Is York a good place to live?

Thank you all very much, you are most encouraging! All fears seem to be eased. Our twin boys are 3 years old. I would love to be able to afford the good Quaker school in town ( I was raised Quaker) but that might be out of reach on the one salary. My other questions are more England-general. Such as... are their preschools for my children? How in the world do you make new friends (both of us are American, so no in-laws to welcome us)? Are there any playgrounds in town or other fun things for a stay at home mom to do with her kids? I've always had a backyard for them, but we might do an apartment to be closer to the job. Sorry to be such a bother!

I live in York. It is a beautiful city. However, depending on where you want to live, house prices can be expensive, if you want to buy.

There are a lot of apartments under construction, but they seem to be luxury apartments and cost as much as the houses.

My husband and I live in a flat and pay cheap rent.

As everywhere else, the more affordable homes are in the less pleasant areas.

The weather is very mild. It seems like it rained and snowed much more in New York City.  So far, snowfall has never exceeded more than a few inches. And cool summers.

The city centre is pedestrianised, so you can do all your shopping without having to smell stinky car fumes or worrying about getting run over.

Oh yes, a record number of pubs, I think it's supposed to have more pubs than any other town in England.

Duh.

I forgot to post the link to my mother-in-law's website, which is all about York.

P.S. The reason it snows less is because York is in a valley. Also, it is the hub of the UK train system, which makes travel very easy.  You can get to either London or Edinburgh within a few hours via high-speed train.

Thank you all very much, you are most encouraging! All fears seem to be eased. Our twin boys are 3 years old. I would love to be able to afford the good Quaker school in town ( I was raised Quaker) but that might be out of reach on the one salary. My other questions are more England-general. Such as... are their preschools for my children? How in the world do you make new friends (both of us are American, so no in-laws to welcome us)? Are there any playgrounds in town or other fun things for a stay at home mom to do with her kids? I've always had a backyard for them, but we might do an apartment to be closer to the job. Sorry to be such a bother!

Hey, I have a three year old girl and an 18 month old boy! Yes, you will generally have a preschool within walking distance.  I'm not exactly sure how you qualify for this (ie- thru residency or thru citzenship) but it is free!!!!!!!  You just sign up and sign the papers.  You can choose anything for them (from a qualified list) up to five sessions a week, three hours per session.  This can be a mix and match kind of thing.  You could have two sessions with a caregiver (babysitter) and three at a preschool or two different playgroups, etc. My daughter goes to a preschool called Ladybirds (Ladybugs) and she loves it!

That is one way to get to know people as well.  Developing friendships has moved at a slower pace here than it did in the US for me. But I found people dar and away friendlier here than where we lived down south. 

Two playgrounds within walking distance for us, there is a mall like outlet place that has an undercover playground (and a Starbucks right in the door), and quite a few fun things during festivals for children.  The Railway Museum would be a huge hit with 3 yr old boys, I would imagine. 

Bus service is very good- I prefer this to drving to town.  Parking in town is 2.50 for two hours, a bus ticket is 2.50 return and I don't have to collapse the stroller and it takes me right into the center of town in ten minutes.

We have twin boys who are 2.5 yrs old and a daughter who is 5.

I can assure you that you won't be stuck for things to do with young kids - they are tons of playgroups, support groups, playgrounds, toy libraries (where you can borrow toys) etc etc ... having young kids will make finding friends easier and if you were to join the local Quaker group, I'm sure they'd welcome you in.

A good place to find out about kids' (and adults') activities is the local library (www.york.gov.uk/learning).  The National Childbirth Trust will have a branch in York (see www.nct.org.uk) - they will put you in touch with local mums/dads.  There is also a national twins club (www.tamba.org.uk - there's a branch in York - www.yorktwinclubs.org.uk).  You might want to get in touch with someone at the York Twins Club?

Pre-school is free here - I am not sure whether that is dependent on any residency status (I doubt it) , but just ask at a local group and they'll do all the paperwork for you.

Thanks all! Application is in, so we'll just be crossing our fingers now. Great resources, I'll start more serious investigations if he makes it!

Thank you!

Best of luck with your decision making!

Hi! I just found this site and I'm trying to move to York for a few months starting in July.  Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I can look for an inexpensive short term flat let? I've looked all over the web and have found a few things but I need more help.  Thanks!!!

Hi LFC,

Lawton's Lettings,  Pink are a few good letting agencies, altho a search for York lettings will bring up a lot.  "This is York" webpage, click under Classifieds on Channels>Accomodation>Property for Let and check out the private listings.  They go so fast though.  Would you be interested in letting a room for someone.  Honestly, I would consider that over going through a letting agency at this point.
You might ask St Michael Le Belfrey, an anglican church, if they would list an ad for you on their classifieds.  They have quite an established York presence and seems like they might be helpdul with something like that. Lots of students do similar things, esp. int'l.
Good luck, happy to answer any pm's about it.

PS Housing and Inexpensive seem to be incongruous terms in York, unless you are from Japan, London or Southern CA.

thanks for your help Grace  I'll check out those sites to see what there is.  I would rather not rent a room but I'm not totally against the idea.  I might look elsewhere if I can't find something there but that's where my boyfriend is so that's why I was looking there.  Worst comes to worst, I'll just do one of those self-catering flats for a few months