Moving from London to Yorkshire

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I've lived in London for 18 years but am from the Lakes. Partner is from Yorkshire & we have 2 children (4 & nearly 1). Partner is ready to leave London & has been offered job outside York. Has long commute at moment & doesn't enjoy current job. I've always Saud I wanted to go up north and we have outgrown our small flat. We could probably swop it for house with garden. Problem is I don't know where to out myself. York itself as love London and it's cultural life or somewhere like Otley which is more like my home town. I know a move makes sense on many levels but am finding it hard to decide. Will I feel isolated in small town or would it be better for children?

Wow! what a wonderful opportunity to go almost anywhere you fancy. As well as the places you're considering, have a look at Easingwold as it's a pretty market town with lots of excellent deli's, coffee shops and clothes/home shops plus a good range of community activities so you will meet people. It's only 10 miles north of York for when you need a 'bigger town' fix. It's easy to drive there or you can get the bus which is handy when the children get older and what to do their own thing.
Another alternative is Northallerton; it is a bigger town than Easingwold so not quite as cute but still very pretty. It's close to Yarm which is very nice for shopping/watching the world go by, also on the East Coast mainline so if you don't feel like driving you can hop on a train to York or be in London in less than 2 hours. You can also head the opposite direction and go to Newcastle or even up to Edinburgh.

Most small towns around York are nice, so any would be lovely! I don't think you'd be isolated really as transport is pretty good etc. Remember, people are very friendly in Yorkshire so you might enjoy being part of s smaller community.

Harrogate is nice, Ripon and Thirsk also good. There are some lovely villages dotted all around the York ring road with very easy travel into York e.g. Strensal or Haxby.

For the kids you should definitely get a house with a garden if you can afford it. You save a fortune in not 'going out' when you can just chuck your kids out into the garden to play!

Whereabouts outside York?

If you like the cultural life in London Id go for York itself. Decent theatre, art gallery, museums. Cinema that beams the NT and RSC live. Lovely historical city. Not London by a very long chalk but surprisingly and increasingly diverse culturally. Lots of intellectual stuff going on related to the university.

But also has a bit of a small town feel. Compact and walkable and sooner or later everyone will know your business if that's an advantage I often think the six degrees of separation reduces to about two in York

How lucky!! I love York and would love the chance to move back. (Was at Uni there). Having lived in a city, small town and village, I would say a small town would be best if you have children. Villages can be clique-y and isolating/ed. a town, ime, gives you the best of both worlds. And I think Northallerton is a great suggestion. Or Richmond, depending on where the job is.

I grew up in Easingwold. it's one of those places that looks nice but actual isn't.

York is a fantastic city with a small town feel... Whereabouts will your husband be commuting to? There are lots of villages/small towns on the outskirts of York that are within easy transport routes to york but still offer rural living.

Yes, Northallerton or Helmsley is lovely.

My DS moved out of York city into a small village when her children started school because although they loved living there, there are lots of great private schools which she could not afford and she struggled to find a decent state primary or (with an eye to the future) secondary. I would start looking at schools first if you have a choice of where to go.

Could I ask how long ago that was mytholmroyd?
My two are Y1 and Y4 in a York primary and I've found the state schools in general, and theirs in particular, to be excellent. With regard to secondary we are looking now for DS who has SEN and are a bit spoilt for choice - Manor, Millthorpe, Fulford and Huntington are all very well regarded options.

Just a different perspective.

If you think about it you probably dont go further than 5 miles on any given day - you see the same handful of people and go to the same places. It wont be that much of a difference. With kids you will meet new moms and make friends quickly. A garden will be a blessing. As you arent nearing school age ye, could you rent and get a feel for 12 months?

Where do your inlaws/family live? Ms want to consider how near you would like to live for support etc. Also consider how far you are from York station if you want to be able to visit London easily

Her kids are still in primary so not that long ago Surreal but that's great if you are spoilt for choice! I guess it depends how far you want to travel to school. Still think finding a school - and one you have a chance of getting in to if you are not going through the normal application process is very important.

When we moved to North Yorks, I checked out schools, transport, free places, afterschool clubs, types if secondary (what they specialised in etc) beforehand so we could feed it into our decision. It helped to know for example that all the primary schools in our area had places in Yr4 so we could take our pick but getting a Yr7 place when we were living outside the area was going to be difficult at certain schools.

Just to add - I don't live in York and don't know any of the state schools as Surreal does!

I know Otley pretty well, and it's a great place to live Its a good sized town with good bus links and lots of lovely shops, big & small, and the schools are good. It's a friendly place! We were looking to move there two years ago, but our house didn't sell so we extended instead. It was very telling that everyone of four house we viewed had owners that were selling to buy again within Otley. Very reasonable prices too.
It is a 45min drive to York though, so your DH would need to be the right side of York or he'd have a long commute!

Hi mytholm yes I would totally agree that checking out the schools before deciding where to move to is a good idea wherever you are moving to. Didn't mean to suggest otherwise. And while the situation re places isn't too bad, some of the best ones are inevitably oversubscribed.

Is renting in York for a bit an option if kids are under school age, maybe a chance to have a look?