Where should we live on the Wirral?

[luigilu]

I have a job offer on the Wirral and we are looking at moving. We don't know the area well and will be going on a few visits to spend more time there and look at houses but would really appreciate any pointers to help us narrow down areas from anyone who knows it. Have heard the West side is meant to be nicer than the East but not sure how true this is anymore and the East seems to have better transport links.

We are hoping to find somewhere with good transport links to Liverpool by public transport (ideally train).
Close to good schools especially primary schools at the moment.
Easy to get to Arrowe Park where I would be working.
Not too rural, would be good to have a couple of shops/pubs/cafes within walking distance.
Good places to walk nearby. Ideally would be good to be close to a beach but happy to drive to this and nowhere is too far!

Would really appreciate any advice to help us narrow down a short list of places to visit.

West Kirby / Caldy / Heswall

This thread may help...

And this site.

I've lived here for more than 30 years now, in quite a few different places but always in Wirral...

I moved to Wirral a couple of years ago. It's a nice place to live and good links to Liverpool and Chester. Upton, Prenton, Heswall, Irby or Bebington are all nice areas and within 15 mins of Arrowe Park. As a general rule, avoid Birkenhead, Tranmere, Rock Ferry, New Ferry, Woodchurch and Noctorum. East Wirral is like anywhere else. Good bits and bad bits. Within a 5 minute walk of our house you can find yourself at a mansion or a council estate.

Have heard the West side is meant to be nicer than the East but not sure how true this is anymore and the East seems to have better transport links.

This is still true but I'm not sure about the transport links part. I used to live over the east side and I don't drive, so good public transport was vital. There are good bus services all around but (Merseytravel) trains are only down the sides, the middle has half hour Arriva trains going to Wales but not much else. Usually I get the bus, they're every ten minutes all day from West Kirby to Liverpool which suits me fine.

A lot depends on your budget, but if you want to be close to Arrowe Park (possibly you mean APH?) then Upton and Greasby are your best bet. (Of those, Greasby is much nicer.) They both have a large village feel with shops and pubs, libraries and the like. As PurpleQualityStreet has said, avoid Noctorum and Woodchurch; although they are close to Arrowe Park, you'd be better looking elsewhere (unless budget is an issue).

Wirral is a grammar school area, so primaries are generally good but the secondary schools don't look great as the grammars have creamed off the more academic pupils. I'm happy with the school my non-grammar ds goes to, but I'm aware it doesn't look that great on paper.

I love where I live, I'm only a few minutes' walk from the GP clinic, the library, takeaways, pubs and local supermarkets with ATM, ten minutes from walks in the woods and common, fifteen from beaches and coastal

and coastal walks. With cafes. (Dunno what happened there )

What's your budget? This makes a difference. The west is the "nicer" side definitely. West Kirby, Hoylake and Meols would fit your criteria of a train link into Liverpool, about 30 mins on one train, great beaches and cafes, etc.
Heswall and Caldy are lovely but don't have good transport links. Heswall station only has a few trains a day. Nearest station to Caldy is West kirby which is 1/2 miles away.
Lots of primary schools are great, youd just have to look at individual ones. Secondary schools can be an issue, as previously said the grammars cream off students. Secondaries on the west are generally better, exception to this is one of the catholic schools on the east side.
Just as a side point, Arrowe Park is central for driving but not accessible by train.

Arrowe Park Hospital is less than 20 mins drive from everywhere on the Wirral, so there are lots of options. I live on the Mersey side - it’s perfectly nice, well served by Merseyrail, country park nearby - and cheaper than the Dee side. You could also look at the Cheshire end - Neston, Willaston etc. or nearer to Chester.

Thank you for the comments so far. Budget around £400k (maybe a bit higher if we found something we really loved) and for that would like 4 bedrooms, a garden and offroad parking so options are a bit limited in West Kirby etc. though it is really nice there!

Also interested in places close to the trainline on the mersey side, Bebington/Port Sunlight/Spital/Bromborough areas as it appeals to be able to get to Liverpool or Chester easily on the train. We haven't visited these yet though. Or possibly New Brighton/Wallasey areas

@luigilu Bizarrely I know of a 5 bed detached for sale in Little Neston for £365k - it's my uncle and aunt's house which needs a little work but is in a nice cul-de-sac, good size etc.
That area seems nice when I go to visit but I'm not sure on transport links being completely honest.
But had to comment just in case!

Neston and Little Neston are on the Arriva train every half hour Wrexham to Bidston service unfortunately. Not local to Arrowe Park at all and not actually in Wirral, more Cheshire.

Eastham is on the east side, a nice little village well served by public transport, might be worth a look? On the west side, Meols is lovely as well, not cheap but still a breeze to get to Arrowe Park...

You can have fun on Right Move OP, £400k would buy you quite a nice gaff indeed! How about something like this one?

LauraLoo I'm not sure the transport links would work for us but thank you!

Thanks Noodles, I will have a look at Eastham too. Meols looks nice but my other concern about being somewhere coastal and low-lying is that it will end up under water in a few years! I read a scary article about the potential impact of climate change on the Wirral and can't unthink it! So my other criteria is to be up a hill

Can you link to that article? I live there and now I'm worried!

Sorry op, cant comment as I don't know the place that well (visited a couple of times so your thread caught my eye) but this is such a lovely house...www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71898057.html
I'd like to move there now!

Heswall, west kirby, thurstaston for primary schools.
With your budget you can find something good in those areas.

@HollowTalk

Can you link to that article? I live there and now I'm worried!

Here you go but I think it's a worse case scenario and sure they will put things in place to stop that from happening, I just like to find things to worry about!

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/places-merseyside-forecast-underwater-future-16817818

@Anotherthink, that house is lovely! I have it on my rightmove favourites!

Bebington has a nice community feel to it. Higher Bebington has a little high street with shops and pubs. There's also a community centre, library, park, leisure centre and it has its own Merseyrail station. The trains are pretty reliable as rail services go. It's not too far to Port Sunlight or Storeton Woods and rural walks. Bebington also has the grammar schools so it's a popular place to live.

Port Sunlight is a bit of a strange one. Absolutely gorgeous village with a couple of pubs and a lovely garden centre, but just out of the village is New Ferry (not one of Wirral's best places!) The houses are quite small in the village itself because they were made for the workers. Not really much in the way of shops.

Spiral has some nice housing estates with larger houses; but not much in the way of shops. Some nice walks not too far away.

Bromborough also has some nice housing estates and more in the way of shops. There's more of a centre and a retail park just outside. Some nice restaurants. Dibbinsdale nature reserve is just down the road.

@luigilu

LauraLoo I'm not sure the transport links would work for us but thank you!

Thanks Noodles, I will have a look at Eastham too. Meols looks nice but my other concern about being somewhere coastal and low-lying is that it will end up under water in a few years! I read a scary article about the potential impact of climate change on the Wirral and can't unthink it! So my other criteria is to be up a hill

Eastham is a curate’s egg. There are some nice bits near the station, but the nicest area is the village and the country park area which is a good walk from the stations, but there are free car parks at most Merseyrail stations.

At highest tide the Mersey is probably 8-10m below the banks at Eastham (apart from at the old ferry dock) so probably safe from the effects of climate change for some years to come.

Have you looked at Moreton or Upton?

The house Anotherthink posted is in one of the most desirable parts on the East side, Wallasey Village, and it's in a great location for the shops, seafront, Harrison park, golf, station, etc. The nearby primary schools, St George's, Mount and Greenleas are all good.

New Brighton is a bit more hit and miss - some roads are full of lovely big houses and others are very run down. The seafront development has improved things a lot, but it's not West Kirby-pretty and is primarily aimed at visitors and can get busy. Ideally in New Brighton, you want to be looking in the area west of the station towards Wallasey Village, not towards Egremont and Seacombe.

One thing to note is that Wallasey and New Brighton are not in the grammar school area and while the local girls' secondary school is good, the boys' and mixed secondaries are not so great. The mixed Catholic secondary is ok.

Thank you so much, these comments are all really helpful!

@Phphion that is helpful to know about the schools. We have boys

Sorry clicked post too soon. We have boys so if the schools are not great that might rule out Wallasey/New Brighton.

@Flowerpot26 We have looked at Upton but not Moreton as heard it was not a great area but need to check this out.

@Purplequalitystreet thank you so much, that's really helpful. I like the sound of Higher Bebington so we will definitely check it out.

Bumping as we have looked at a few houses last week and due to look at a few more over the next couple of days. We're finding it really tricky so would be grateful for any advice, especially around schools. Mainly looking at Higher Bebington and New Brighton/Wallasey village areas. Both seem to have good primary schools which is what we need at the moment. We loved what we saw of new Brighton, yes there were some dodgier areas but been looking at houses in the area @Phphion mentioned West of the station and loved the area and the period properties. Loved the Victoria quarter as well and all the new murals, independent bars and cafes. Secondary not so sure about if the grammars don't end up being suitable, it is a long time off though as children 3 and 1 at the moment so obviously a lot can change. West Kirby seems nice but not much in our budget, can get lots more for our money in the other areas.

House prices seem to have risen lots lately but not sure if this will continue, torn between renting so we can really get to know areas somewhere and buying as well need to apply for schools for my oldest in January so would really need to have decided on an area whether renting or buying. And I hate the thought of moving twice, once is bad enough!

Avoid Moreton. Wallasey village is somewhere l would also avoid sadly.
Have you looked at Hoylake and Meols ?
Away from the train but a good value area is Irby.
I think West is best unfortunately and that is why it’s pricier.

I also agree that prices have risen lately. I don’t know if the economy will sustain the rises into the New Year. Tricky time to buy, l would reflect this in my offers or rent for 6 months and see what happens if it was me.