Never been to the North really but pls tell me where to live

[TheFirmLurker]

Technically I am lying. I have been to random Northern cities but mostly for night outs with friends who happened to be there for whatever reason.

Dh and I have decided to leave London. It’s too expensive and we are killing ourselves for an expensive mortgage which sucks the living life out of us. We were hoping to find a cheaper house in a home county but once rail cards and commute times get factored in I’m not sure we’ll be much better off.

So I’m just curious if you have any recommendations. Dh has to be in the office 3 times a week (I luckily don’t). He has the option to work out of Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool.

I would love a village location where we aren’t on top of neighbours but can easily commute to a large town/city.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!

Northwich? The Hartford end is nice.

I'm struggling to imagine how much your mortgage already is if your budget is up to £850k up north. Holy hell

Nantwich is a lovely area and very “up and coming”. You’d get a lot for your money at the moment, certainly a large detached in a nice village such as Wrenbury, wynbunbury, or Audlem, all of which are lovely. There’s also a direct train into Manchester and Crewe station is nearby which goes literally everywhere - London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham etc.

The new bypass makes it well connected for the M6, Liverpool/birmingham/manchester 1-1h30 by car so depends where the office is and how often you have to go in. It also means there’s loads of nice places within easy reach - Shropshire, wales, Shrewsbury, Cotswolds, Lake District, Peak District all within two hours.

The high street is lovely with lots of great restaurants and bars, independent shops etc. it has an upmarket and affluent feel without getting into the ridiculous prices of Wilmslow/knutsford/alderley edge. The schools are really good for primary and secondary and there’s also a really good selection of childcare, which is actually a lot cheaper than when I lived in greater Manchester. Loads of nice pubs and beautiful countryside. Would highly recommend as an area to live and raise a family.

You’ve got a good budget so it depends on what you actually want or will accept
3 or 4 beds?
detached or not?
kerb appeal?
period proerty or not?
There are definitely things you can find in places closer to London

@Hobbesmanc

Thanks.

Just thought it sounded a nice place for someone moving up from London, ie not too remote and therefore not a huge shock to the system.

Chester, some of the suburbs have a village feel and with your budget you can get something very nice.
Chester itself is beautiful and has lots going on for a city, but Manchester and Liverpool both within commuting distance via car or train.
I miss Chester dearly.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147597008#/?channel=RES_BUY

just one example of loads of houses in your price range in Chester.
There isn’t really a place to avoid in Chester but areas I would recommend are Upton, Handbridge, Boughton, Hoole. Hoole might feel a bit too city centre for you though.

Upton would be good if close to Bache train station for commuting purposes.

I lived there as a student. And still enjoy the shops and bars in Chorlton. Live a couple of miles further out now x

Newton is ok but with that budget I think South Warrington is better.

Lymm
Chester
Wirral
Altrincham
Knutsford
Wilmslow
Urmston
Didsbury
Formby

The Wirral! With that budget you will get something fantastic and super easy to commute into Liverpool

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151271828

Just as an example. Very easy commute to Liverpool from here.

That house in west Kirby is in the same road as West Kirby grammar school for girls I went there although that area has the 11 plus. I am from the Wirral but now in Yorkshire must admit some areas always reminded me of hyacinth bouquet ( Heswall ). I think south liverpool is a better bet as the Wirral is no good when you have teenagers wanting nights out in liverpool getting back is a problem as taxis don’t want to go through the tunnel

I live in Manchester, and can recommend it. However, do your research. We’re lucky enough to live in one of the nice areas of South Manchester, but it’s not cheap by a long shot. I sometimes think the problem with Manchester is that everywhere is either really nice, affluent and therefore expensive, or a shithole. There aren’t many place middling places that are just “fine”.

Mossley
Disley
Slaithwaite
Congleton
Whaley Bridge
Kettleshulme
Whaley Bridge
Poynton/Adlington

All lovely and all really different. All have a doable commute (by train) to Manchester. Depends on what you're looking for!

Nantwich would absolutely fit you. It’s a lovely market town in Cheshire.

There are some nice, stone built villages on the northern fringes of Manchester. I used to live in one and my commute to the city centre was 40 mins. Holcombe, Helmshore, Ramsbottom spring to mind, and there are others.

Birmingham is not part of the north!

@PiperBurrito I would agree on that - also relatively inner areas like Didsbury and Charlton that others rave about we thought were 'ok' but expensive and not as nice as I thought they would be for the money - we looked at one point and decided against as was as expensive as some areas in south that I thought were more me if I'm honest - if I was going to NW I would def be going a bit further out as it's still expensive but to me had more space and green

You could buy this lovely house in York it’s 2 hours from London on East Coast main line

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147587981

It really isn't. It's just a pricier than average suburb and won't seem too different to London. South Manchester is highly over-rated. The north as a whole has a lot of over-priced housing, partly because of Southerners coming up here with £750k to splash about

Liverpool and Manchester are both in the government north west region so, yes they are.

Oxton, wirral:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149914502?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

😂Do Southerners require protection up here?

The best schools in the UK? Which ones, and where do they sit in the league tables?

Hartford in Cheshire has direct trains to Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester. It has 1 change train to London. Excellent schools

£750-850k gets you loads in West Kent! Totally get why you want to try somewhere different (I also wonder if the North would be better for my kids financial opportunities in the future) but you're definitely not priced out of the South East. On a village on the outskirts of Tonbridge/Sevenoaks, you could get a lovely 3 bed detached house for £700k. More as you go more rural.

Ps the 6th form college (Sir John Deans) is in the top 30 for results and one of only 4 in that cohort which is not private school. And Leftwich county high-school is the best in the county above the private schools also.