Where to live in York?

St Andrewgate and Spen lane are where I'm buying when (if) I come into money!

Ellen go to North Devon instead!

Thanks again all, yes, still following this and having a good think!

PS EllenT if you are still following this thread: for city centre living have a look at Aldwark/Spen Lane/St Andrewgate. Bang in the middle of the city but very quiet with no through traffic.

I agree with Kupari that Haxby ticks a lot of boxes - my friend has lived there for thirty odd years and wouldn’t live anywhere else, but she lives on the Foss side and they came very near to being flooded in 2015, so it pays to choose your spot. Copmanthorpe is also nice.

I think Haxby would tick a lot of boxes. Its just outside York City Centre, and has frequent bus service. Haxby itself is like a village and has lots of small shops that would serve your every day shopping. Has a great Medical Centre, vets , dentist, opticians etc. Has village Green, lots of flowers etc.
I have a relative who lives there, so know Haxby well.
Good Luck in your search.
P.S. I dont think it has ever had floods.

Avoid the east side near York University, flooded with student multiple occupancies resulting in parking problems, unkempt gardens, late night noise etc (in what was previously a lovely area of families). Avoid Tang Hall, parts of Clifton and parts of Acomb. Heworth that adjoins Tang Hall has some lovely houses as does Dringhouses. Last year's horrendous floods are supposed to be a thing of the past but that remains to be seen. I'm told York was recently on Location, location, location.

there was an article in the Sunday Times yesterday that said York is the best place in England to live. It also said that house prices are rising there faster than most other places in the country.

It's horses for courses Marianee, isn't it. My BiL and SiL lived just north of York in a really nice village. When DBiL was offered a job in Edinburgh, they bought a flat, where he lived during the week, and spent alternate weekends in Edinburgh and Yorkshire. They enjoyed their Edinburgh time so much that they sold both properties and bought a home there.

They hated it! And, as soon as DBiL's contract came to an end, they moved back to the village in Yorkshire and are really happy.

Interesting points. Some friends and also SIL have places in York and love it going most weekends. They're not in the city centre although both are within walking distance but outside the flood areas which are notoriously bad. Parking is a big problem if you don't have allocated places and even then can still be an issue with people parking in them.

We are in a similar position of wanting to move but having no idea where to go. Family are down south where house prices are so much higher than we could afford plus they are busy with their own lives so we don't want to become a burden to them. We have no friends here so have considered York but again it's what area? Wetherby and the surrounding villages are beautiful but prices are pretty high so it will depend on your budget. Good idea to go and rent there if you can as it will give you an idea what living in an area would be like.

Lots to think about, then and some areas to look as a starting point - which is just what I hoped from the posting. We’ve been thinking about this for ages, so not a quixotic decision. Our friends and family are scattered and we have no roots where we currently live, so could move almost anywhere, house prices permitting. You’d think that would make it easier but it doesn’t...

Traffic into York is horrendous, can take an hour for the last mile or so, much worse than going into Harrogate from Ripon and that can be bad.

We moved to an area we had loved/holidayed in for many years. We rented in the town , and then set to viewing houses to buy. Two years later we were still looking but like you houses were discounted for many reasons including being in a flood zone. We then happened upon an area just outside the next town and found a lovely place to live. It isn't touristy as the former,less traffic, better drs etc. What I'm saying is keep your options open. We settled in an area we love but just outside the hussle and bustle but with easy access to everything we want.

Tadcaster, not far from York, a good community spirit ( used to have lots of pubs too!)
Too much flooding in York itself.

My sister and family lived in Haxby for a couple of years. It's just about five miles from York and quiet. My sister loved it there.

Poppleton...just outside York..... is a very nice village...I would say it has everything you need, also a railway station with frequent trains to both Harrogate and York...good bus service, doctors, shops ,pubs and also a Park and Ride service into York. Good luck.
Do you have family nearby in York or are you moving away from them?

Haxby is a lovely spot just outside York

I can’t believe that you want to move out of Scotland. I’m not Scottish, but have being trying to return for the last 20 years and we finally moved back and now live in Edinburgh and absolutely love it. I hated living in the country as there is no facilities and we ended up with no shop or bus . Moving to a city is wise as when you get older, there will be public transport. I lived near York in my younger days and have stayed there many times and I loved it. Then I found Edinburgh and quite frankly there is no competition. The NHS seems a lot more efficient up here as well and that would have to be another consideration as you grow older.

Think carefully before moving too far away from family and friends. A couple I know retired to a very quiet part of Wales that they had often visited for holidays. Shortly afterwards the husband died suddenly. His wife doesn't drive, is dreadfully lonely, and has problems with everyday activities such as shopping or getting to the doctor. Her family are now looking at ways to get her 'back to civilisation'.

Ddad lives in Dringhouses area of York & it’s great- near enough to the centre to be easily accessible by bus or walking. It’s got the Park & Ride a stone’s throw away, with a big Tescos, but smaller shops on the road into York.

I live almost exactly between York and Harrogate and visit both on a regular basis. Given the choice, I think, I would choose an outlying village (or small town) as both York and Harrogate have horrendous traffic problems. The house prices in both can be high too. I’m thinking of Wetherby, Boston Spa, or even Ripon.
There are some lovely places with good facilities and often good public transport or your could visit York on the ‘park and ride’ system which is so much cheaper than parking in the City.
Wherever you choose I hope you enjoy living in Yorkshire much as we do.

What an excellent idea to use this site for in depth discovery of the yays and nays of a prospective move. I will remember this. Well done to EllenT for thinking of it. Hope you receive lots of seriously constructive tips and end up happy wherever you move to. Good luck with such an important decision.

ellen the Environmental Agency hold the flood information. Very important that I would think!,

York is a great city. Unfortunately councillors and planners have yet to find a solution to the flooding problem which is serious. Not just serious but will get worse due to increasing rainfall over all the river catchments.

We've been in York during flooding and it would be a worry for us if we lived there. Flooding was made even worse recently because of decisions made without the knowledge of the likely outcome in the way the existing flood "prevention" was overridden.

I expect residents of York can give much more detailed information and explain the severe difficulty due to the topography of the area.

Lovely as the Centre of York is, it floods horribly. So you would have to be very careful not to buy any house near the Flooding. The problem is that it will affect your transport arrangements even if you yourself don't flood.
We were at the Grand in York Christmas 2015 and getting across country to get back home was a nightmare of closed roads. If you had to get to hospital in a hurry then you would have needed a helicopter.
Harrogate doesn't flood and it has a beautiful Centre and lots of lovely terraces close to the Town. Parking is a bit if a problem as you have to pay to park outside your door.

York is lovely. Lots to do, and very pleasant. Mainline train links are exceptional e.g. London in 2 hours.
The traffic on the ring road is a real pain though so I would say you want to be inside that (though as others have said there are many lovely little villages outside e.g. Haxby, Kirk Hammerton etc). Flooding is definitely something to watch for - underground car parks in blocks of flats (e.g. the lovely old converted warehouses near the river) can be a problem.
If you are interested in something different, there is a new housing development called Derwnthorpe, near Osbaldwick, set up by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, where 40% of the properties are owned and run by them as family oriented social housing and the rest is privately owned. The house designs have won awards and are quite radical, may not be to everyone's taste I suppose, though the insides of them are amazing, and they are designed to a standard which means they can be adapted as life events happen e.g. they have level thresholds, wide doorways, knock-out panels in ceilings and floors ready to accommodate a lift, wide parking spaces etc.
Bishopthorpe area is quite trendy and might also be worth a look. Hope this helps.