..to uproot my son from a good school to try and make a better life somewhere else ?

[NicePear]

I am a sole parent ( no contact from other parent ) and currently live in Brighton with no family local . Living here has financially broken me after years of struggling .
My father has recently died and I will be inheriting about £60k soon and I have seen some lovely 2 bed houses in Manchester I could afford on a part rent part buy status, and I would actually be on the same salary if I got a like-for-like job.( I would need about £250k +for a deposit here for similar) .
However .....my 7 year old is doing really well at school so am I mad to move him and disrupt his education (even though I have no hope of ever buying in the South) ?

Manchester is fabulous. Absolutely lovely. Do it. Your DS will be fine. We've recently moved to Australia....I felt AWFUL pulling the DC out of their lovely school....well the youngest anyway as the older was due for a crappy secondary....the younger had wonderful friends and all that...but do you know...she's so much better off here and is making new lovely friends.

We stay in touch with her old mates via skype. Everything is working out for the better here.

Personally I think and all round well being for your family is my better than a good school there is good schools everywhere if you think moving is going to improve you and your son's live then move I admire you though for taking on the challenge

For gods sake typos sorry you get the gist of my ramble

I agree. Move to Manchester! But as another poster has suggested, don't fall into the trap of thinking everywhere in Manchester is cheap. Parts (as previously mentioned) will give Brighton and any other southern prices a run for their money!!

Sale is good, has all of the amenities you want, good schools both primary and secondary (including state grammar). Brooklands is the "nicer" part of Sale, there are a couple of areas to avoid, but great, especially as its on the tram line and very family friendly. You might struggle on your budget but its definitely worth looking.

I agree Chorlton is probably a northern version (trying anyway!) of Brighton but for schools, it doesn't fall within Trafford (which is the draw of the area for most parents).

I'd go like a shot (live near Brighton but spend a lot of time in the North West). Brighton is getting increasingly above itself and certainly, it has got increasingly difficult for anyone on an average salary to consider buying a house. Even rents are utterly ridiculous. Sure, it's a lively, vibrant city. But I'd say that Manchester knocks it into a cocked hat. All that's missing is some seaside.

Just take a little time to choose exactly where you might want to live. Only there's never any going back once you've headed North.

At 7 you have the potential to start afresh anywhere; but the window for uprooting is starting to close... "A better life" can't be argued against, there are good schools everywhere. I would.

I moved to Manchester in 2011. I absolutely love it (and I live in one of the areas of south manchester that is seen as decidedly not desirable, you can buy a whole house near me for under £100k. You could also spend a lot more, but what I'm trying to say is this isn't chorlton or didsbury ;) ). The secondary schools are very hit and miss IMO, but not enough to make me think of moving- and in any case a brand new one has just opened in Ardwick, another brand new one is planned for 2017 in Rusholme/ Levenshulme, there are likely others in the planning that I'm not aware of.
My dc go to a primary school in an area that makes some people do a right cat's bum face and guess what, they're doing v well and none of us have been recruited into a gang or shot or mugged or any of the insane things I'm told I should be worrying about by sending them there. I will admit that I was none too impressed with the primary admissions team who left my year 1 son without a school place for half a term when we moved, despite me starting the process of finding him one 6 months earlier- the reason they go to the school they do is that it was the first one which could offer us a place and by that point we were desperate enough for the silly journey to be worth it. It is a v good school in any case.
Public transport I think is very good, although not that cheap really.
There is always something going on. But I think what I love most is the people. I have felt welcome here since the day I arrived. I am surrounded by people from all over the world and my dcs are growing up with such diversity and knowledge of other cultures, beliefs, ways of being.
Although I will never call trousers pants and gravy on chips is rank and I would low to say 'hang a left' and be understood. Nowhere is perfect I suppose.

I was with you all the way alltouchedout until you said gravy on chips is rank. You just need more time here and you'll see the light!

There was a thread yesterday, in primary schools section i think, comparing the prep/state primary schools - you might want to find that - it was interesting and basically said many many excellent primary and secondary state schools (at the time I was reading anyway).

In your situation, I'd move.

We recently moved areas, only an hour away but new school etc. My DSs were 6 and 8 at the time. I was worried sick about how they would cope but it has been a breeze! They initially resisted the idea, but we found a lovely school and really sold them on the positives. We moved in September which helped as I used the 6 weeks holiday to gradually distance from their school friends, and they would have had to transition to a new class anyway. It took them less than 2 days at the new school to make new groups of good friends, and they are so settled and happy. Haven't regretted it for a second.

I think 7 is a good age to go for it, rather than waiting until he is in secondary and has stronger friendships etc.

We live in Huddersfield which is less than an hour from Manchester, and the house prices round here are great! 4 bedroom houses for less than £200k.

Oh don't worry namechangedtoday2015 I promise I will keep trying

Do it. Talk to the teachers about helping support your son in adapting to a new situation. Some kids find it easier than others but definitely much easier on him to relocate now than when he's a teenager. Have you asked the friends there about locations?

You say you've got friends there which is great but if it's just a case of somewhere that has cheaper homes it doesn't have to just be a north/south divide. I live in South East Wales and there are areas of cheap housing within easy reach of Cardiff. (there are also areas so expensive that they're totally gentrified).

I'm still very close to my school friends and the ones who went to primary with me joined in year 3 and year 5 from London way and it's as though they've always been in a CF post code! My son is 7 too and I know it would be difficult but also a huge adventure to move. (Not for us though - my step daughter lives between us and her mum so we couldn't ever move away, plus we've got a lot of family around.)

I used to live in greater Manchester (Denton) and the schools there all seemed fantastic. Denton, Hyde, Trafford, Stockport, Ashton are all good areas and have great schools, not too far out but close enough for just a bus ride to city centre etc.

I don't know Manchester at all but I just wanted to say that I think you're really brave, and if you do go for it I'm sure that in years to come you DS will admire you even more for having the balls to give it a go for a better life for both of you. Good luck