Moving to Cheshire

[Warmandtoasty]

Hello I'm hoping for some help, my husband has been promoted at work and we will be moving to Cheshire in January. We currently live in the East Midlands and have a son who will be in year 6 (aged10) when we move so will need to consider both primary schools and high schools.

At the moment we live in a small town which is quite quiet so ideally we would like to avoid city centre such as Warrington and Chester as these feel too large but we don't want to be out in the sticks either as I don't want our son to have to rely on us to taxi him about everywhere.

We have a budget of 250k which we could potentially stretch to 300k which from what I've seen gets us nowhere near what we can get over here so I think we will be downsizing but would ideally like 3 bedrooms.

We've had a little drive through some areas and these are the ones we like, some which I think are way out of our budget but I will list them anyway

Knutsford
Stockton Heath
Lymm
Altrincham
Tarporley
Hartford
Kelsall
Kingsmead

Does anyone know anything about these areas or recommend anywhere else to look? My husband will be working near Ellesmere Port and would like a 30-45 minute commute.

Sorry for the massive post just wanted to give as much info as possible! Thanks

[hyperspacebug]

Commute by car or train?

Have you ruled out Wirral? Nice parts there - like Hoylake, Bebington...and I know someone who got a big nice 3 bed house near beach in nice part of Wirral for less than your 250K budget (admittedly it was couple of years ago, not sure about prices now)

[Flowerfae]

Tarporley is lovely, I used to live near Frodsham which is nice and has quite a few shops.

[Warmandtoasty]

Commuting by car. A couple of times a month he will need to get the train into London but mostly will be driving back and forwards to Ellesmere Port.

We had a quick drive through Wirral but not fully looked into it as my husband prefers Cheshire, we've not ruled it out though he has just had a few people at working saying to avoid Birkenhead but that's all we really heard so far about it.

I haven't thought of Frodsham thanks I will have a look at that

[Helyantha]

Tarporley and Kelsall are lovely and very easily commutable to Ellesmere Port. Only half an hour to Crewe station too. Super schools and beautiful views. Pm me if you'd like more detail :)

[Warmandtoasty]

Are the schools in Tarporley and Kelsall likely to be oversubscribed would you think? It looked like we could afford more in Kelsall but it is a little bit more rural and not sure if that will be a nightmare when our son becomes a teenager! So much to think about

[mandy214]

I only really know Altrincham, Lymm and Knutsford. All very nice, Knutsford and Lymm "nicer" than Altrincham in terms of the centre (Knutsford the biggest but probably the most attractive, Lymm more like a large village, Altrincham has some shops that are empty but close by you have Hale which is probably very similar to Knutsford but on a smaller scale. Altrincham and Knutsford very good transport links. Altrincham is on the tramline too (you don't say whether you'll be working) which goes into Manchester City Centre.

The biggest difference is schools. If your son will be in Year 6, if you're not moving until January (after he starts Year 6), he'll have missed the entrance exams for the grammar schools in Altrincham (they take place in September) so I think the local grammar schools in Altrincham won't be an option. I don't know how it works for moving mid-year in Year 6, not sure you'll even be in time for expressing a choice for secondary (certainly in Trafford) you might just be offered what is available for secondary (and the primaries are over-subscribed). I would log onto Trafford's website and see what the timings are.

Knutsford & Lymm don't have the grammar school system, they both have high schools - Knnutsford comes under East Cheshire, its OK/good, I think Lymm High has a better reputation good / very good (comes under Warrington I think) so you need to review their applications process before making a decision (and make sure you're in catchment before committing to a house)

I think you might struggle to get a good 3 bed in any of those places for £250k but could do it for £300k at a push.

[LizzieMint]

I grew up in Sale (down the road from Altrincham) but haven't lived there for a while. Altrincham has some lovely bits - you can get into the grammars late (at least you could when we moved there!). Me and my siblings did an in-year move at high school and just took the 11+ or adjusted exam first. Knutsford and Lymm are lovely but very pricey I think. Hale and Hale Barns are good too.

[Helyantha]

I've pm'ed you :)

[Warmandtoasty]

Oh I hadn't even thought of all that! There's so much to think about, my husband is moving over in September but we are trying to find a serviced apartment for him to stay in until we find a house to buy and then he will move in there and I will stay here with our son. We don't want to go down the grammar school route anyway so don't need to worry about that part.

It all feels such a mess right now but I'm sure we will get there.

[RCheshire]

You've formed a good list by yourself to be honest. They are all commutable to work and Warrington/Crewe stations are the most useful for London commutes depending where you end up on your shortlist. I don't know Kingsmead but I'm sure you will get people 'waving their flag' for all the other areas which are each popular for different reasons.

Parts of West Cheshire (Tarporley, Kelsall etc) are very attractive (& we once came close to living in both those places at different points) but are a little more isolated than East Cheshire (bus services aren't great once they get older).

In your shoes I'd spend more time in those places as some will feel more appealing than others on second visit. Couple of things I'd bear in mind - do you want Manchester or Chester to be your closest city? How green do you want - e.g. Stockton Heath and Altrincham are very suburban compared to Tarporley/Kelsall.

Having looked around houses in all those places except Kingsmead and Hartford, personally I'd go for Knutsford or Tarporley, but we all like different things! Note this is without looking at what you could get for your budget..

[speechiesusie]

All things considered, I would go for Stockton Heath. I live there and my neighbour commutes to London once a week. The train journey is 1 hour 50 mins and it's about 15 mins max to the station in a taxi first thing in the morning.

Local high school is fine (outstanding, whatever that really means - it's called Bridgewater high). Stockton Heath has the advantage of being close to the m56 so Ellesmere Port isn't a problem (I used to go that way in the morning, it took 30 minutes) but it's also busy neigh for teenagers without being too busy.

Slightly further out is Appleton ( about a mile away) where your money may not go quite so far but it's very green and pleasant, country walks plentiful, a pub and a tea room etc. avoid appleton thorn, for the sole reason that there's nothing going on for teenagers.

Frodsham would be my second choice in your position, the commute to London being via Runcorn station with a similar journey time.

I actually prefer knutsford of all of these places except to say that it's a lot further from Ellesmere Port and the high school isn't that great. If it hadn't been for the latter then we would have moved there ourselves.

[Warmandtoasty]

Thanks everyone for all your help on this, we were planning on going over at the weekend to have a look but my DS has been unwell so we couldn't manage it. I'm feeling pretty disheartened about how much less we will get for our money but I'm hoping that living in a lovely area will make up for that!

Does anyone know anything about Holmes Chapel, Nantwich, Northwich, Ashton or middlewich?

[RCheshire]

You are right in that your original list covers very expensive areas. Your new list covers areas that generally are a fair bit cheaper but unsurprisingly aren't seen as quite as attractive by many people.

The only one of those I know fairly well is Holmes Chapel - which I like, has very good schools and is on the train to Manchester (or a quick change at Crewe for London). You may feel it is slightly disconnected though as it is further from larger centres (Manchester, Chester, Liverpool) than where you had been looking.

Nantwich and Northwich both have larger centres than Holmes Chapel or Middlewich but I don't know them.

[Moreisnnogedag]

Honestly I'd look on the Wirral, yes Birkenhead is a dive but there are also some really lovely places there. Plus the schools are generally very good.

Holmes Chapel is nice. Nantwich actually looks quite nice (I drive through it to work) but is near Crewe which is horrid.

It's further across east but macclesfield is lovely. Some parts not so grand but on the whole fairly nice. I know a few people who live in sandbach and they like it but I've never been to the centre.

[UriGeller]

Nantwich is lovely and far enough from Crewe to be apart from it. Between Nantwich and Tarporley is Bunbury which is utterly lovely. You might find something in Tarvin for your money as it seems to be a little less popular than Tarporley. they've just built some new houses there.

If you want to go nearer to Chester for bus routes etc but still villagey then Guilden Sutton, Mollington, Mickle Trafford are nice. Christleton is just out of Chester but has a villagey feel and a good secondary school. You're spoilt for choice really.

[RCheshire]

Macc is fine but you can't commute to Ellesmere Port from there. I don't know the Wirral but believe some areas are supposed to be nice.

If you are willing to consider smaller villages then pleasant spots around Delamere may be an option, e.g. Norley.

[Warmandtoasty]

Thanks, Macclesfield is lovely DH drives over the peaks and through there to get to Cheshire when working over there and said it's too far to commute daily to Ellesmere Port.

Wirral is definitely an option we know very little about it though so I will need to spend some time looking into that, I'm really worried about the school situation though. We can't do grammar school, my son really struggles and wouldn't pass the 11+ to get in and I heard the regular comps aren't as good but I'm not sure how true that is.

Being close to major cities doesn't bother us too much we've never had that before so won't feel like we are missing anything as long as we are nearish to places with nice restaurants, cinema, swimming pool etc then we will be fine.

I'm really nervous about getting the right area, we currently live in an ex mining town and whilst we have a gorgeous house on the outskirts of the town the actual town itself is a bit grim with no money being invested into it and unemployment is quite a problem. It's unfriendly and my son has struggled massively in the school. I just want to find somewhere that we will all be happy and my son can make friends and feel safe. Because of this though I feel I'm putting massive pressure on myself to find the perfect place when really nowhere is perfect!

I really do appreciate everyone's help

[tb]

Knutsford High pupils are banned from Martins (the big newsagents in Canute Square), Booths and Boots on a regular basis for shoplifting. I can also remember groups of teenage lads sitting on the seats outside Booths f-ing and blinding when I was going to pick dd up from school.

The school were concerned when I rang, promised someone would ring me, but never did.

The school is also used as a 'sink' when pupils are asked to leave Altrincham Grammar for bad behaviour.

DD wouldn't have got in to Altrincham Grammar, I don't think, and the thought of her going to Knutsford High was part of our decision to move to France when she was 8.

Good transport links? The train service is crap, and the centre is gridlocked from before 8am. Each time there is a problem on the M6 the traffic is diverted on to the A50, so it becomes a car park.

In the rush hour, it can take an hour to get from the A56 in Altrincham down the A556 to Knutsford, and it's twice as bad during the RHS show at Tatton. They made a decision to direct all the traffic through the lanes that local people use when the main roads are bad.

The traffic isn't too bad leaving on the M6 - especially if you can still get on to the northbound M6 through the services on the road to Northwich.

Aircraft noise can be a problem. After they built the second runway when planes flew over you couldn't hear the tv or what someone was saying on the end of the phone.

We loved living there when we first moved in 1992, but by the time we left in 2006, it had changed beyond all recognition. It became much less a Cheshire market town and got very pretentious.

Some of the shops are good, but there are a lot of 'hobby shops' ie run by bored wives as a tax loss for hubby.

Hoylake used to be part of Cheshire until 1974, and has regained it's Chester postcodes rather than the Liverpool ones. There are great beaches and the NT open spaces at Thurstaton, and Grange and Caldy hills for walks.

Wirral still has Grammar schools, although there are good comprehensives, too.

Hoylake and West Kirby have good access to Liverpool by train, and there's the M53 from Moreton to Ellesmere Port. Chester is about 30 mins, and imo, much nicer for a day out with the river than Liverpool.

[passmethewineplease]

Nantwich is lovely, we are hoping to move there soon when our house sells. We are currently in Hough in Cheshire, between Nantwich and Crewe really, nearer Nantwich than Crewe though, thankfully! Good schools, although primarys tend to be over subscribed if what I hear is true.

I used to live in Sandbach, it is lovely and the schools are good. It has a train station and has good links to Manchester.

Middlewich, not bad not my place to live though. Northwich again not my cup of tea, don't know a lot about Holmes Chapel.

[Warmandtoasty]

Thanks TB it's good to get another point of view about Knutsford and I had heard the school wasn't quite as good as some others on my list. Is West Kirby far from motorways for getting down to Ellesmere Port or is it generally okay? It seems tucked away in that corner.

Thanks passme, I've never been to Nantwich yet I'm going over a week on Friday and definitely want to have a little drive around to see what it's like I must try and find out about the primary school situation before I do though as it's not the first time I've fallen in love with a place and found out its impossible to get a school place. Does it come under Cheshire west and Chester council?

Do you prefer Nantwich over Sandbach? Thanks so much it is really helpful to get views from people who have actually lived there. There seems to be a lot of great places to choose from and that almost makes it harder to decide!

[tb]

You come off the M53 at Moreton and then you can either go through Moreton, Meols and Hoylake to get to West Kirby or can follow another route to West Kirby. Sorry not quite sure which way that goes, as I've not driven around there much in the last 20 years.

It probably takes about 15 mins to Hoylake/West Kirby from there. It may be possible by train too, by getting a Liverpool train to Hamiton Sq and then a train on the Rock Ferry line that continues on past Port Sunlight.

If you like beaches, the sand is much nicer at Hoylake - fine and white, but even though only a mile away, the sand at West Kirby is completely different, coarser grains like damp soft brown sugar.

Sorry, I'm biased, but I grew up in Hoylake and always preferred the sea and the coast there to West Kirby. Sadly both Hoylake and West Kirby have lost their outdoor swimming pools.

Our favourite Saturday afternoon walk used to be along the edge of the Municipal golf course to West Kirby, up over Grange Hill and then across to Caldy Hill. We then used to go down Caldy Hill to the cliffs, around the Marine Lake and on to the shore, up the steps on to the Royal Liverpool golf course and then around the edge (think they've stopped that now) and off the links by the footpath that leads along the side of the garden at the church in Hoylake. From there it was only a short walk home.

Once home, our Lakeland would go to sleep with his chin resting on my father's foot ready for another walk if he so much as recrossed his legs.

I've also lived in Bebington - by the station which we thought was rather grotty, although up by St Andrew's used to be much nicer.

I've lived in Timperley, too which we hated as we'd moved from Preston and were shocked by the house prices as we had to pay the same for a 30s detached house among semis as we would have paid for a Georgian townhouse in Preston, and it needed replumbing, a new roof and a new boiler.

I'm now 200km from the sea and I really miss it. The only downside is the erosion to bricks. My parents had to render the whole of the back of the house - 3 storeys - as the wind used to lash salt-laden rain against the bricks. Over time they erode - about the depth of a brick in 100 years

[passmethewineplease]

I prefer Nantwich really, it's got a lovely town, bigger than sandbach with more main stream shops IMO. When I lived there it was a running joke that all sandbach town has is hairdressers and takeaways. Ironically I worked in a salon.

I also prefer Nantwich because of the lake and park, it's lovely.

Definitely find out about the schools, there are nicer ones about still that aren't directly in Nantwich.

[passmethewineplease]

Oh sorry forgot to say it comes under East Cheshire!

[millymae]

Have a look at Willaston in West Cheshire - it's really handy for Ellesmere Port both in terms of driving and train links (from Hooton). It has a primary school and the local comprehensive at Neston is meant to be good.

You could also have a look at Neston itself. Commute wise the journey time would be about 20 minutes. Heswall, West Kirby and Hoylake are lovely but a bit further away and slightly more expensive - they are also in Wirral which I think still has the 11+ but also has some excellent non grammar schools too

[smokepole]

I would move in a 'heartbeat' from Kent to Knutsford (if only I had the money) anything to escape ' dismal' Folkestone/ Dover. My brother moved there 22 years ago and has made a 'load of money'. He has told me some funny stories though about the 'Academy' will always be the High School. He said that in the 1980s 'desperate' parents from Trafford whose sons/daughters had failed the 11+ and whose options were Wellington or BTH would seek 'sanctuary' with Knutsford High as a place of last resort. The Secondary Modern ( I know about modern schools I am from 'Kent') is now The 'Academy', people would now give their right arm for Wellington or BTH this year Wellington achieved 74% A*-C Maths and English BTH a barely believable 84% from a 'Modern'. The 58% from the Academy was still better than what all the 'High Schools' in Kent achieved with the exception of Hillview in Tonbridge 74%. 'Sorry' for the boring statistics but I fancied a laugh about Kent.