Where to live in Blackpool

[Tjit]

Hi everyone

Hope that everyone has had a restful weekend Posting here for traffic.

We live in London but My DH has recently gotten a job in one of the hospitals in Blackpool so will be based there 3 days a week and needs a base which we can visit during holidays etc

Where do you suggest? We have 2 pre teen children of the same gender and are a family of ethnic minority so we want somewhere we can feel comfortable

We visited and liked poulton de fyre which was really posh, and were also in central Blackpool near the beach which obviously is very touristy and possibly out of our price range

As this will be a 2nd property, our max budget is £120,000, though not sure of where to settle, children's school will remain in London but want a place that we can spend all school holidays etc the property will be a bit of an investment so also need somewhere that will hold it's value etc

I have looked at Layton which seems more affordable but not sure of what the area will be like eg is it diverse, nice, quiet etc?

If anyone knows the area please advise

Lytham always gets pushed on threads about Blackpool. I think it’s boring and soulless, fair enough if you’re making a permanent move and have to consider schools and so on but to spend a bit of time in the holidays Blackpool is great! Zoo, donkey rides, sandcastle, what’s not to like?

We had to move to the vicinity of Blackpool for 12 months nearly 20 years ago. Like others have said, avoid Blackpool itself, absolutely awful and sounds like it’s not improved.

We opted for an apartment in Lytham and we’re really happy there.

Yes but you could still travel to all of the local attractions. There’s no way on earth I’d move to central Blackpool.

Most of South Shore towards the airport is alright and you should be fine with around 120,000 for something small and not gar from the hospital. 5 minutes from St Anne's. The other side Bispham is nice too but a bit pricier but also not a long commute.

Wrea green, poulton, Lytham St Anne's are all nice but you won't get much for your budget and none of those areas are diverse.

Cleveleys is OK, again not diverse though.

Not trying to scare you, just informing you of the reality of Blackpool today so you can make an informed decision.

Also, with regards to your mention of diversity...., www.blackpooljsna.org.uk/Blackpool-Profile/Ethnicity.aspx

It's usually the people visiting who bring it down.

Crikey, you couldn't pay me to live in Blackpool! Other suggested areas here are way nicer.

They don't have hospital accommodation?

It really is an awful place and I spent all my childhood holidays there and come from a local very deprived area. You really don't want your children spending their summer holidays there. Can't he commute in from somewhere else?

I would ignore most replies. The majority of people on here are extremely negative towards Blackpool based on very little knowledge. Central Blackpool is a deprived shit hole, avoid it at all costs. Same for Layton. If you venture towards Stanley Park area there are some lovely big houses but probably out of your budget. I would head towards South Shore or even St Annes and you can get a reasonable property in a normal residential area.

Depends what you like though, doesn't it?

Blackpool is genuinely a dump imo.

You need to go and visit these places OP. Maybe you'll like Blackpool, but I would be surprised.

What is the actual point of buying a holiday home somewhere you won’t holiday?

I have a doctor friend who did a brief stint at Blackpool Victoria. He said it was awful, incredibly sad and wearing, just firefighting the effects of chronic deprivation and lifestyle chaos, endless stag and hen misadventures, and incidents and injuries relating to drug and alcohol misuse. I’d wait to be sure that your DH actually wants to stay in his job semi-permanently before you commit to buying somewhere, and would even look then at buying further towards Lancaster.

What do most people do when they're on holiday though, they drive about, go to attractions, local beach, beach further away etc etc, they dont limit themselves to the mile around their cottage?

We will holiday there, when children are off school, we will be based in Blackpool

You won’t get Wrea Green for that price.

Morecambe is a bit of a trek, but very up and coming, especially with the Eden Project.

Blackpool does have a motorway though, so you can fairly easily get away … lol. Look along the M55 between Blackpool and Preston, once you start to get a couple of miles outside the town, there are some nice places.

@AlfietheSchnauzer there is actually quite alot in Lytham and St Anne's for families.

Lots of people who work at the hospital live in St Anne’s , Freckleton, etc those kind of places. You could even try north Preston. You’ll get something ok for £120k and Preston is very diverse.

Honestly every time someone dares to mention the word Blackpool on here, everyone goes bonkers. It’s hardly the crime capital of the world. Yes there’s drugs and drunkenness on the front but locals don’t really venture close to the front. I know loads of people from there who’ve done extremely well for themselves. It’s fine, and great for a holiday for a few weeks a year.

Commuting from Whitehaven is a daft idea.
It could be done from Lancaster

I didn’t mean you sorry! I meant everyone saying how horrid Blackpool is and they couldn’t possibly and go to nice Lytham.

If your DH is working in Blackpool and you will spend time on the beach, zoo, water parks etc then just buy somewhere in Blackpool, honestly!

Don't do it. Blackpool, aside from the deprivation, racism and violence, is one of the wettest, windiest, coldest places in the UK. You will end up spending a fortune keeping the children occupied if it rains because its not just rain. Its awful. Even in summer.

We went for the day as DC was desperate to go to the Sandcastle. We were home by 3pm as while the rest of the country was dry/sunny, it was torrential rain there. Yuck.

Blackpool is an absolute dump. In my experience, it’s one of the grottiest large towns in the U.K. You couldn’t pay me enough to live there. Lytham St Anne’s is much nicer, but the Fylde Coast is not a part of the country known for its diversity.

I've not got time to reply properly to the thread but basically this...
Around the hospital is probably the nicest part of Blackpool, I know someone who has just bought a lovely 2 bed flat about 7 minutes from the hospital for £105,000.

But he won't want to be doing 'a bit of a trek' at both ends of a long shift - I'm assuming DH is a junior doctor?

I always amuse myself on these threads by looking out for the most ridiculous suggestions Mumsnet can come up with to avoid someone 'having' to live somewhere considered insufficiently naice. I think we have a belter on this thread with the Whitehaven suggestion. It's not that much quicker to get to Blackpool from there than it is from London.

Lytham St Anne's consists of Lytham, Ansdell and St Anne's. St Anne's is the very long established seaside holiday town, so there are activities for families. It is also handy for trips to the Lakes, Manchester, Preston, Liverpool, Lancaster and the Lancashire countryside. And of course Blackpool. Plenty of family activities.