I lived in Skem between 1980-1991 and then again in 1996-1998. Bad times. I am from an ethnic minority, adopted by white caucasian people who settled in Skem due to family connections. Skem itself is a 'shape of things to come', for many northern towns, it is prophetic in the context of when a town is forgotten, left behind, and does not share in the national prosperity. In the 60's it was a thriving new town due to tax relief for new businesses and established investors, but then due to national economic downturns the tax relief ended, and in turn put a lot of would-be investors off coming into West Lancashire. Ironically, a lot of the people who live in Skelmersdale work outside of the town, and many of the people recruited for the businesses that remain come from outside of the town. If you do not own a car you will struggle, if you do not have any qualifications you will struggle because these add up to your prospects as an individual, the likelihood is that you will come across or enter into the rooted criminal fraternity that has subtle but occasionally very violent presence within the town itself. The 90's where bad, I had just lost my dad he had died in London due to a sudden heart attack, I moved back in to Skem due to estrangement with my psychotic-abusive adoptive mother, during the time I was there I came across the local Neo nazis who used their children to bully, harass me, smash my windows in, and was robbed in broad daylight. It was one of the worst periods of my life, one of my family members helped me, but without that I would have been screwed. In 1999, I went to University completed a degree (2:1) in business and then went onto a Masters degree in business law (Merit), and was recruited in to the civil service, I have tried hard not to look back, but Skelmersdale is a chapter of my life that I would much rather forget.
The Police are a lore unto themselves try getting any kind of justice from the local constabulary when things go wrong - it might be bad now but it was terrible then, I always remember when they ignored tenants telling them of children playing on scaffolding, then one of them fell off from three stories up.
If you move into Skem make sure you are ready for anything because literally ANYTHING can happen. It is a bad place.