To ask what part of North West England should I move to?

[CanIHaveChocolatePlease]

I hope it’s okay to put this in here, I couldn’t see a dedicated section for relocating!

I’m Irish and live in Ireland, but have wanted to live in England for a few years now for various reasons (things like more choices of shops, types of schools, towns etc, not as casual attitudes to rules etc), but I’ve come across better job/training opportunities in England than I can get in Ireland, which makes me want to live there even more now

I’d be targeting moving there late this year/early next year (yes I know I’m mad with the uncertainty of Brexit coming up but I feel that personally it’s the best choice for me!)

My preference has always been the North West region (no offence to any other areas, I like the idea of there being so many areas/towns/regions near each other and feel that the climate, lifestyle etc would suit me best)

I am hoping to do the school-based primary teaching
degree at Edge Hill uni and then work as a teaching assistant during the week, and then maybe a Saturday job in a shop to boost my funds more.

So I would like to be accessible to Ormskirk (where Edge Hill is), but also accessible to more non-student towns and cities, especially Manchester and Liverpool .

I would like to live in a decent sized town rather than in the city or in the rural countryside.

From looking up houses in the area, I think somewhere like the town of Leigh would suit me well, but I would just like people’s advice and opinions so that I wouldn’t regret my choice

I’m single so wouldn’t have to be worrying about having to bring family members over with me

Thanks in advance, I’d really appreciate people’s insights☺️

How about the wirral? Easy to get to Liverpool and Manchester. West wirral in particular has some lovely towns.

I'm in Lancashire, think you'll love it over here. Edge Hill is a fab place, the campus is lovely. I used to work for them. Only reason I left is because I dont live close and don't drive and public transport there wasn't great. Can't really advise on where's best to live but I'm sure others will have some thoughts!

Newton Le Willows would give you excellent transport links.

Can you give us a rough idea of budget and what size house you'll need?

Chester is a good location. Good links to both Manchester and Liverpool airports which is handy for flights home. Direct transport links to Manchester and Liverpool.

It's a small university town, but 'country' enough to quiet...

I live in South Ribble, a semi rural area ten minutes from Preston city centre. Great transport links, an hour to Manchester, Liverpool and the Lakes, half an hour from the coast. Affordable housing, great schools. Hutton, Longton, New Longton, Penwortham.

Why not Ormskirk itself? My parents live there and it's quite nice.

Yeah Ormskirk and surrounds are nice themselves, why not live there?

What are you looking for in particular from where you live? Beaches, shops, restaurants, nightlife, countryside, rural, city etc etc?

Ormskirk is very "studently" now, nearby villages , Rufford, Burscough (big village) and Tarleton are all lovely. If you're studying at Edge Hill I'd be within half an hours drive if I were you

I will link your other thread, OP.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3697339-What-part-of-North-West-England-should-I-live-in

Do you mean Leigh by Manchester? There is not even train station there. I went there once and it was a pain with train and bus. Do you drive?

Also, if it's the school based degree - where are the schools you could be based in? Wouldn't that be more of a consideration than being near the actual uni?

Thanks for all of your answers!☺️

Sorry for posting the thread more than once-I just wasn’t sure where the best place to put it was so chanced putting it in a few places while I was at it😅

I had just suggested Leigh as it is a decent size, seems to have nice houses for reasonable prices and is relatively central and accessible, but obviously I’m open to suggestions!

I thought that Ormskirk itself might be a bit ‘studenty’ and would mostly revolve around student life and therefore would be overcrowded during term-time and then deserted during the holidays, whereas I think I’d prefer more of a ‘normal’ town (no offence)

Obviously being easily accessible to airports and Holyhead and Liverpool for the ferry would be an added bonus as I’d like to go home to visit my family when I could and also have them over to visit me (as it is they don’t want me going as they’d worry about me being lonely and on my own over there but I feel like personally it is the best choice for me so I’d definitely want to be sure that we could be easily accessible to each other)

As it is a school-based teaching programme, I would only have to go to the uni itself a few times a year so I wouldn’t need to be really near to Ormskirk on a daily basis, which would give me more flexibility, so yes I’d rather be nearer to my placement school than Edge Hill (I don’t know yet what schools they partner with but obviously I’d find that out and it says you can be based anywhere in the North West to complete the course, which means they obviously have a lot of partner schools)

I haven’t passed my driving test yet but have been working towards it so would hope to get that before I move so that I could get a car and be legal to drive from my house to work/ training

I’m working about 20 hours a week in a local shop here at the minute and don’t have many day to day costs so have saved up a decent bit of money now that I would target putting towards a house (I’d prefer to buy than rent as I’d rather have my own place and also could claw some of my money back if I decided to sell it down the line, which I couldn’t do if I was renting).
I’d target it being a ‘forever’ home so ideally if it was a 3-4 bed new house at the edge of a town, but obviously I mightn’t be able to do that just yet

I’m not one for socialising much or nights out or pubs or beaches or that, so I’d be happy having a good choice of shops and places to travel around and explore in my spare time, and maybe even get involved with something like dancing, musicals, Red Cross etc

Just out of curiosity, would any of ye have any idea what it would the cost living be for a person on their own in England, but especially in these areas?
Just to have some idea of what it might cost to fund myself over there 🙂

I'd avoid Leigh, there have been 3 shootings close by this week. Drug gangs running rife.
Property is cheap for a reason.

Crosby. I used to have family there when I was growing up. Near enough to Liverpool and Manchester and also your uni. Crosby seems to be a happening place.

Which area is your school.likely to be in?
Personally I'd be looking at Cheshire/Chorley/ Southport/Lytham St Anne's.

You can rent a room in a shared student house in Ormskirk for £105 ish a week.
Have a look on Rightmove.
We give our uni student son £80 a week to live off for food and a few drinks.

Warrington?

Crosby is nice. Right on the beach and 20 mins to Liverpool centre. Plenty of bars/restaurants/shops etc if you don't want to go into the city. Good transport links.

Ya Cheshire, Chester, Warrington, Lancashire, towns between Manchester and Liverpool are the main kinda areas I’ve been looking at as they seem nice and relatively central in the area but as I said I’m open to suggestions

Thanks again for all yer help and advice!

Btw Ormskirk is a thriving market town, it doesn't revolve around students. Certainly wouldn't feel deserted when the students aren't there.

What is your budget for a 3/4 bed house? There may be no point making suggestions if the places we suggest are way over budget.

Chester definitely

Ormskirk is nice but a lot of Edge Hill students live in Liverpool, which is fab.

Leigh is very rough.

I think the best for you is to grab some Ryanair flights on sale, I've seen Dublin Liverpool for a fiver on occasion and go and see for yourself. Take couple of days, travel around, see few places.