where are the good areas to live around Crosby, Merseyside

[Shout]

My kids are likely to start school at Merchant Taylors in Crosby when I move back to the UK. Where would be a good location to live?I will be by myself with 2 kids so I need good amenities.

Formby or Southport are nice, I prefer Southport as it has lots of amenities.

They are on the school bus route to Merchants.

There are also very good public schools in the area.

depends on your budget, formby and crosby can be more expensive, especially formby. Southport has good rail links and is child friendly

everytime i go to formby, it takes me ages to get out again, it is very confusing !!

I have a number of friends in southport whose DCs gp to MTs and there is a bus that collects them and brings them home again.

will you have to bear in mind commuting for work?

how old are your DCs?

Shout you will also get the chance to meet us at a MN meet up when you come

lulu I get lost in Formby when we go to the beach - I find a new way everytime.

Its sunny here now, tis lovely, chilly but lovely

i have to use satnav

oh the shame

Thanks everyone, I'd love too come to a meet up. I don't get back to the UK until Aug 07.

I am not planning to start work initially I want to get DS1 9 and DS2 4 settled first.

I have had a look at rightmove, but with the house prices being a bit unstable I will probably rent. I have an old friend in Ormskirk who suggested Formby too.

another vote for Formby although have to agree about the roads as I always get lost as well I do like shopping in Southport though

hi, we are from manchester, planning to move to ormskirk area as my hubby's job, my kid is 7yrs old, i am looking for schools around that area, and i found abt MTS crosby, any suggestions abt that school.
and which is close area to live? is southport safe?
also my kid is doing very well in current indie school, she is one of the toppest, would like to know more abt MTS, anyone know how many kids go to oxbridge from MTS?
sorry so many questions, getting anxious with my kid's move, as any parent, i want her to have best
confused

Formby is nice but more to do in Crosby, blundellsands is a nice part.

thank u so much, house price is costly in that area, but its worth buying if i get school right.
any suggetsion abt schools?

People live all over the place and send their kids to Merchant Taylors' schools, there are buses from Southport down through Birkdale, Ainsdale, Freshfield, Formby, Hightown etc. and from Aughton/Parbold/Ormskirk way. If your work's south of Liverpool you might be better off Mossley Hill/Aigburth way, there are buses from there too. Some people live over the river on the Wirral as you can get a train straight over to Waterloo or Blundellsands and Crosby stations, both are about a 10 minute walk from the school.

Formby's alright but in my entirely subjective opinion a bit insular and parochial, it's got a funny mix, as there are lots of middle-class flight types who've moved there for the good state schools, and footballers. It can have a 'we think we're posh' village mentality, Saturday night there is wall-to-wall fake tans, botox and mega boobs plus chardonnay/peroni carnage. Nowt wrong with that of course. Crosby/Blundellsands could be said to be the same, but you can get out more easily!

Southport is quite frankly full of older retired people, and in the summer tourists, so don't expect to get anything done if you're in a rush. It's where people retire to. There are also some quite deprived residents, it can feel like an odd mix between the decayed genteel and the socially/economically disadvantaged.
There are however lots of middle class people too. There are footballers in Birkdale, which also gets a bit Formbyish on a Saturday night.

All of these areas are predominately white, for a more usual mix of people see South Liverpool.

Obviously these are simply my opinions and others are available!

hi 'Kleptronic'-many thanks, thats very scary
myself and my hubby are old fashioned traditional hard working with asian background
we are bringing our kid to be independant with cultural value.
we dont want her to think or go into the world ''we r posh'
currently my hubbys job in ormskirk, i thought i will get job nearby.
looked into houses in crosby-blundellsands/few houses in aughton
again, mainly focussed on school, curently she is going to whithington-one of the top most school, she is coming topper in her class, i want her to be in a school where she could continue to improve and in a society with same mentality ''not with money & posh''

i just need some review abt that school?

Why not just contact M T themselves re. Oxbridge?

I'm from the area and expect that M T is a great school as it is fee paying and has an entrance exam, so they only take the top candidates. As a local, I would say that M T is where monied families send their offspring.

The MTS schools are very good and have lots of pupils from all racial heritages. The Oxbridge results are excellent. They're not all rich either; lots of pupils' parents tighten belts (do without expensive holidays/cars etc) to send their kids there, and there are scholarships and bursaries. It's the best school this side of the river, and some think it's the best in the area all round.

Don't get me wrong, it's not all white faces in these areas, just that I consider there to be a more normal proportion of everyone in the central and south side of Liverpool, but I guess that's the same in any city! Ormskirk's ok too because of Uni, although it can be a bit Lancashire-villagey too. That might not be a bad thing, depends if you like villages or not.