Cheaper house and private or expensive house and grammar

[Mushroo]

I’ve been going round in circles and I can’t decide which is the best option. In our position, which would you choose? (I’ve added the actual locations for local insight if there’s anyone about!)

Location A (Wilmslow or Knutsford)

• we could afford a nice 4 bed detached.


• commute to city more expensive, but probably only need to do that a few times a week, not everyday.


• could hopefully stretch and afford private school but it would be tight I think.


• further away from GPs but close enough to see them on weekends v easily.


• we could afford a smaller house (semi / terrace, smaller garden)


• grammar school area so no need to worry about school fees (would use local secondary if didn’t pass)


• easier commute


• closer to GPs to they could do odd school pick up.

In both cases, GPs have offered to pay prep school fees but not secondary.

WWYD - the Cheshire option feels a bit ‘nicer’ but Trafford seems easier, albeit more suburban. Also comes down to how much would you value a large detached house over free schools.

The house price difference is probably the price of private school give or take, but obviously for the more expensive house we could get a mortgage and we’d get the money back when we sold further down the line, whereas we’d need to save up / pay private school fees out of income.

FWIW we’re only planning to have 1DC.

I grew up in location B and my father is still there. I'd love to go back but our DC are uni students now so school is not an issue.

One thing you haven't considered is transport. In location B, you are within Greater Manchester, which means decent buses/trams at a reasonable price. Once you cross into Cheshire, it becomes more expensive. If your DC goes to school in Manchester, it could be quite expensive getting them out and about visiting friends. From what I understand, the state secondary schools in & near Knutsford are pretty good, but I'm not up to speed on Wilmslow ones. Before I moved away, I worked for 2 guys. One lived in Didsbury, the other in Styal. When they needed a taxi from Manchester Airport to their homes, the Didsbury one cost half the price of the Styal one, despite being able to see his house in Styal from the runway, all because of the boundaries issue.

Which schools would you be looking at?

If go for the more expensive house. Then you’ve got more capital when you come to sell.

Grammar schools are practically like private schools.

I'd go for B.
Being within Grammar catchment area and close enough for GPs to assist with childcare are invaluable things. If you're only planning one DC you don't need a 4 bed detached.

@Malbecfan in Sale/ Alti it would be the sale grammar or the alti grammar.

Knutsford / wilmslow probably the grange, kings or MGS / WHS. I think the privates put on school buses so day to day would be less of an issue.

Prep wise would be Hale prep, forest park, Yorston Lodge or Pownall Park.

I don't know the schools. Why not state in Wimslow /Knutsford? I'm surprised that state schools round there wouldn't be good. If the schools are that bad, what happens if your child doesn't get a private place?

@KarrotKake we haven’t ruled them out, but equally I don’t know much about them. I’m also not sure on going from prep to state (which again, would likely be fine, but were thinking if we plan to pay for private and turns out we don’t need it, that’s just a bonus!).

I think the Trafford option is the nice sensible option really, but my heart is saying nice big house with a more ‘country’ feel.

(we currently live in the Chorlton, so everything will be a change from now!)

I'd go for A. Detached house with a good garden will benefit kids, less problems with neighbours etc and will benefit you when it comes to selling. Commute is just something to budget around, GPs are near enough, private school not your only option.

Def location B. Less stress, closer to family, if you couldn't work for any reason you could manage.

We had similar options 20 years ago, decided that the smaller house and good free schools were the better choice. Enabled us to both retire at 50 with mortgage paid off. Never ever regretted it.

You’re only thinking about secondary schools I think? But for me having pulled my DC out of State Primary where they were miserable, learning nothing, and had zero in common with the constantly-swearing kids around them, and putting them into a great Prep where they’re flourishing, I think education at the the younger age is more important than secondary. By the time they’re 11 a lot of their character is set. Do they work hard, do they aspire to succeed, do they expect respect from others and have good manners, do they love learning, are they physically fit with a solid grounding in the main sports, are they a clear speaker, an enthusiastic reader with a wide vocabulary and great at mental maths… A good Prep will teach them all these things which perhaos some State Primaries also do bht unfortunately were not possible at our local Primary.

Anyway. For me, Option A.

(Also you get a lot of only children at private schools, as those families are more able to afford the fees. So you’re more likely to meet families who actually want playdates.)

@Sunshineona thank you - we’re 100% set on prep but so nice to hear from someone going through it.

That’s a really good point re only children I hadn’t considered and definitely food for thought, although I guess again that would be more likely prep level and secondary they sort themselves out a bit more? Such a minefield!

it’s interesting the responses are fairly mixed between A and B! We’re going to start looking at houses in the next couple of years and confirm what we can actually get in both areas, but it’s such a tough decision for something so far into the future!

Ummm, if the child is not yet conceived then it's going to be tricky to ensure they get into these schools.

Grammar schools can be very competitive. Are you certain that your child will be able to reach this standard? Just paying for prep isn't enough!

Many private schools also have entry requirements!

I would chill a little bit. Choose a nice house convenient for a primary school and then have another think in a decade.

Hi OP. I'm not clear from your thread, do you have a child yet or is this currently just at the planning stage?
If you are still planning then I'd go with the house in the area you like best. You have no idea what the situation will be in 5,6,7,8 years ahead. You might even end up being pregnant with twins!
I think you may be overthinking this a bit and lots of people move for schooling when the time comes.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats ahhh you beat me to it. I was just about to type the same as you!

Motherhood is full of surprises you don't know how you will cope, many people think their door at one... but change their minds or have a surprise even 10 years later. The twins thing is a good possibility. Definitely go with grammar school. How secure are your jobs also?

Have you checked out the areas in Knutsford and Wilmslow where you can buy a 4 bed house cheaper than Sale and Altrincham, to make sure you are comparing like with like? I know Trafford house prices have risen a lot recently but always thought Knutsford and Wilmslow were more expensive? I could be wrong but worth checking.

we don’t have any yet but we’re planning to TTC very soon, with a view to moving next year / the year after if all goes to plan!

Our current house was bought with the exact reasoning in mind that we want to live somewhere we enjoy, so we’ll only be moving if / when we actually have a child! (I’m just a long term planner / over- thinker).

Jobs are both reasonably secure, and pay should in theory go up but we’ve done the sums based on current salaries (and excluding me paying off my student loan, which will increase my take home by about £350pcm in 4 years or so).

I know we can’t plan for every eventuality, but I’d like to make the move that we don’t have to move again iyswim.

thank you everyone who has given opinions, it’s really helping point out some pros and cons I hadn’t thought of. Especially the one about us changing our minds about having an only!

@RockingMyFiftiesNot yes we like the areas, the reason we can get bigger in wilmslow / knutsford is we’re happy to compromise with an ‘ugly’ house (70s detached) but that doesn’t really exist in Trafford where it’s more terraces and period / 1930s semis. Any detached houses are much further from the centres in sale / altrincham.

Depends how close to the centre you want to be - LOTS of detached houses within walking distance of Sale town centre, but maybe not coming on the market so you're not seeing them. It's definitely not all semis and terraces!

I would go for the bigger detatched house - if the GP's are happy to pay school fees up to the end of prep, it would give you time to save to pay for private secondary school..

You're massively overthinking it. You're deciding where to live on the basis of schools, and haven't even started ttc yet.

You might spend years ttc, or have multiples, or decide you want more than one and want to be a sahm so have less income. Your dc might not be academic and not suit grammar schools/ get into selective ones. Circumstances can change hugely and best laid plans and all that.

I would stay living where you're happy now, ttc, and then work all this out later. You might take longer than you think ttc and then still have years before you need to worry re schools.

You're massively overthinking it. You're deciding where to live on the basis of schools, and haven't even started ttc yet.

You might spend years ttc, or have multiples, or decide you want more than one and want to be a sahm so have less income. Your dc might not be academic and not suit grammar schools/ get into selective ones. Circumstances can change hugely and best laid plans and all that.

I would stay living where you're happy now, ttc, and then work all this out later. You might take longer than you think ttc and then still have years before you need to worry re schools.