Advice on relocating to York

[clwildman]

Hey all, first time poster on Mumsnet!
My husband and I are looking at relocating to York from Winchester, we’re both civil servants and can work from the hubs in Leeds and Darlington so York makes a lot of sense! I went to the University so know it a bit but left in 2010 so I imagine it’s changed a lot since then. We’ve been up to visit and really like the look of Heworth so I wanted to ask the hive mind a few Q’s before we take plunge…

Is Heworth as nice and safe as it seems? I know it borders Tang Hall but the ‘rough’ areas of York don’t seem to be that bad..? We’ve seen a couple of houses we like on Stockton Lane and East Parade.

Are the schools in the area good? Any you’d avoid? We have two primary school aged children.

Are there any other areas of York you’d recommend for a family with decent access to the centre? Our budget is £600ishK for a 3/4 bed with a decent garden.

Have many other people relocated into the area? We won’t really know anyone so will be keen to make friends, really interested to hear the experiences of others!

Thanks all :)

I think I know the house? Extended? It's a fab house but I'm not crazy about the street. The school is great but you can live further away and still get in.

Yes that’s the one! We went back and didn’t get “the feeling” about the house, so decided not to go for it… really struggling to find something at the mo. Hoping more starts to come on/prices cool down but have a feeling that won’t happen!

Fulford is good, great schools and not too far from centre.

Hey all… me again! We’ve now seen one on Muncastergate that we love but are much less familiar with that part of Heworth. More suburban than we were originally looking for but we got a good feeling! Anyone know the area? Any thoughts?

Not sure how good it is but may be worth checking out York mumbler Facebook page for info on schools and areas.

I think Muncastergate has a nice vibe, and a good community. It's remarkably close to the city centre too...

Good school catchment. Nice area.

Ahh, Ive lived on Muncaster Gate! Decades ago but still. It’s a lovely neighbourhood, you should go for it. You’ve made me feel all nostalgic.

*Muncastergate flipping phone.

Muncastergate is great. You are near to town, good cycling routes with kids if you want to do that, handy for Vangarde, handy for A64 and decent schools are accessible, plenty of park grove parents have lived there or nearby. There's no downside tbh

Hey @clwildman, could you share an update on where you ended up? We're looking to make a similar move. Did you move and rent first?

Hello!

Yes, we finally made it up here in October :) we’ve actually ended up living pretty centrally in Bishophill - we’re on the doorstep of everything but it’s a super quiet and pretty neighbourhood. Our house never went to market so we were quite lucky - the agent got us to view it when it was still being renovated (used to be an HMO of 4 one bed flats) and it basically gave us a choice between this house and the Muncastergate one which we loved but was much further out and suburban. We plumped for Bishophill, we bought it and moved up in October half term and haven’t really looked back! It’s not our “forever” home but a great base to work out where we want to be longer-term and I’m really pleased we are on this side of the city. Our kids are at Scarcroft and have settled really well, it’s a lovely school with a nice bunch of parents - many of whom have made a similar move. We’re a 10 min walk from the station which makes a big difference for commuting.
We didn’t rent first in the end as we did want to lose our current mortgage rate, if it hadn’t have been for that though then I think we would have rented.

Hope that’s a helpful update! V happy to chat :) it’s a big move, and I defo miss having proper friends but York is an amazing place and I feel super lucky to live here.