Relocating to Wirral- advice please!

[cheekymonk]

Hi there, a few of you very helpfully commented before when i started a similar thread. DH and I are pretty much set that we are moving up here BUT it seems a minefield where is nice or not! Dh has had a bit of look around and got some advice off locals who advised him to avoid most of birkenhead, new ferry, rock ferry and woodchurch.
Am i reight in saying left of the motorway is generally posher? What is nocturum like?
prenton, moreton, claughton and upton are coming up within our budgets as are bits of bromborough and bebington. So where are the best schools?
DS is 7 and DD is only 16 months but we don't really want to move again after this move so would hope to get in catchment of good primarys and secondarys. i am really keen on grammar system too so would be grateful fior your advice!
I have a great big map up in our kitchen all annotated!

An update! We all went up last weekend. stayed in TL in Eastham (christ, worst TL I have ever stayed in but nevermind!) Wow, so glad we went! Dh first drove us to West kirby, Caldy etc (beautiful but out of our league) then round parts of Birkenhead. I found it threatening and not at all somewhere I would want to live but obviously we didn't cover every road. Then tour round Woodchurch which wasn't too bad, preferred it to birkenhead but schools are the problem. bebington surprised me, a real mix of run down and ok. Bromborough seemed the same. Rock ferry and New ferry weren't quite as bad as i expected but I just felt a bit depressed driving round. I loved prenton and Oxton, definitely my fave areas. i liked the 1930's houses on a lot of the main roads too, set back off the roads which makes them more appealing! The people were generally very friendly and warm (apart from estate agent- lol!) but I did get a sense of culture shock! Cheshire Oaks looks amazing but there seem few chain shops in the wirral generally apart from supermarkets. I just worry that our budget is still very tight and doesn't buy us that much more than down here

Hi I have lived on the wirral all my life. I lived in saughall massie/overchurch until i was seven and then we moved to Greasby village. My mum and dad still live there. I have bought a house with hubby in Moreton but the meols end. I was not sure about living there at first but i love it now. Ideally we would like to move to Greasby as it is closer to school. Or Meols, Hoylake , west kirby. i personally like west wirral which are places above and Heswall, caldy etc. I wouldnt live in birkenhead, wallasey , new brighton, seacombe, rock ferry , new ferry etc. dont know bebington, bromborough as never lived there. schools .....depends on what you are looking for. look at ofsted reports and then go and visit the schools defo. you need to get a feel for the place before you send your child there. hth.

Thanks hellyb25. Have sort of discounted moreton as struggled to find good schools there but may have missed some as its overwhelming looking at so many ofsteds!!!
Yes will definitely look around schools...
I watched a midwife programme the other day and it made a massive distinction between east and west wirral but people have said its not quite that black and white.

I am from the wirral (although live in manchester now). The midwife programme didn't paint a completly realistic picture as there are good parts and bad parts of both East and West Wirral. It is certainly not all bad on the east side. I grew up in Oxton (family still there) and it's a really nice area with some lovely housing and good access to Liverpool,motorway etc. I could quite happily live there again now (with children) The village is handy for local shops, and there are some good little restaurants, a few pubs and as far as I know the schools in the area are still pretty good.

Thanks peacypops. yes, I liked the feel of it straightaway...

Have you tried Neston, Heswall, Pensby, Irby, Thurstaston, Thornton Hough, Eastham (I know you stayed in the TL but have you looked around the village and town), Ness, Puddington, Parkgate?

That programme wanted to shock. I have lived in Birkenhead (never again), Rock Ferry (ditto), Heswall (fine), Neston (fine but didn't like my neighbours so very prejudiced against the whole town lol), Eastham (again fine).

Don't bother trying to shop on the Wirral, go to Chester, Cheshire Oaks or Liverpool instead. There is loads of public transport options on the East side, less so on the west (Having been a teenager without parents who will give me a lift everywhere I feel qualified to say this )

I live in Higher Bebington. I love it here, lots of lovely wide tree lined roads. The infant and junior school both have outstanding ofsteds, with good reason. The two Wirral Grammar schools are here too.

Have you thought about Wallasey, New Brighton areas? Brilliant for both primary and secondary schools (Better results than some of the secondary grammar schools) plus the house prices are slightly lower than some of the places you have been looking.

I live in Wallasey, we have a few local shops in Liscard (although the actual shopping centre has become run down) but I would agree with those above who have said shopping is best left to the Oaks, L1 and sometimes Chester - or online of course ha ha

There is lots to do whether you drive or not, the transport system is great and the beach is within walking distance (New cinema, new restaurants, new STARBUCKS!)

The Wirral is one of those strange places where one road can be lovely and the very next can be a bit dire, it really does take looking around and talking to the locals - I'd suggest maybe renting for 6 months before you buy - You will get a good feel for the place that way and you'll know where you want to root down. But can I suggest if you do come to visit again you stay in the new Lodge in New Brighton - Its less than 12 months old and you will be able to see the other side of the Wirral - New Brighton has a good mix of the big old houses and the lovely modern buildings so you can have a good look around - Also take time out to discover the lovely little parts of the Wirral - such as Birkenhead Park (But not after dark!) and the Floral Pavillion for a show.

I love living here as I find it has just right amount of young and traditional - I can hop on a train/drive through the tunnel and I'm in Liverpool or I can walk to the beach and along the front, beautiful especially at this time of year to clear the cobwebs!

Moreton is a hard one I think - It used to be a very nice place, most people worked at the factory and worked hard for their children, my Mum grew up there and has worked hard her whole life, she has good qualifications and has since moved to Wallasey but - then the locals started growing up and moving out and the council started housing people who had to be rehomed from Birkenhead and everything went a bit downhill, there are still some lovely spots and if you would be willing to drive the distance you could get your children into a grammar/religious school out of Moreton but that would be up to you obviously. But places like Saughall Massey and the Millhouse Estate are very nice areas - Plus there is an amazing chippy on the corner by the little Tesco goes off topic

I moved to Prenton from outside the wirral a couple of years ago. It is...OK..
thats all I could really say about it tbh!. I have seen worse places, I have seen better. Given the choice I would move elsewhere but having said that I am not unhappy where we are.

Well I'm guessing you are already moved now. But we lived in Irby for 10 years. We re-located to my home town (near Rochdale) last summer and in three weeks we are moving back to Irby! Will not move from Wirral again!! Irby is really nice, as are Greasby, Oxton, Higher Bebington- all with good schools.