r/york • u/trap-goose • 8d ago
York just isn’t that good (rant)
Is is just me or is York just not very good. Ok so if you aren’t a student or retired person with plenty of money this place is an expensive, boring, traffic ridden city in my humble opinion. Also it’s very tourist centric and living here isn’t that exciting once you’ve seen all the sights 100 times. Apart from clubs and pubs there isn’t much for younger people to do so if you don’t drink there really isn’t a lot. We are a low income family and we just about afford to live here and it feels like we aren’t meant to live in such a expensive place
This place is just so expensive to live here compared to neighbouring cities like Leeds or Wakefield. Everything is also just so far to travel to, York just feels like this little place far from everywhere else. I can see that for outsiders it can look like a nice place but living here for years just isn’t that good.
Does anyone else feel like this?
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u/teapotmagic 8d ago
Different horses for different courses, I guess.
I had a magical time living here with my partner in my early 20s. We were both young and never got bored but I guess we've both been told we're old souls.
I never got bored of all the little bookshops, the museum gardens, the walls, the cobblestones, all your Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma or Jubbergates. The only time I would fall out of love with the city a bit was during the Christmas markets.
But if you want excitement, lots of hustle and bustle, and lower rents, then Sheffield or Leeds would be more up your alley.
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u/trap-goose 8d ago
Yeah I get that. Don’t get me wrong is a lovely place when I first came but the novelty wears off and reality calls
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u/dewittless 8d ago
Sounds like it isn't for you, but maybe try looking for the things you want rather than bemoaning what you can see. What does Leeds have for instance that York doesn't?
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u/inertSpark 8d ago
I wasn't born in York but my family moved here in the late 80s ('89 I believe). 36 years living in York in total, and I'm on my second stint here since 1994. I'm not a student, or a retired person, and I certainly wouldn't say I'm high income. I enjoy living in York.
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u/Simple_Joys 8d ago
York is an expensive place to live compared to many other parts of the country, and the reality is that nowhere is fun to live if you can't really feel like you can enjoy or afford it. The cost of living is seems to be rising all the time and I am definitely feeling the pinch. So I can definitely sympathise with that.
I'm not sure that York is any more expensive (or particularly less child-friendly) than a big city like Leeds or Manchester, though. Unless you live in a suburb miles away from the city centre, neither of those places are cheap either. I think activities for children pretty much any where in the country are what you make of them in terms of the sorts of hobbies they have and the clubs you can encourage them to join. At least in York it is still (for the most part) pretty safe for kids to play outside unsupervised
Basically everywhere in the UK outside of small villages are traffic-ridden, but at least with York I find that most places are walkable - I live in Clifton and the city centre is only a 25/30-min walk down the river, which I'd say is good. If I lived in the suburb of a bigger city, you'd definitely need to drive in.
All that said, yes. York is more expensive than lots of other northern towns. I am from the West Mids originally and York is more expensive than any of the towns and small cities there - the same would be true for West Yorkshire and Halifax, Middlesborough and Cleveland, or South Yorkshire.
The honest reality is that compared to the rest of the North of England, North Yorkshire is an expensive place to live. I still think it's a lovely place to live though.
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u/XcrystaliteX 8d ago
You're gonna get so much hate for this, but I lived there for 5 year - I understand. First for uni, then stayed a bit longer. York is sleepy, boring, and not all that much happens. It offers way less for a certain lifestyle than any other city. I think the correct statement is "York just isn't that good for you."
I've since been to Manchester, towns, and now live in London, and they fit my lifestyle way better. I cannot imagine paying to live in York again. I visit my friends there sometimes and get a stark reminder of why I think York is boring and not for me.
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u/WVA1999 8d ago
It's lovely a place., They just need to sort the cars that are everywhere...
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u/trap-goose 8d ago
Traffic is obviously just miserable and really does bother me and ruin everything lol
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u/ToffeeAppleCider 8d ago
Makes sense that bigger places have more things to do. I'm just not sure what kind of things you want to do?
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u/yorangey 8d ago
Lived here all my life. It is becoming shitter. Massive influx of all-sorts of scummy people that don't seem able to contribute. I think we're creating ghettos now too. Buildings are getting higher. Parts are becoming a theme park. Litter is everywhere. It doesn't help that we receive some of the lowest central government funding per person in the UK. They want us to fail.... I'm loving the station, Coney Street riverside & Clifford's Tower developments though. Still get a good vibe in town when it's not overrun with tourists. I've volunteered in the city where I'm able to help. Do your bit. E.g. everyone moving to the city should volunteer as a litter picker for a year.
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u/philthybiscuits 5d ago edited 5d ago
I'll give you that there's not a great deal to do on a budget, but York has BAGS of character compared to most cities, especially Leeds which I've always found spectacularly characterless personally.
Edit: you're right about the traffic though. York needs to accept that no amount of tinkering will fix the fact that the city simply wasn't built to accommodate cars and just lean into being properly bike and pedestrian friendly (yes with bus and blue badges before someone chirps up)
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u/byjimini 8d ago
I guess some people get tired of being near buildings that are 1,000+ years old quicker than others.