Moving to Cheshire?

[Elletwelve]

Hi, we are looking at moving back up north from South West London. Does anyone have any advice on commuting from this area into Manchester? Any recommendations as to villages to look at? My parents live near Weaverham but I think I am going to be working in the city centre and so am a bit stuck on areas which would be commutable. It will be me doing pick up and drop off as my husband is a paramedic and so his hours are not particularly family friendly. I think we will have to have a wrap around nanny or something to allow me to get to work. My daughter is 3 and I am expecting in October. Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks!

[Summerisdone]

I live in Northwich where your parents live, and all of it is a lovely place to live with some fantastic schools and also plenty of things to do in and around the town at weekends etc.

If you are going to be working in Manchester City centre though, it is worth looking at childcare that starts a bit earlier and finishes a bit later than average (i.e before 8am and after 6pm) just in case of traffic; presuming you work standard 9-5 hours.

If you drive then yes the motorway will technically get you there fairly quickly, however the traffic can often be a bit of a mare in morning and evenings, and if you're thinking of the train route then just note that they only pass through once an hour.

Alternatively, a bit closer to Manchester but still lovely places, are Timperley or Altrincham, again with very good schools local and also metrolink access to get into Manchester much easier and usually quicker than driving. They are also still not too far out from your parents if your aim is to be a bit closer to them (about 20-30 minutes tops on A556)
These are usually quite a bit pricier house wise though so it would depend on what your budget is too. There's of course other places that may also suit what you're looking for, but I've no personal experience with most other parts of Cheshire.

[starryskies78]

Hi, we used to live in Poynton, and drove to Manchester City Centre in the morning. It used to take about an hour/hour 15 mins despite only being 14 miles away. The roads into Manchester all get clogged up in the morning so I'd say leaving a fair bit earlier would be your best bet if you dont want to get stuck in traffic. Not easy with kids though! At the time I was child free. We used to leave 7.30 to get in for 8.30, but you'd need to leave at 7.40 to get in for 9am. This was about 6/7 years back but I'm sure it wont be any better.

This isn't meant to be a negative post, just letting you know the situation!! Good luck.

[Want2bSupermum]

Take a look at sale too. Best plan is not to drive into Manchester.

[Pippinfi]

Just seen this post and would love some advice on the Northwich area as we're hoping to move closer to my DH's work. We love Hartford but is probably a bit expensive as can only go up to 200k, and would like a nice well performing school for DD. Another difficulty for me is not driving so need good public transport nearby to get about.Any advice would be much appreciated for somebody who knows this area.

[Summerisdone]

@Pippinfi Weaverham, Leftwich and Winnington are good areas with decent schools within the vicinity. All have regular buses going through but also walkable distances into the town centre.
Northwich is also in the middle of being renovated so there's a new cinema and many new shops and restaurants on their way.

If you're on Facebook then request to join Northwich Life and ask your questions in there as you will get a lot of answers from people who live in all of the different areas and can give you first hand opinions on schools etc.

I live in Delamere which is a lovely part but as I'm a non driver it can sometimes be a bit of PITA

[Pippinfi]

Thankyou for your advice, I'll have a look into these areas was looking at houses in Winnington but seems to be a huge Eon powerplant near one of the housing estate s we were looking at so was a bit concerned. Will also join the Facebook page you mentioned and see what info I can get.

[Giraffeski]

We live in Macclesfield which has really good rail links with Manchester and London- my sister works in city centre Manchester, gets the train normally and sometimes even cycles into work in the summer (more hardcore than me)! There are a few trains abhor and most only take 23-30 mins
I would say train into Manchester is better than driving, although I used to go to uni in Manchester and drove in most days as my campus was slightly out of the city centre - it probably took me an hour most of the time.