Southport

[thewinehasgonetomyhead]

Does anyone live there? My husband is from the north west and we are looking to move back to that area to be close to family and friends. We have 2 DS, 6 and 4.

Can anyone recommend an area with good school and motorway links for DH job?

Thanks!

I wouldn't move to Southport itself. It's started to become a bit run down. Perhaps just outside Southport might be better like Birkdale/Formby. Crosby, Ormskirk and Lydiate are all nice areas too.

I agree with the previous poster. Southport town centre has been declining for a number of years now. I personally wouldn’t choose to move there. I would also suggest Formby or Ormskirk area. Both still give easy access to Southport to visit friends/family, but are nice areas to live in.

Thanks both!

Formby is expensive, Birkdale or Ainsdale are nice. Maghull is close to the motorways (M57 and M58) the disadvantage of Southport is that it's not near the motorways. Ormskirk/Bickerstaffe are a bit close, or Parbold.

I agree with Crinkle, the centres still ok but the posh shops it once had have gone, schools would set my location, its all down to budget.
I would look at Parbold, Bickerstaff, Ormskirk etc
Liverpool still has some good schools and lots of nice areas, it all depends how for you want to travel for work

If you want the motorway, definitely don't move to Southport.

You'd be better off in Ormskirk for that (though I've no idea what it's like to live there).

My MIL is in Southport. She's retired and she has a nice enough life there. However, as a younger person I wouldn't want to live there. It has the feeling of a rundown retirement town.

My parents live in Ormskirk and it seems to have more going on, and better access to other places. Liverpool is only half an hour on the train, direct.

We moved to Ormskirk 18 months ago and I work in Southport. Ormskirk is much nicer ( I feel personally ). Smaller. Nice little town centre. Close to the motorway and train to Liverpool 1/2 hour away. If you want more of a village fee there is parbold. Burscough. Appleby bridge. Newburgh !

Also Aughton is v naice worth looking at !

Thanks so much everyone!

I was born in southport and we lived in church town , remember it as being lovely but not sure what it's like now. Haven't been back recently but it used to be such a lovely place to live with the ice cream parlours and wayfarers arcade on lord street - I suspect it's quite run down now.

I wouldn't go for Southport itself. As others I've said, Formby and Birkdale are lovely and Parbold and Newburgh are nice villages with community events. Also rail links are good from the latter to get into Manchester and minutes away from the M6. Ormskirk has a lot of students (Edgehill University) so bear that in mind and it has good motorway links with some lovely properties on the outskirts.

I will second Aughton too. Not cheap though but lovely area.

I'm from the Southport area. My parents still live there, Churchtown and Birkdale. I'd agree, other areas are nicer. Formby is footballer territory in the posh bits, more expensive but good beach. I don't know Ormskirk but it sounds okay from what the pp said. I'd definitely look at nearby places. I moved to the Lancaster area and love it for proximity to motorways and the Lake District. However if you're moving for family/help with childcare reasons it isn't close enough. I'm about an hour to an hour 15 minute drive from both my mum and dads.
Southport is miles from the motorway!

For good motorway links you want Ormskirk, Aughton, Burscough, Parbold.

Ormskirk and Aughton have a direct train to Liverpool, Burscough and Parbold have a direct train to Manchester.

Ormskirk has lots of students so unless your budget is higher than average, the likelihood is you’ll be living amongst them - a ridiculous percentage of houses in Ormskirk are HMO’s and quite a few commercial premises in the town centre are being bought by property developers and made into student flats.

Birkdale & Churchtown are really lovely areas with good schools, but if you need motorway access, I'd avoid those areas like the plague.

Southport feels tacky and run down.

Ormskirk is nice - I have family there.

If motorways are a priority, look at Westhead on the outskirts of Ormskirk, which has excellent motorway links. Depending on whereabouts in Ormskirk you live, traffic can be a nightmare due to the one way system, but from Westhead, you can get straight on the motorways without getting caught in Ormskirk traffic.

We moved away from the area years ago, but love going back there to visit family and friends.

Formby is expensive as others have said, but it’s lovely. Close to Southport and a really nice beach. It just has a nice vibe too, I think. At least compared to my hometown!

We moved to Southport three years ago from down south and love it, although not living in town centre itself but in nearby village. Yes shops have closed but suspect that's true of every town. It's got a lovely feel with lots going on (flower festival this weekend) Most schools are good but waiting lists are a problem, depends on children's ages. Ainsdale is lovely. I'm less keen on Formby as a place to live, more serviceable. On a work front, we've found that any jobs we've gone for are a 45 minute commute, doesn't matter which direction. Feel free to PM me. We knew no one here when we moved but really like it here.

I think Southport is fine. Agree though that Ormskirk and Formby are nice too.

Thanks everyone, these replies are very helpful! Looks like we will avoid Southport itself. Shame, as the houses seem lovely at a nice price. But I guess the run down town and rubbish motorway links are some of the reasons why.

The houses are a good price for a reason - it’s less desirable than other areas. It’s true that that Edge Hill university has grown so there are students. However I’ve never had a problem with them. They are concentrated around particular areas so are easy to avoid. E.g a lot around Wigan Rd area. Plus the university has made more campus accommodation so more students live on site now. Schools are good although the high sch has just had a dreadful ofsted there is a new head now who has already made some good changes in the short time he’s been in post. I’m sure there will be rapid improvement. The Catholic high sch is great. Primaries are all good. Aughton is very nice with a real family feel. The Aughton side of Ormskirk has good access to motorways are train lines etc. But it is more expensive than Ormskrik itself so it would depend on your budget.

Stoplickinghthetelly motorway access is much better from Westhead, tbh - the roundabout leading onto Holborn Hill is a bottleneck in rush hour. Properties are cheaper there too, if I remember rightly.

I suppose it depends on where you want to get to and what your needs are. I’m in Aughton and find it a really convenient location. In-laws are Westhead and I prefer where I am, but each to their own.