Swedes moving to York

[Ncapmum]

Hi all mums! Me, my husband, a 3 year old and our two cats are moving to York! Would really love any information, great neighborhood with excellent school? Toddler group? Any others parents living there who'd like to meet when we get there? :) Thanks in advance!

OP the best way to get your dd to pick up the language is to put her into school. We did this to our dc at that age in a language they didn't speak a word of and they were fluent with 18 months. If you delay putting her in she is going to miss early phonic work as well as friendship building.

Good point, something I have concidered too. We are leaning towards her starting when she's suppose to. It's very important for us that she gets integrated so that's probably for the best :) we were thinking of looking up a tutor too when we get there, but there's still over a year before school starts so maybe she wont need one :)

We didn't get a tutor and my friend did, if I did it again I would get one. I think it really helped her dc, but neither of us spoke the language either, if you are fluent it shouldn't be an issue. Just encourage her to watch peppa pig.

Ah okej, thanks! Both me and my husband are fluent so it's a bit easier for us. She has started to learn a few words so we'll see how she goes when she interacts with others :) were did you move from?

We moved from the UK to a Spanish speaking country, it was an unexpected work move. Our dc were just 4 and had no Spanish, neither did we.

I also live in Sweden and have done for almost 15 years. I love it here and nothing upon the face of the earth would get me to move back to Britain. But if I had to, York would be the place I'd choose.

Oh how exciting! We actually had spain on list of countries we thought about moving to. Maybe your not in spain but still. Do you like it?

Bollockstobrexit: haha ok, great that you like it in sweden! And glad to hear that York get's such a good review then!

Getting around in York at rush hour can be slow in a car, but the city is quite good for cycling, especially closer in. Do you or your dh need to get to the train station or any other location on a regular basis? If so maybe look at the travel from there and base locations on that.

Nearest airport is leeds but public transport is difficult. Manchester airport is good with a direct train from the airport into york.

Yeah. We don't have a car, so the direct train to Manchester airport is much easier.

What sort of things are you looking for in a house/school/neighbourhood? Because there are lots of nice places to live in and around York, but they've all got different advantages and disadvantages, and a different feel.

Depending on your budget, you are likely to have to compromise between space/central location/a garden - which are most important to you? Do you mind living near students or tourist accommodation?

What sort of school do you prefer or want to avoid? More traditional? Relaxed and multicultural? Religious? Uniform? Small or big?

How you spend your free time? Do you have the sort of outdoorsy lifestyle that means you would like space for a big car, outdoor equipment and somewhere to leave muddy gear without having to carry it through the house? Would you like to have plays/concerts/cafés etc within a short walk from your house?

Describe your hoped for type of location/lifestyle, and we can probably give you the best fit in the area.

We have a home office but I don't have a licence and are home with our child so we need to be able to get around to activities fairly simple. Great advice on the airport! Thank you.

All great questions broomstickoflove 😅
Our budget at first will be tighter since the move will cost a lot. So we were thinking about 5-700/month in rent. We would make do with just one bedroom but ofc it's Nice with extra room, especially since we also have home office. So that puts us a bit further from the city center I think. A garden would be lovely! And preferable we'd love to live walking distans from a park/playground. A nice quiet area preferably with others families. But don't mind students/tourists. (I think)

School is difficult, but I think traditional or multicultural since we're actually multicultural? But here in sweden, some schools that are multicultural are very, hm how should I put this, loud? A bit more out of control, don't know if it's the same over there? uniforms we don't mind so that's either way. Not religious at least. I think, traditional. As long as it's a good school the size don't matter.

Our freetime at the beggining would be to get to know the city, get some friends and join groups/activities for our child. We will only have what we can fit in our car so not much gear to start with :) (you have Amazon though so it's fine 😂) me and my husband like games and have learned that York is pretty great tech wise too. It's mostly work and kid related stuff for us.

So in short, I think a bit bigger house with garden instead of close to the city. Good/excellent traditional school. Good transport. Bonus if close to park, playground and a grocery store. :)

Bishy Rd area is the "go to" in York. Loads of good shops, bars and restaurants. Two parks (Scarcroft Green and Rowntrees) and a five minute walk to town. It comes at a cost though. Avoid Dale St and Swann St.And Moss St is awash with rats attracted by the KFC bins.

Gillygate and beyond is up and coming and definitely worth a look.Park Grove school used to be a worry but it's improving. Avoid Lowther St.

Acomb isn't all bad, Chapelfields should be avoided though.

Fulford is OK, bit mixed. Academically the secondary is brilliant but there's a lot of bullying.

Thank you! A lot of useful info! Too bad to hear about the bullying :(

There won't be a lot of choice when it comes to renting on that budget - housing in York is very expensive in relation to the average income. You'll probably have to see what's available and choose the best of those rather than looking in a particular area.

Im surprised Rawcliffe hasnt been mentioned. It has the homestead park close its within walking distance to clifton moor. Which is where you will find supermarket and a couple of cheaper bigger out of town shops. The park and ride will take you to town railway museum is on same route. There is a big modern primary school and you are able to apply for quite a few of the senior schools. Avoid canon lee. Prices tend to be a bit cheaper than haxby end

All state schooling at primary will have a basic uniform. It can be cheaply bought in supermarkets for the most part.
York is more multi cultural than it once was but still nothing like some areas in the UK. A lot of the schools are church linked, particularly in the villages but they are cofe and not super religious.
The only exception would be the catholic schools.

I think for that budget you are looking at something in the more studenty areas. If you can go to the to 800 much more is available. www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/80026235. This is in the area i was talking about.

Broomstickoflove, I understand, we have looked around a bit and noticed that it can cost quite a bit. Sounds like a good options to see what's in budget and then pick. Maybe we'll be able to push the rent a bit higher. Thanks!

Nousernameforme, thanks! I'll look in to that area! We might be able to push our monthly cost a bit, we didn't except it to be quite as expensive but I guess that comes with beeing a popular town that also have a lot of tourists.

Dreichuplands, thank you! We think that a school uniform is a good thing, but maybe we would feel different if we grew up there and had to wear it.

We live in Tang Hall and it's not that bad!!! OK, so we're on the Tang Hall/Osbaldwick boundary so away from the less salubrious areas but it's fine. The trade-off for us was being able to buy a bigger house with the bigger garden for our budget. We've been here about 18 months and really happy with it for a lot of reasons:

1. It's really easy to get into the city centre, either walking, cycling or on a bus route with a regular service (every 15 mins).
2. It's really well served for schools (both Primary and Secondary), nurseries, play groups, shops, doctors, hairdresser, etc.
3. It's relatively close to the city edge so easy to get out and onto the ring road.
4. We're pretty close to the University so reasonably close to the multi-cultural stuff going on. My husband's from Germany originally so that's important for us.

York itself is a great city to live in. It's not huge but there's so much going on. Leeds and Hull are relatively close and easy to get to on the train (I've worked in Leeds for the last 18 months and the train only takes 25 mins). Ditto London which is a couple of hours away.

I lived as a student in tang hall, so did a lot of my friends. I would therefore avoid it as a family, mostly because students aren't the best neighbors. It does bleed into osbaldwick which a much nicer area.

OP I love basic uniform, one less thing to fuss over.

York is part of the golden triangle with Leeds and Harrogate. It is cheap by London standards but not northern ones. There are students and tourists both of which push up housing costs.

I loved living there though both as a student and then much later with a family.

MaidofKent78 Have you come across Yumi? They do loads of events for Yorkies from all parts of the globe. Last year they did a hanami picnic and a Japanese opera singer happened to be walking by and she sang. It was thrilling.

Thank you for your inputs! We're getting more and more excited about moving over. :)

You may want to check out the FB group - Svenskar i Storbritannien, I know there are quite a few who live in York and Yorkshire. Good luck with the move. Jag bor i London men har bott här sen -97

@morningseleven thank you. I'd not hard of them so will have a look.

Yokohamajojo, thank you! I have applyed for the group but they only accept people already living in uk, but fun to hear that there are some living in York and yorkshire :) Trivs du bra? Gissar det eftersom du är kvar men en vet ju aldrig ;p