe even the entire world. I avoid going in to the centre past 3pm on a weekend because the hen / stag revellers start showing up in droves. Race days similar. But I mean, it’s hard to beat York really.