North Yorkshire villages/ small towns?

[zcjtb43]

I have a work from home job which means no geographical ties! I wondered if there were recommendations for somewhere quiet that's family friendly, with a good community spirit, a few amenities and outstanding schools for my (currently 3 year old) twin girls, but close to countryside walks for my dog. I've so far been looking around Harrogate but any recommendations greatly appreciated! TIA!

Skipton, Yarm, Malton.

Sedgefield, Norton, Wynyard, Northallerton.

Thirsk, Northallerton, Great Ayton, Yarm.

Hutton rudby

Lucky thing. Harrogate is lovely!!

What's your budget??

@JackTheHack

Lucky thing. Harrogate is lovely!!

What's your budget??

Budget around £550

Harrogate is lovely, Yarm, Hutton rudby

Malton

Pateley Bridge.

I’d say Wolvistion over Wynyard as is a lovely village with a nice primary. Wynyard Is really just a group of housing estates.

We had dinner once in a lovely little place called Scruton.

My in laws live outside of Selby in one of the small villages, you get a lot more for your money that way (apparently, it wasn't in our budget), it's a lovely little area with plenty of country walks and super easy to get anywhere, (provided you have a car - public transport is not great)

Pocklington (East Riding of Yorkshire) appears to be a lovely town with nice shops etc but not far from York if you want to visit the city

Malton, Thirsk, Northallerton all nice towns too

The traffic alone would put me off Harrogate

Should add that I haven't lived in any of the above places so my opinions are based on short visits only!

Thanks so much guys I will check all these places out, some great suggestions and some I've not even heard of!

@freelions

Pocklington (East Riding of Yorkshire) appears to be a lovely town with nice shops etc but not far from York if you want to visit the city

Malton, Thirsk, Northallerton all nice towns too

The traffic alone would put me off Harrogate

Should add that I haven't lived in any of the above places so my opinions are based on short visits only!

I know I find Harrogate a bit noisy too which is a shame as the centre is gorgeous. I wondered if there was a quiet side to Harrogate to investigate?

Do look at a map before you move and check out the local footpath situation. Where MIL lives, you have to walk a few hundred yards before accessing a footpath and then another few hundred yards before getting any choice of where to go. If you're out for a couple of hours, this is fine or if you're prepared to drive and then walk the options are amazing but for doing a daily morning & evening 30 min walk, I find it really dull always doing the same route. It also surprises me given how many fields and how much space is around me. There's also no where for the dog to be off the lead other than a park where all of the dogs are off lead for the exact same reason.
Where we live now and where we lived before it is more built up but, within a couple of hundred yards, I could access a footpath and that quickly lead to various loops. They all get a bit repetitive after a while but it wasn't the same route every morning and every evening.

Where do you live now OP? We did this move and hated it (moved back to the area we'd moved from) I'd write a list of pros and cons.

Knaresborough is a very picturesque market town outside of Harrogate. Good schools.

Harrogate isnt small. If you are looking for something that size, Ripon is also worth looking at.
Smaller: Great Ayton - but no decent secondary option, Guisborough (I'd expect the secondary to be decent within 10 years), Thirsk. Northallerton, Yarm.
I wouldnt go to Wynyard. Norton had no decent state secondary options, but think North Shore is doing well. Dont know what the catchment is like tho.

As a kid that grew up in a pretty Yorkshire village, I suggest you take some time to think about teen years. What are secondary schools like, what do teens do of an evening in the village/town, what are taxis and public transport options (and of course the taxi of Mum which will impact your own social life). At 3 these probably are issues top of mind, but you'd be surprised at how quickly they become teens - and a rural or small village teenage life has both pros and cons!!

Consider West Yorkshire as well. We have everything you are looking for and more but much more affordable and a more cosmopolitan and down to Earth mindset.

Also Sheffield surrounding area has what you're looking for and is right on the doorstep of the Peak District- gorgeous.

Weatherby, Ilkley, although Ilkley is West Yorkshire it’s close to dales national park

There isn't a quiet side to Harrogate within your budget. I moved out to Ripon, lots more for your money and really good schools. Thirsk and North Allerton are also lovely. I now live back in my home town in Wiltshire following my divorce and miss Yorkshire tremendously, still tell people (family) that if Yorkshire was only 2 hrs away I would never have left.

Dunnington or Stamford Bridge are both lovely villages, with easy access into York, a few shops and a nice feel. Lots of walks on your doorstep, but not far to the Wolds and Moors.