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☺️

Alot of the places you have mentioned will be well outside your budget

Kirkby is really fucking rough as is Leigh. You seem to be going from one extreme to another with the places you are coming up with. From places with multi million pound houses inhabited by premiership footballers to absolute shit heaps. What sort of place do you live in now? Trying to ask politely if you are used to rough arsed places, in which case crack on and save some money as a student .

BTW teaching assistant jobs are pretty hard to come by over here. Don't think you will walk straight into one

Did someone honestly say Partington??? It is a complete shithole, I wouldn't live there if I was given a house for free. There's reasons it's cheap

Kirkby You really need to come and look around these places!
If you’re studying at edge hill, Ormskirk has student accommodation galore.

I've lived/had family in Southport, Burscough, various areas of Liverpool and Widnes. Southport is mostly ok, there are some rougher parts, but bus/car 20 mins to Edge Hill easily. Burscough is nice and a lot more going on than it used to have (and 5/10 mins from edge hill). Crosby is nice but expensive, I have also lived in south liverpool which is nice but quite expensive in terms of rent if you're not in the higher crime areas (car insurance was really expensive though) Widnes is about 35 mins from edge hill depending on traffic and is much more affordable than the others but there are only small parts of the town that are rough and a lot of new houses inc help to buy being built. If you are going to be more based in a school than at uni as my family member was then it's more sensible to be nearer to where youd be doing most of your placement and if you dont mind travelling, as ormskirk itself can be a bit of a nightmare for traffic as it's near the hospital and quite small town centre. You could rent for around 500 a month in widnes and a 3 bed house would be between 130 and 180k depending on the area.

Bury and commute to edgehill

Skelmersdale? A small step up from Kirkby, but still cheap and very close to the M58/M6. Some decent areas and a lot of shitty ones too so choose wisely.

You need to realise that you will be renting. You will not get a 200k mortgage on a TA wage. TA wages are very low.

Thankfully I have never lived in a really rough area, but I’m aware of lots of them nearby (I’m at the edge of a small but probably relatively big by Irish standards town that’s around 40 minutes away from one of the smaller cities)

I am just trying to target somewhere that will be relatively nice and affordable and also easily accessible to Edge Hill when needed and potential placement schools

Yes that's called Ormskirk. It's where your college is. It's a nice place and don't understand why you would not stay there tbh

The OP doesn’t have a place on the course and wouldn’t currently meet the entry criteria

OP do you know how much TAs make?
I think it's about 17k.
Mortgage gives you 4.5x your annual wage. So about 76k + deposit you have, I assume 20k?
You will not be able to buy anything over 100k with that.
Plus, as a non Brit, I can tell you that they don't just dish mortgages out. Most have rules that you must be a resident for 3 years prior.

According to Unison, the average annual salary for a TA is £12,081. TES 11 Sep 2017
You're going to pay for uni, run a car and buy a house on £12k a year?

From Edge Hill's website: suitable for well-experienced trainees
That means at least 2 years experience. I used to write this sort of thing for a living.

Honestly OP, you're not being realistic about this at all. Look at access courses to boost your current qualifications and get some decent advice on courses and opportunities.

@Bellsofstclements 😮 I guessed I looked at experienced ones' wages😮

I think OP would get tuition loan. Not the maintenance one though.

until you are qualified/in a secure job, you aren't going to be in a position to buy a forever home. On a modest budget, I would aim for something like this, as it's in a v. nice area with great transport links

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65033982.html

Yes I’ll probably end up getting a flat or smaller house first and then upsizing further down the line- I’d rather spend my money on a small, clean house or flat for myself and have my own place to call home than be renting and/or sharing with others in a bigger house - it’s just I’ve already moved house a good few times so don’t want to moving loads in future either

Thanks again for everyone’s input, I really appreciate it!

Yes I’ll probably end up getting a flat or smaller house first and then upsizing further down the line- I’d rather spend my money on a small, clean house or flat for myself and have my own place to call home than be renting and/or sharing with others in a bigger house
I am sure everyone would rather buy , however it’s not going to happen op

@MyDcAreMarvel People have been telling her throughout the thread, I don't think she is listening.

Nope. There’s optimism and then there’s this

To all the people saying it’s not possible- I know it’s ambitious but if I’m sensible and maybe lower my expectations a bit I personally feel it could be possible-things could be tight financially but I’m not a heavy spender so would be willing to spend what I could on the best place for me to live instead if that meant I could have a nice place to call home

And anyway, isn’t it good that I’m trying to be good and make plans for my future training/course, work and home etc and doing it in the best possible way to suit my interests and needs rather than not making any solid plans for my future?

Thanks again for all of the positive and helpful comments, I really appreciate it

Ignore whoever suggested Skelmersdale......it's a god-awful dump.

To whoever said Pemberton is rough......some of it (near the train station) isn't even remotely rough.

Ignoring the fact that your employment and study ambitions are totally unrealistic as it stands, some of the places being bandied about are ridiculous! You are not going to be able to afford anything more than a studio or 1 bed flat in most of them (assuming these are even readily available in some of the areas...Parbold? Yeah right ). Your best bet imo would be either Warrington or perhaps Bolton area. Big enough places that there's stuff going on, a variety of housing in different price ranges depending on budget and area and excellent transport links to all the bigger NW towns and cities.
Look, if you're really set on coming over here though, I would drastically lower your expectations. You're not going to walk into a TA job, meaning you've not a chance of getting on the course you want by next Sep. I would get a job in retail, as you have now, do that for a year or so to get a feel for the place you're living in, maybe look at some volunteering in schools etc, then you might be in a better position to get a TA job and work your way from there to the course you want. You're looking at a good couple of years at least I reckon before you'd be in a realistic position to do what you want.
But, you're not even 21. Come over here, have fun, explore the area before committing to anything...you have plenty of time for long term plans!

@CanIHaveChocolatePlease It's not about you saving or spending, it's about whether a mortgage provider would lend the money to you.

Just to throw in another suggestion - I live in Macclesfield in Cheshire. I was recently at a party and someone I spoke to said that her daughter was at Uni in Edge Hill and from the second year onwards she lived at home in Macclesfield and commuted every day.

BTW my nephew went to Edge Hill and I understand from my sister it is a lovely campus and Ormskirk is a really nice town.