ShelleyDee

I lived in York for 5 years and left reluctantly for family reasons.

York is unusual in that it has historic buildings of character - both in the main street and throughout the township itself. Its a busy tourist destination on weekends during the cooler months and hosts many different activities for locals and others all year round.

Spring and autumn are the best months for York and surrounds when the land around it is either blooming with wildflowers or the canola crops are coming through.

There is a selection of places to eat - from a fantastic cafe or two down the main street, a train carriage where you can eat al fresco by the Avon river to either Italian or Chinese - and everywhere is child friendly.

The local supermarket has a good variety, there is a hardware, rural supplier, most house services, shops for books, electricals, hairdressers, massage, second hand furniture and bric a brac, art, sweets, boutiques..and probably more since I left!

If you need more than that the town of Northam is only a 25 minute drive away where the major supermarket chains are as well as fast food outlets (none of those in York - yayy!) amongst other smaller shops. Also from Northam you can catch the Prospector train to Kalgoorlie for a weekend trip.

There is a coach leaving York to Midlands each day that returns approx 2 hours later. Midlands is a 'shopping ' suburb of Perth and you can get just about anything from there. If you choose to drive it is only a 40 to 50 minute drive through some very pretty country to get there.

There are some lovely parks in York and the park in town by the river leads to a great walking/cycling track of approx 3 kms. There is a fun BMX track out near the racecourse where the kids have a ball most weekends, a town pool which also hosts swimming lessons during summer holidays, soccer and football ovals, tennis, bowls and basketball/netball courts.

The school takes children from pre-school to Year 10 and is undoubtedly the best school I have encountered (lived in NT, SA and QLD with school age children) - the supportive staff, the activities in and out of school, the camps and excursions - all very good. When they are old enough to move leave the York school then they can choose to attend a private college or state high school in Northam, or travel further afield. Buses pick up and drop off all students going to Northam schools- and if you live more than 3kms from the York school your children can be picked up by the school bus.

All in all I was very happy living in York :)