Help with York - in a spin

[Asiatoyork]

Hello

We are planning a move to York from Asia in July 2024. Considering looking for a house earlier than our return to smooth school application process (it’s acceptable to apply with an address if not yet living there due to our jobs).

I don’t know where to start! One would be starting secondary. The other going into YR 5 primary so looking for a nice one. Have heard good things about Fulford, Archbishop, and Huntington. Would like to be close to station for commute (walk within 30 minutes maybe).

Any recommendations on nice areas that could meet all of this, and aren’t at high risk of flooding?! Budget is from £600k and could stretch to £850k absolute max if needed.

Thank you!!

Loads of previous threads about rough areas in York if that's what you mean.
And obviously with a budget of 1/2 to 3/4 of a million pounds you'll have no probs 🙄

Why so snarky?

Fulford area - avoid Germany Beck. Whole estate was built on a flood plain! Riverside properties also risk of flooding.
Huntington - Lots of nice areas but I doubt you could walk to the station in 30 mins
Archies - avoid Tang Hall, nearly all student housing.
With your budget you will almost certainly be in the nicer bits anyway!

I live in York.

£600 to £850K doesn't get you a huge deal in York compared to other areas of the UK. We recently viewed a small-medium 3-bed detached that needed everything doing which was up for £650K and went, we're told, significantly over asking price. It's a sellers market in York.

In terms of areas, people will be along shortly to tell you about South Bank as though its the answer to everything 😂
I, personally, find SB full of middle-class, lentil-weaving wankery. People who read The Guardian and want you to know that they read The Guardian.

You'll find similar properties cheaper in Holgate which is about the same distance from the station. People in Holgate probably do read The Guardian but don't really care if you know it or not.

The area around Bootham (over the other side of the river) is very nice. It's similar to SB - rows of Victorian terraces and also quite expensive. But its closer to town and the station.

Fulford has a more varied housing stock but its a little further out and half hour might be a bit optimistic for a walk to the station.

Tadcaster Road area and Dringhouses has some beautiful houses and quite varied stock. I'm thinking of the area around Hunters Way, Middlethorpe Grove and The Horsehoe. But the houses can be quite large and, therefore, quite expensive so you might find yourself priced out.

I'd say avoid Lawrence Street, Heslington Road area because it's all York University students. The Groves and the areas off Bootham 'behind' the hospital is all York St John's students and trainee medics. People on MN are very negative about Acomb and Tang Hall because they are large post-war council estates with associated deprivations and problems. With a budget of £600K, I guess you wouldn't be looking in those areas anyway. But, don't write off the whole of Acomb. The area around Acomb Green and beyond (towards the A64) is very beautiful and only about half hour to the station.

If you were happy to drive to the station or get the bus then the villages of Dunnington and Stamford Bridge are nice.
Dunnington's secondary school catchment is Fulford, a fair few go to Archbishops, plenty of kids go to Archbishops from Stamford Bridge too despite it not being it's catchment.

Do you have to be in York? - As per PP look at the villages outside York as well. I'd probably try and avoid the A64 area though and driving on the outer ring road if wanting to travel at peak times as they can be nightmareish. A 5 mile radius of York centre gives you loads of choice.

You might want to consider that York is quite homogenous and has a villagey vibe to it. People aren't very friendly.

That's actually fairly tricky. Family houses within a 30 minute walk of the station tend not to be in the catchment for the schools you've mentioned. I probably would consider South Bank/Bishy Road in your situation, or Fishergate, or else move a bit further away to Heworth or Huntington or Fulford Road and cycle to the station - there are some decent off-road cycle paths.

We relocated to York in 2021. Your budget won't go as far there but we also found schools are higher quality than where we moved from and the more dodgy areas not as dodgy!

Examine the flood risk maps very closely!

We rented before buying which has been expensive but worth it in terms of getting to know the areas.

It's a very walkable and cyclable city - the traffic is often dreadful but you can get to many places quicker on foot. It's also relatively flat.

Depends what sort of housing you want - closer to city centre is more townhouses on multiple storeys with more limited parking and little or no garden. Further out are bigger houses with more parking and space. Tang Hall and Foxwood seem to produce the most negative comments on local social media.

Bootham/Clifton is nice but expensive. Most housing is terraces with small yards. The roads get very clogged with school traffic including on Saturdays as there's a couple of private schools there.

Holgate seems very nice with some lovely roads and houses, not that far from railway station.

Wigginton and Haxby Road areas get very clogged up with hospital traffic.

Bishopthorpe Road area is very expensive and has a bit of a reputation with its indie shops as being quite 'hipster'. We liked it but struggled to find somewhere to live there so gave up.

Heworth is nice - particularly a bit further out (Heworth Without) there are some lovely big solid houses with good parking. But further to walk to the station though as it's the far side of the city walls.

Is there a reason you have a problem with her budget?

Is no one allowed to have that budget or are they just not allowed to post on MN if they do?

Wondering if you live in York? I’ve found it welcoming and friendly. It’s a great place to live with good schools and nice areas to live. Even the areas considered ‘not as nice’ are lovely compared with other cities I’ve lived in.

The main downside is that houses are more expensive than other areas and it is well worth getting familiar with the flood maps before buying.

I moved from London to York 6 years ago and found it very nice and people very friendly. Clifton Green is where we loved and is lovely.

I live in York, can confirm we are a set of bastards.

In all seriousness, Holgate is super close to the station, town and All Saints secondary school which I believe is 'outstanding.'

Yes I do live in York and I'm not a bastard. People are friendly but don't really want to be friends.

It will probably be different if you are meeting people through kids going to school.

I live in York, can confirm we are a set of bastards

😂

Wow. Thanks so much for all the messages and ideas. Noted on the flood plains. Maybe we will need to be a bit more flexible about getting to the station in 30 mins.

It’s tricky trying to make all these bits come together from afar, hence why asking the advice so we can narrow things down for when we can hopefully have a few days there over the coming summer.

Also, you can do massive amounts of research into schools in advance but you are very dependent on what spaces there are available once you're here. Check the current timeframes on the York Council website but, for an in-year primary place you could give a maximum of 20 school days notice when applying. They don't hold places for you.

So we got an address from 20 school days before we needed it. Before that I contacted the six closest schools to the address to see which had Y1 places available. One didn't reply, one the email bounced, one had several places, the others had one place each. But there was no guarantee that any of those places would still be available as someone else could also apply! We visited the one we liked the look of the most, put it down as first choice, then listed the others in order of preference. We were notified about ten days before the start date that we had a place at our first choice but it was quite stressful waiting to hear!