Moving from Cambridgeshire to York

[user1492681519]

Hi,
Just after some advise..
We currently live in Chatteris Cambridgeshire, we moved up here from a beautiful Buckinghamshire village but we outgrew the house when we had two kids and the house sold so fast we literally had 2 months to find somewhere to live. The properties in the area were ridiculously expensive so decided to gamble and move up here where we bought a lovely big house, the problem is its been a year and we haven't settled. Its the most boring place I have ever been to. Nothing for the children to do except a small park and everywhere is a good 30- 40 min drive away so we're selling up asap! We simply couldn't bare the thought of the kids growing up round here.
We are thinking of moving up to North Yorkshire as we love it up there, the only thing I am worried about is the kids when they get older if it will be boring for them. We are looking at York and surrounding areas. We need to be near a town or city yet still be in a rural-ish area which has pretty surroundings. If anyone had done a move like this up there, I would really appreciate the advice. Thank you :)

Totally going to depend on what your kids are into - sport? Plenty of opportunities outdoor pursuits - knock yourself out

there are plenty of arts based “things to do” but maybe not right on your doorstep but Leeds and Newcastle are pretty close by train/car (and driving is much nicer with far less cars on the road)

think you may need to come up for an extended stay to really be able to decide though

I have visited York a few times and stayed there for a week working a couple of years ago. I think it’s a lovely city and it seems like there’s plenty to do there. But would really recommend you go up there for a holiday and to explore the area properly before rushing into another move.

Have a look at Pocklington. Just outside York, so it’s easy to get to if you want to use the facilities, but it’s a thriving town in itself with independent shops, cafes, a cinema/music venue, library etc.

It’s surrounded by gorgeous villages and the Wolds, which are lovely and not overrun by coach trips, unlike the Dales.

It had an independent and a state secondary, plus a couple of primary schools and a junior school.

Also, a weekly market and regular food festivals etc, if that’s your thing.

I've done similar - central Cambridge to a village outside York. I must admit I think I would find somewhere like Chatteris very dead too. I don't find rural York bad because there is better community for children. Lots of clubs (mostly cheap), lots of afterschool activities for a primary-age child. My friends with secondary-age children seem pretty happy with it too. I think the satellite villages around Cambridge are much more dependant on going into Cambridge for social life, than the satellite villages around York.

I think the issue for me has been that it is harder as an adult, especially if you are fairly rural - parts of North Yorkshire are very trad, very Tory. Nice people, but you can feel like a fish out of water. York itself is extremely touristy.

I love it here, though.

Have a look at North Leeds - Chapel Allerton/Roundhay/Oakwood/Alwoodley etc as you are on the edge of Leeds and only 30-40 mins from the Dales. If you want it a bit quieter, try Harrogate. York is beautiful by day but becomes a bit stag/hen partyish by night.

Any rural ish area near a town/city would still involve a lot of driving children and teenagers about. Public transport is not great in many areas of North Yorkshire.
You need to check on this in areas you're considering.

What sort of budget OP? I would consider looking around the Fulford/Heslington area, near the University (although watch out for student houses of course!). If you have a bit more of a budget, consider area around Bishopthorpe road - although that's definitely not rural.

Maybe Dunnington? Look very carefully at public transport for any villages you're considering - some have very little! 1079 corridor is quite good, so you'd have Dunnington, Wilberfoss, Barmby Moor and Pocklington.

If you decide not to look at York itself, take a look at the villages around Malton.

Whilst I wouldn’t necessarily aim to live in Malton town, there are some beautiful villages in the area which have a great community vibe.

Slingsby has a well respected village school, a large playing field and lots of events during the year (May Day, Duck Race, Church social events for the whole family) It is also close to Castle Howard with a fantastic playground and free entry for Ryedale children accompanied by a pass holder.

The beauty of some of those villages, also look at Hovingham (sleepier but pretty and with a great monthly market) and Westow (again sleepier but a fantastic pub and lots of country walks), is that you are only 10-15 minutes from Malton which has a regular train service into York. Perfect for teenagers when the time comes.

Sorry to be pedantic but Newcastle is around two hours drive from York, depending on traffic it could be longer. It gets very busy as you approach Newcastle.

I just checked the train times, one hour 16 minutes from York to Newcastle.

Or 55 minutes, if you are lucky.

York’s quite good as a teen. I went out a lot! 😳

The touristy thing can be maddening. You can either handle it or you can’t.

Cultural isolation is a huge issue in surrounding villages. You need to think about public transport as it makes all the difference. Maybe come up for a self catering holiday and stay for a week somewhere reasonably central like Fulford or Scarcroft Road, and another week in a village with a train station like Upper Poppleton. Do not be seduced by the beautiful villages further out!

I’d live in York as it’s easy to travel out for leisure but the York traffic is awful so it’s not something you want to do daily. There’s enough to do in York for teens and easy access to Leeds. But transport isn’t great after 11pm so if you want older teens to sort themselves out you would want to live within taxi distance. The countryside immediately round York is dull and flat you have to travel to Dales / Moors / coast for more interesting scenery. There’s absolutely loads to do at weekends etc for kids of all ages around Yorkshire.

Fulford is great, walking distance to York and has enough going on.

We moved to a village (Strensall) close to York a few years ago. My eldest is currently 14 and has a very active time in and around the city. She gets the bus in without any issues - it's not a hugely reliable service but it does run supposedly multiple times an hour! She has joined a couple of drama groups and there is a great subsidised music centre that runs ensembles of various types. The secondaries, most of which have very good reputations, offer a lot of extra curricular stuff for hobbies - her school choir supported Shed 7 in some gigs last year. There is sport going on although that's not her thing - football is a passion for a lot of York kids, just as it is across a lot of the north of England, and that goes for girls too.

The city is also a compact size for wandering around with friends in a typically teenage way, and crime rates are low so I don't worry about her safety. She actually really likes a couple of the museums, and they are free for residents. We are so pleased we moved here. We used to live rurally and there was literally nothing for kids to do other than gather together outside and mooch, or need lifts to go anywhere. There is obviously some hanging around here in the village too but that's convenience rather than necessity.

Older kids do to Leeds for more to do in terms of night life but we're not there yet. It's a short train ride away when that point arrives.

I'd agree entirely about resisting the loveliness of the villages slightly further out. Our village is not the prettiest, although the houses in the centre are traditional, but it comes with shops, pubs, and public transport.

I don't live in York, although I went to Uni there and now live an hour away.
I am also involved in relocating people to York.
I agree with regards to traffic, the ring road and surrounding ones get very very busy and it can take ages to get around. If you have the budget definitely try and find somewhere you can walk to The City Centre
Fulford is a good shout but property is scarce there

Heworth maybe? Nice area, good schools, walkable.

I did this move! York and Cambridge always felt really similar to me. It was culturally a really familiar feel. Leeds is a huge nightlife spot, I used to go out there, there are lots of options with a quick train ride. And so many interesting places to visit on the North East coast as well as the beautiful countryside. i think you'll all be very happy there (make sure you visit Brimham rocks, it's one of my favourite places!)

I wasn't expecting so many replies :) thank you all so much for your input. Really appreciate it.
Our budget is around £360k so hoping to get a nice 3 bed for that. The other thing I was slightly worried about is my kids were born in Surrey so obviously don't have a northern accent and concerned they might feel a bit out of place with the other kids talking differently to them, again, I might be worrying about nothing here but any advice anyone has had with this would be amazing and yes defo need to go up and spend some time up there. We have only been to the Dales and as much as we love it, thats too rural for us.

I wouldn't worry about accent. York is pretty mixed, and kids pick up stuff quickly anyway. My children's school has plenty of people from various places, as well as those whose own parents went to the same school in their time, and it doesn't seem to be a factor. But mine also very quickly started using phrases and intonation that their friends did too.

For your budget you should be fine for a 3 bed but it won't be a grand house! Haxby is also worth looking at - a big village with plenty of shops and amenities, decent public transport and, possibly, at some point a station too.

Definitely don't worry about the accents OP, loads of York people don't sound remotely northern. Other bits of Yorkshire don't class it as the proper north! Your kids will fit right in, possibly even be glam for being from near London.

I'd have thought you'd be in budget for a 30s semi or new build on the outskirts - Haxby, Wigginton, Acomb, Huntington all safe bets. Make sure you're on good bus routes. York station gets to Leeds in under half an hour. Huntington School was always good, I think still is.

Yeah York isn't really northern! As you will have noticed, there are a lot of mumsnetters that live in York, it's quite a middle class place. The accent will be fine.

One of the reasons I like the area around the Uni is that it's more diverse than other areas of York, you get more folk from allover the place.

£360 should get you something in Fulford area but as above, it won't be very fancy! York isn't cheap unfortunately.

Bishopthorpe is a great village due to its proximity to York centre, but still feels rural with the surrounding fields, York racecourse, cycle track and next to the river. Catchment to Fulford School (outstanding) and has a lovely primary school. York college a walk away. They have developed the area by the river with the boatyard and Bosuns restaurant. Little cafes (Butfirst) and florists. Green grocer and butchers set up weekly in the village too as a pop up. Negative = house prices are high.

You could go a bit further a field for affordability where you have train links (10-15mins) to places such as Sherburn in Elmet or Selby, which are in the middle with York one way and Leeds the other. Malton and Pocklington are always good shouts too.

I would visit York and have a wonder around the different villages and get a feel as to where you think you would be happy to live.

Good luck on your search and move to North Yorkshire :)

Thank you all very much, you have all been very helpful :) Have a great day! :) x

I live in a village close to Helmsley on the edge of the Moors and it’s a great location for families. We have a bus service to York, two pubs and a cafe and a shop/post office and Thirsk and Malton are only half an hour and York is 40 minutes. Helmsley also has lots of good local shops. It’s also only half an hour to the main dual carriage ways that then take you to the motorways so transport links are great. You can be in London from Thirsk on the train in two hours. The secondary schools are great, and the public services are also good. I’m a southerner yet have lived here for years and my kids have also grown up here. The accent thing isn’t really an issue, there’s a broad mix and people speak from really broad local accents to very neutral.
Outdoor pursuits are a big thing round here, it’s very horsey, and there are lots of local sports clubs (rugby, cricket, netball etc).
Good luck!

Absolutely come to Yorkshire OP! If you want lots to do in a naice town look into Harrogate and Knaresborough, both beautiful places and a stones throw away from York