Rents and house prices keep going up in York. But what does this mean for people living in the city? In the second in our York’s Property Crisis series, data manager Will tells Roy Horobin there is another way
Everyone knows York is expensive for renting and property. The question is: does it have to be like this?
The experiences of one York resident would seem to suggest not.
Will hails from the Netherlands, did her degree at the University of Maastricht, but has lived in a two-bed flat within the city walls of York for the last four years. She’s a 30-years-old with a skilled job as a data manager in IT.
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Will loves York: “It’s just a really nice place. I love that we have the river – even though it floods. There’s lots of greenery that’s accessible, places to go out to eat, to have a drink on the weekends.
“I love that I can just walk everywhere I need. Everything has to be accessible to me.”
For Will there is just one problem. Renting and buying in York is very expensive.
She’s not asking much: “Just a nice little house for me with two bedrooms, a little garden so I can have a dog. In a safe area that I could walk to the city centre. That is my dream.
“And I feel like that shouldn’t be unattainable.”
For all York’s many attractions, “the one thing missing is affordable housing,” she says.
The Netherlands also has attractive cities and places that are expensive. But there are differences that perhaps our policymakers could learn from.
Will said: “What has baffled me is that in the UK, so much has been privatised.”
Because Britain has sold off council houses and public transport “it feels like, OK, so I can’t buy a house. And then the services that are provided aren’t always great either.
“In the Netherlands, you also have social housing. And the quality of housing in the Netherlands is quite high. It has double glazing. It has laminate flooring, solar panels.”
No hope of buying
What about Will buying a house in York? “Right here in York, I have pretty much given up hope that on my own I’ll be able to do that.
“I would need to pool my assets with either a partner or some friends. And that’s a shame because I value my independence. I value my financial independence in particular.
“I don’t really like the thought of being dependent on someone else for me to have a place to call my own. You know, I’m renting on my own, but of course, renting is not really yours.”
Will has no current plans to move. But it does seem almost inevitable that she will consider leaving the city “as I look to move to a slightly bigger place.
“I would easily be paying £300 to £400 a month more in rent for what is only a little bit more space. And it’s just not worth that to me. It can feel like I’m stuck.”
Will could, of course, take herself, her skills and her input into York’s social and economic life back to the Netherlands and buy a house there. But does the city of York want to lose decent, skilled, hard-working people like Will?
Are our high rent and property prices inevitable?
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