To ask for advice on relocating to Chester?

[devadreams]

We are considering relocating to Chester. I have historic family connections to the city but limited recent/current experience and would appreciate any tips on any areas in and around Chester you'd particularly recommend (or avoid!), as well as any insights re schools.

When I was a child I knew Chester was generally very good for schools, is this still the case? DCs are all at primary currently but secondary is imminent for DS1 so we need to consider both.

We'd be open to living fairly centrally as we love the city itself but also interested in the surrounding villages. DH would need access to the train station but not every day so fine to be a drive/taxi ride away.

Curzon Park is nice if you have that sort of money and close to centre as you are thinking. Westminster park also nice with nice primaries and close to King's school if you are looking for private school - they take boys and girls now too.

My friend was living in Westminster Park when her ds got in to Catholic High, they are not religious at all.

Huntington is also nice and good for Christleton school or bishops I believe

IMO the only stand out secondary in the area is Christleton. The other secondaries are all very similar, with similar outcomes and difficulties.

I reluctantly left Hoole a few years ago and can't recommend it enough. It's a wonderful place to live. Upton High not great though.

I live in Westminster park. Mum lives in Hoole. Both great communities with everything on your doorstep really. Having Broughton retail park and sealand retail park so close is so handy. The train station is perfect for public transport and buses are frequent for both of these areas.
Easy access to the countryside, plenty of choice for days out- North Wales, Wirral, Nantwich areas.
Ideal for dog walking there is so much choice.
School wise I'm not so familiar on but you're probably best researching facilities and asking other local parents on their thoughts.

I'm sure you won't regret a move to Chester. It's such a special city and I often realise how lucky I am when I go to other places that don't have something I'm used to e.g. shops nearby and it makes me grateful for where I am 🙂

We moved near Chester 18 months ago - just over the welsh border in Marford. Best decision we ever made. My boys are older and were already in private school (as we had relocated in Europe before) so they are at Kings which is a great school. The city offers so much and my husband and I both travel for work and find the links to London and the North amazing. Good luck with your move - Queen's Park/Curzon Park would have been my ideal choice with your budget

No you don't have to be Catholic to attend Catholic High although if the school is oversubscribed then Catholic children and those attending a feeder primary will be admitted before non- catholic children. Several of kids from my son's primary are currently there- none are Catholic!

If you go onto the Cheshire West and Chester council website schools section, there is a starting secondary school booklet which has the criteria for all schools plus info about how oversubscribed and what criteria was used in the preceding years to admit the last pupil (sibling, distance from school etc).

Agree with PP that Chester centre on race days is quite erm ... lively but no locals ever go into the town centre on those days! On non race days I've never seen any trouble and there's a friendly vibe, but realistically there will always be incidents- it's a city after all! Also agree with PO that Northgate street and the Storyhouse are lovely (and fine on race days as the drunken race goers go elsewhere!).

Hi OP,
I've responded to you on the other thread, but just wanted to say that with your budget, you could pretty much live wherever you wanted in Chester!

I'd recommend Hoole, Handbridge/Queen's Park and Curzon Park as a starting point. All walking distance to town and the train station.

I really like what's happening in the Northgate area at the moment, the Story house has brought new life to the area and the market and restaurants/cafes are much livelier than they used to be.

The centre of town is looking a bit shabby at the moment - lots of boarded up businesses, which is a real shame. It's not hopeless though.

Best wishes with your search. I was in a similar position 12 years ago, and moving here was one of the best things we did.

So many helpful replies and tips, I am really grateful to you all!

We would want to have access to nice bars, restaurants, cafes etc, although we hardly have a hectic social life we do like a nice meal out once in a while and also to eat out with the DCs. Happy to follow advice to avoid the centre on race days!

It sounds like there have been some nice developments taking place around Northgate since my last visit. I mainly knew Chester as a small child but am so attached to the city emotionally and would love to be able to watch Chester FC regularly! It would be really special for me to live there and I hope we might be able to make this move happen.

My main concern is sorting school places. Having had DS1 so unhappy at his last school and now so much happier and settled at a brilliant school (which his siblings also attend) it makes me really nervous about upsetting the apple cart when we could just stay put so that the younger two can see through their time there. I am worried that having 3 DCs will make it even harder to sort places at the schools we might choose and which would work logistically (eg might get one DC into one primary and another into a different one, we've clearly missed the deadline to apply for year 7 places for DS1 so who knows what we might be able to get).

Add into the mix that one DC has SEN (has a support plan at school but no EHCP so we are reliant on the school being inclusive, supportive and accommodating). Does anyone have particular experience of SEN provision in Chester schools? Our current school is really inclusive and supportive but I know of other schools locally that are well regarded but really poor for SEN so I was over the moon to be offered the school we have. I would hate to setback or detrimentally affect DS with SEN by moving.....

Re budget, that would be our maximum and round here it wouldn't get you all that much so would need to spend it all, whereas I am putting my sensible hat on and thinking if we make this move perhaps we should look to have a similar mortgage or not much more than currently and consider properties up to approx £700k. It seems we could still afford a really lovely house in a great area in Chester for this, rather than stretching to our maximum as we would have to if we stayed locally.

Zhx3 thanks for your good wishes

Do you mind me asking where you moved from? (rough area if you'd rather not be too specific!)

Cmcc22 I'm really pleased to hear you have found the move so positive! My dad went to the Kings School (many years ago!) so I do feel a connection with it, and I know it has always had an excellent reputation.

Pawsies thank you The DC and I would love to get a dog, DH perhaps less convinced on this but I think if we had a bigger house and more space generally he could be persuaded (I hope!) I love the idea of exploring a new area on foot with a four legged friend

Pieceof I used to love going to the market when I was little and getting a little paper bag of mini marshmallows! So many memories!

Bagga you've been so helpful thank you. I've had a good trawl on the admissions website and have also sent them an email. I love to inform myself!

I can't speak for secondary schools but Acresfield primary is an absolutely brilliant school. It's near the zoo (definitely worth getting an annual pass to that!) I don't think Upton heath is that great.
Plenty of nice areas near to the city centre especially with your budget. You will be spoilt for choice. I would just avoid lache as it's quite rough.

Must just put in a promo for Guilden Sutton and Upton High, a long time since I left them both but they are still great.

Avoid Hollyoaks at all costs!

Seriously, I hope you find a lovely home.

Love the first one flouncy, I am really into period charm! Did you mean Kings for DS going into year 7 or DS with SEN? Given free choice I would always favour state over independent, but am not closed to any options. I do feel slightly stressed at the idea of 3 x school fees though which I'm not sure we could afford.....(if we offered private to one child we would want it to be an option for all of them).

Also had a bad experience with a local independent and DS with SEN, that has rather scarred me and made me nervous about going down that route for him (none of our DCs have gone to a private school but we looked into one for DS with SEN as a plan B if he didn't get into the excellent state primary he is now at).

My dd lives in Mickle Trafford and lots of her friends live in Hoole. She cycles to the station or into town from there.

She finds it a safe place to go out at night on the whole, but she’s more of a Storyhouse girl rather than a Rosie’s clubber.

I enjoy visiting.

Handbridge/Queens Park would be my first choices followed by Hoole. Westminster Park and Curzon Park have some gorgeous houses but are a bit further from town and there's no pubs (we love our local!).

We moved to Chester 17 years ago and couldn't imagine living anywhere else. There are good primary and secondary schools in most areas as well as excellent private schools if that's what you're looking for. Storyhouse has been a fab addition to the city and there's loads of activities for children (and adults) to get involved in - drama, music, sport, art. We also have several amazing independent restaurants some great pubs and a healthy live music scene; it's easy to avoid the nonsense that goes on in the evenings at the weekends and the races is a great day out too!

Good luck, I hope you find what you're looking for 😃