Do you like town or country; are you a rural romantic or a city slicker? Both have their attractions, of course, both offer lifestyle choices along with location.

As the two contrasting properties featured here illustrate rather well… Staying in the sticks, we first feature a rather grand country house in the delightfully named Crooked Lane, in Kirk Hammerton, a pleasant commuter village off the A59 between York and Harrogate.

The house has superb country views front and back and is well placed to make the most of that outlook.

It is a high and handsome property which has been recently renovated to a high standard, cleverly blending old and new in a seamless manner, with plenty of contemporary comforts alongside traditional styling.

And there is a lot of house to admire here, too, spreading itself gently across three floors, beginning with a series of spacious rooms on the ground floor including an excellent front sitting room with wood burning stove set in a brick hearth with wood mantel, exposed floorboards and a light and airy big bay window. There is a formal dining room, also with feature fireplace and exposed floorboards and a superb breakfast kitchen with double Range style cooker and hob, fitted cupboards and wall and base units and solid wood work surfaces and a terracotta tiled floor with underfloor heating. A utility room, store and cloakroom complete the ground floor.

Upstairs there is a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, a second double bedroom and bathroom and a single bedroom/study. Then there are two further double bedrooms sharing a shower room on the second floor.

The gardens give far-reaching rural views with a driveway and lawned garden to the front and a walled rear courtyard.

Super house, super spot for country types (while still being close to commuter routes) offered by Stephensons at Boroughbridge at a guide price of £395,000. Tel: 01423 324324.

And now swapping Barbour for Crombie, we head into town – to Hungate, the European-influenced landmark development within York’s city walls.

Here we find a bright, breezy modern duplex apartment in Palmer Street, literally minutes from the city centre.

Smartly laid out and beautifully presented, this is a sparkling contemporary home with spacious accommodation laid out over ground and first floors.

There is a cleverly kitted out kitchen, with white gloss wall and base units and a range of integrated appliances including cooker and hob and dishwasher, which opens to a dining hallway and cloakroom before flowing gently into a living/dining room with two sets of doors opening to a courtyard garden (a major plus this close to the city centre).

This is a light and bright room and it is easy to imagine throwing back those doors and (when the winter is finally over) letting in the outside world.

Talking of outside space, both of the bedrooms on the first floor have balconies, looking in and out, as it were, with one facing the development’s communal gardens and the other out to the city.

At the moment that balcony has views of the Minster but, it should be said, that could be lost once the Hiscox office project is completed – although even then you may still retain a sliver of sightline!

The real joy of this property, however, still lies with its location and the smart, bright high-spec finish of the apartment itself, makes for an added bonus.

Definitely worth a look if you are into the idea of having a home in the heart of York, yet just enough of a walk away from the main drag to also provide you with some peace and quiet.

It is offered by Your Move Anscombs at a guide price of £335,000. Tel: 01904 621532.