Vision’s Guide to Housing

Monkgate

Monkgate may be dangerously close to York St Johns, but it’s in a great location due to its close proximity to the city centre, and it’s still no more than a half an hour’s walk from the main campus. Additionally, archaeologists rejoice! Monkgate is a ten minute walk from The King’s Manor, making it ideal if you have all your lectures there. Moreover the library at Kings Manor is jolly nice to work in, even for those who don’t have lectures there, and I often end up working there when I know the main library will be heaving, which it often is. Other great advantages to living on Monkgate include being about thirty seconds away from Sainsbury’s and less than five minutes from Morrisons as well. As Monkgate backs onto Goodramgate, it’s also close to a few pubs and cafes and a late night Tesco (handy for late night snacking). The only real downside is that it can be quite expensive with some students paying £80 a week, which may be a little too much for some people’s budgets. Jack Western

Osbaldwick

Osbaldwick is a remote colony of the City of York located “somewhere beyond Badger Hill” off the far end of Hull Road, which no one, not even Hull Road residents, seem to be aware exists. Amenities and general resources are scarce in Osbaldwick, which has led to the development of a hardy, frontier society. Principle activities include firing revolvers at the sky and playing five card stud in The Magnet. Much of what you would think of as civilization in Osbaldwick is based around one of two main epicentres. The first, in the Osbaldwick Leyes, primarily consists of a Sainsbury’s Local, the outside of which is the permanent residence of the ‘Baldwick Boys, the area’s most feared gang of 10-12 year olds who are wanted for such crimes as leaning on their BMX’s wearing polyester trousers and try ing to look menacing. The other is the area immediately surrounding the village green, which includes the Derwent Arms pub, the used car dealership and has basically been wrenched directly from Heartbeat. Tom Davies

Fulford

Fulford is an expansive area that runs along the river bank closest to the University and stretches from Mecca Bingo in the north down towards Halifax in the south. Its advantages are proximity to town- it takes barely 10 minutes to get in to the centre of the city, which is really handy as it means you never have to get taxis or buses. The distance from campus is a bit of a myth as there are about three routes you can take to get to Fulford from the University, which means wherever you are it’ll take you 20 minutes to get onto the centre of Heslington West (obviously for Hes East you’re going to take considerably longer, but if you study there, why on earth would you consider living in Fulford?). An added security bonus is that Fulford is one of the most residential areas in York so crime rates are low, and although that rules out raging house parties it also makes theft and break-ins much less likely. For wildlife lovers, it’s also by the river so you’re never too far from your water fowl friends. Angus Quinn

Heslington

Heslington village has some of the nicest and largest accommodation in York, with abundant leafy country cottages, converted farmhouses and one or two huge properties ideal for people with large groups of friends. Living in Heslington puts you about as close to the university as you can be without actually living on campus, so your days of waking up late need not be over yet! Living here gives you a true Yorkshire village experience, complete with rural pub, and everyone’s favourite sandwich shop is in close proximity. However, you’re even further away from the city centre than you were when you lived on campus, making trips into town difficult and time consuming. It’s also very quiet, so if you’re the sort of person who likes a 24 hour party right on your doorstep, sadly it’s not the place for you. Accommodation here is pricey; you’re looking at £120 a week for your everyday, run of the mill palatial mansion. If you can afford it however, and want a true taste of Yorkshire, it’s a great place to live. Callum Shannon

Badger Hill

Apparently Badger Hill has only recently become a student area. This may explain why last year someone took the time to print notes and put them on every windscreen to tell them (incorrectly) that it was prohibited to park there. But our rents are cheap, and the houses are nice. Badger Hill has a small shop, 2 hairdressers and that all important fish tackle shop, servicing your every need for… fish tackle? Badger Hill’s greatest asset is undoubtedly the bakery. For £1.20 you can have a bacon and sausage sandwich with ketchup. Although experiences vary, I’ve found people incredibly friendly here. Someone two doors down delivers us her excess fruit from her apple and pear trees, helping save us from scurvy. All in all, Badger Hill is a very safe, very sedate area. Once the front door of our house was left wide open for over 10 hours with no one in. Nothing was taken. I think that says it all. Just a note, we thoroughly lock all the doors now, just to let any prospective burglars know. Elle Panes

Tang Hall

When you live in Tang Hall, your friends will always ask, “Why?” and offer their loving support. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were a support group for students living there. It’s a place that generates a new stereotype on a daily basis: looting every weekend without fail, drunk bicycled youths dressed head to toe in Paul’s Boutique roam the streets unsupervised, not to mention it’s reportedly between one and four hours from campus. In reality, it is a very residential area and, therefore, has a lot of children wandering around (often wearing Paul’s Boutique in front of the local Co-op). But they’re harmless, and Tang Hall is in no way deprived enough to spawn any classic hip-hop albums in its honour. It’s about a 25-minute walk from campus, which might put some off looking there, but it also means rent is much cheaper. There are quite a lot of surprisingly nice houses scattered around for reasonable prices, if you can sift through a list of what are effectively cardboard boxes.  Karl Tomusk