Help on ares to live in Wakefield or York

weylund

Hi I'm looking to move with my family to either Sandal in Wakefield or somewhere round York

As far as I know Sandal is a really nice part of Wakefield but I'm not sure and I know nothing much about York.

I do have a fairly limited budget of 200k so I know I'm not going to be able to live in the best areas, but any advice on areas to avoid would be great.

hanfrangipane

weylund wrote: »

Hi I'm looking to move with my family to either Sandal in Wakefield or somewhere round York

As far as I know Sandal is a really nice part of Wakefield but I'm not sure and I know nothing much about York.

I do have a fairly limited budget of 200k so I know I'm not going to be able to live in the best areas, but any advice on areas to avoid would be great.

Hi!

I'm currently buying in Wakefield (hopefully - touch wood!) and you're correct, Sandal is a nice area. you will get much more for your money there than in York, although York really is lovely.

Any reason why those are the 2 options?

Zoology_Dragon

We're currently in the process of buying a lovely house in the middle of York (nice area) for under £200k, your budget is fine as long as you don't want a mansion. Our house is a two bed Victorian terrace.

RAS

I looked up places I know and you can still get a 2 bed terrace in York under your budget in a decent area, within walking distance of town and with good access for green areas.

However, I would still be careful of the Leeman Road area; this used to flood badly and I know the floods which were 1cm below the high one in the C17 were only prevented from flooding the area by hefty sand-bagging. The water was lapping the top of the bags; got away by less than 1cm.

Assuming (based on your other choice of Wakefield) there will be a commute involved, if it is by car to somewhere not served by rail from York, look at the Fulford end of town as it has access to the A19. If it is a train journey, the closer end is OK for walking to the rail station but Leeman Road is much closer.

However, if the work is in West Yorkshire, I would seriously consider picking somewhere within the boundary as travel within the county is masssively cheaper. I know folk who would cycle from York to Micklefield or East Garforth (more trains) and pick up the train because of the much reduced cost.

Kathy535

What exactly are you looking for? Eg good transport links, decent schools, green space? Horbury in Wakefield is nice, it's a large village/small town. Netherton is smaller and also nice as are the villages towards Huddersfield (Midgely, Flockton, Emley Moor. Ossett has a good high school although always feels a bit run down (I don't live there so very happy to be contradicted!).

WoodyAllenJesus

Ossett is a charming town, as is Horbury.

I have also lived in York (Kitchener Street) which I have very fond memories of. We had a 2-bed end terrace, only rented, but it's probably the loveliest place I ever lived right in the shadow of the chocolate factory, walking distance to town and Tesco/Sainsburys (I forget now). My cousin lives in Rawcliffe which has an excellent school and great facilities, seems nice and safe, but is a bit pricey. You can't really go wrong in York I think?

emsi_b

My other half lives in Wakefield, and I can confirm Sandal is a nicer bit. A little bit of info- if you live to the north of Sandal (getting up towards Belle Vue), you may find your road turned into a car pack when the Wildcats play. They're all nice people, so there's rarely trouble, but it does get a tad congested on game day.
I'm guessing as you've picked Sandal or York, you've sussed out the dodgy bits of Wakefield. 200k should get you a nice house in a nice bit of Wakey (not a massive house, but nice). Hope that helps a little!

[Deleted User]

RAS wrote: »

be careful of the Leeman Road area; this used to flood badly

I've been using this to assess flood risk, which shows Leeman Rd as clear, am I making a mistake?

RAS

Hi The area I referred to is mainly older terraces between Water End, the river and the railway, much of which is blue grey? A friend had a house down there.

It used to flood regularly before they built the flood defences although not to any great depth. You will note that the flood risk the other side of the barriers by the river/Water Lane is high - probably multiple times per annum. So its fine as long as they hold but would be a burger if topped.

The newer properties round Phoenix Bvd are a different issue.

York tends to flood regularly in certain areas whilst other a few yards away are fine. The houses at the river end of our old street are correctly shown as no risk; just you cannot get out the front door at certain times because the garden gate is under water.

I used to walk to and from the station and my route varied according to the state of the river; I would stick my nose over the parapet on the bridge to assess it on the way home. If I could get down to the riverside walk on the way to the station, I could get all the way there or with a minor detour.

Errata

Sandal is just a tiny bit of Wakefield, the rest of it is fairly gruesome. If York could be considered 'five star' Wakefield would struggle to achieve one star.

Yorkie1

jack_pott wrote: »

I've been using this to assess flood risk, which shows Leeman Rd as clear, am I making a mistake?

RAS wrote: »

Hi The area I referred to is mainly older terraces between Water End, the river and the railway, much of which is blue grey? A friend had a house down there.

It used to flood regularly before they built the flood defences although not to any great depth. You will note that the flood risk the other side of the barriers by the river/Water Lane is high - probably multiple times per annum. So its fine as long as they hold but would be a burger if topped.

The newer properties round Phoenix Bvd are a different issue.

York tends to flood regularly in certain areas whilst other a few yards away are fine. The houses at the river end of our old street are correctly shown as no risk; just you cannot get out the front door at certain times because the garden gate is under water.

I used to walk to and from the station and my route varied according to the state of the river; I would stick my nose over the parapet on the bridge to assess it on the way home. If I could get down to the riverside walk on the way to the station, I could get all the way there or with a minor detour.

They've just raised the flood banks and created a new flood defence along the river in the Leeman Road area so hopefully the risk should be reduced. Even in the great floods of 2000, L Rd didn't really flood - it was cars of tourists driving through the water which created bow waves and difficulties. Other flooding has been as a result of drains backing up rather than the river itself coming over, if I recall rightly.


As for the river walks downstream, it does depend on which side of the river you are - the bank is lower on the Fulford side.


OP, another poster asked what it is you're after?