Talk to me about York and villages nr York

[LeonietheLion]

DH and I are considering moving to York when he retires. I'm originally from the north- nr Durham- and we could get a much nicer house & garden in the north and be closer to the coast compared to living in pricey Bucks.

York is lovely and we could afford around £700K- £800K but which villages are nice too? Ideally walking distance if there is such a thing of the city centre to avoid parking issues.

I want a reasonable size garden and at least 4 beds.

Anyone???
I see there is another thread Leaving London for York, but the poster has school age kids and is asking about catchment areas etc. None of that applies to us.

Which areas of York would suit a couple, want a reasonable garden, not a new or modern house, (looking period or pre war ideally - detached) def not a courtyard 'garden', because we want something suitable to adult children to stay with us and (in time) poss grandchildren.
Outside of York in any direction, but say within 5 miles, what are the best options?

The thing with York is to watch out for flood zones. The people I know who live in York, pretty much all live in Acomb, but that is as much to do with schools than anything else, although I do know someone from Knavesmire, which is very naice, at a price.

For villages near York, I am quite familiar with those around Riccall, Bubwith etc yo the south of York, but these are probably too far out for you.

Bishopthorpe is nice, but there's so many lovely bits - you could follow the bishopthorpe road out and look at houses along there right through to the village itself

When trying (unsuccessfully) to track down the place we stayed earlier this year, I came across this thread which may be helpful - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/1584352-Best-villages-small-market-towns-around-York

What I do remember about where we stayed was that it was near Malton, which was a nice small town and had the advantage of the railway station.

I second Bishopthorpe, it's lovely! Or, if you're wanting an easy walk into town the area around Bishopthorpe Road. We had a big 3-bed 1930's semi with a huge garden in that area, and there are a lot of great properties around there.

Fulford also has some very nice, big, houses, but bits of it flood so you need to check very carefully!

Dringhouses/Tadcaster Rd has some stunning houses - mostly four bed + (which I used to walk past with envy) but you're looking at 45 minutes to an hour to walk in to the centre from there. There are very regular buses though.

Thanks. Malton is too far out. I know it (from years ago.) We'd want to be able to 'do York' without a longish drive. DH likes 'cafe culture' (groan) so a walk into town or a cycle ride would be perfect.

Closer in to York (within 5 miles ish) it would be worth looking at Haxby.

If you are prepared to go furher out there is much more choice and housing is much cheaper.

Hovingham, Bulmer, Terrington, Scackleton, Wiganthorpe & Nunnington all up in the Howardian Hills, are beautiful. The roads are pretty empty so 20-25 minutes into Monks Cross (large M&S, John Lewis, Sainsburys etc) and the P&R.

The area around Malton also has some sweet villages. Even further out are the 'edge of the moor' villages like Helmsley, Hutton le Hole, Lastingham etc.

The areas to avoid are anywhere that relies on the A64 for access on Summer weekends between the A1079 and Castle Howard turnoffs. The traffic queues are a real problem between Friday lunch time and Monday mid morning, with people travelling to / from the coast. There are work arounds and rat runs, but trying to get anywhere in that corridor can be a real PITA.

Sorry crossed poat, probably ruling out most of my suggestions

Stockton lane might fit your bill. It's about a 25 minutes walk into town and good bus services too. There are some big detached houses, large Edwardian / 1920s / 1930s semis and some smaller Edwardian terraces. Many have very large gardens too. They will be well within your budget.

You may find it hard to track down a lot of detached houses with gardens within walking distance of york. Imagine concentric circles around the city centre: the inner most are Edwardian and older terraces (but some very beautiful houses!), then your typical 1930s semi, then developments of 1950s / 1960s houses. There are exceptions of course, but this is generally what you may find.

There are some gorgeous detached houses in areas like Bishopthorpe as others have mentioned. You could also try Stockton on Forest (further out on Stockton Lane), Elvington, Dunnington and Stamford Bridge ... all within easy reach of York but not in York.

I should also say that many of the 'burbs have very old centres with lovely houses dating back to when they were separate villages - Haxby, Heworth, Fulford, Heslington. The latter is overshadowed slightly by the University but it has some beautiful houses.

If you only know Malton from years ago, it has changed considerably.

It is now styling itself as the Food Capital of the north. There is a big food festival once a year, with smaller festivals (Autumn, Fish & Game etc) at other times. They also have a Street Food Sunday once a month in the Summer. Think lots of food & drink stalls with town square seating etc.

The lEstate that owns many of the commercial properties favours young entrepreneurial businesses so there is quite a funky vibe in the town square, with lovely cafe's, coffe prducers, a Macaroon shop, Ice Cream parlour, Homeware shops, Restaurants, a family owned cinema + a great Butcher, Fishmonger, Greengrocer etc.

Bishopthorpe Road.

Love York. Even in the centre the air just smells so clean. I’d want to be in or very near the city centre, especially in retirement. Even if that meant compromising on garden space.

Stockton Lane is a nice leafy suburb of York and easy walking distance to town.

Look at Upper Poppleton, too, though it's a bit further out.

I'd avoid Malton. It's not as nice as it seems - bit of a drug culture going on behind the scenes believe it or not, and the pubs get rough in the evenings.

East Parade has some lovely houses and is very close to the city centre.

Bishopthorpe Road is the bohemian and cool bit of York. Very in-demand.

Pocklington is a market town a bit further out and it's surprisingly nice. Full of independent shops, cafes, has an indie cinema and music venue, book shop, nice pubs and restaurants, but you're only about half an hour from York city centre. It can easily take that long from much closer villages to York, thanks to the inner ring road.

This is typical of the older / larger semis on Stockton Lane.

We live in Fulford and do sometimes walk into York. Used to live in Dunnington which isn’t walkable into York but is quite nice. DH used to live off Malton Road which is an easier walk into York - Stockton Lane area is a bit closer and houses are nice there (we considered living there but would have been trickier for children to get to school independently from there).
DH also used to live in Haxby (between us we have lived in various parts of York as I was also at university here and lived in Tang Hall and the centre in two of my years here).

Is a good place to live