Moving from London to Cheshire

[CharlieHarley]

Hello,

My husband has been offered a job in Liverpool and we're looking at moving to the Cheshire area. When we initally looked, we liked Hale but that was when we thought he might work in Manchester but now it's Liverpool and he'll need to travel all over the North West so it means we're a bit more flexible in terms of location. I'm currently on maternity leave but will need to get to Salford when I go back next year.

So where would you receommend that has a good hub and villagey feel like Hale, good schools for our two little ones (7mths and 3 at the moment) and isn't too far from Liverpool or Manchester?

Thanks in advance!

Newton Le Willows? Lymm?

Lymm. It's sleepy tho. Good schools and quiet. Good transport links. Not that expensive

Thanks! We are going to have a look at Lymm - sleepy sounds nice coming from the buzz of a city where we can't sleep for sirens, planes overhead and muggings on your doorstep :o) Is there much going on in Lymm in terms of toddler/baby groups and meeting other mums as I'm not going to know anyone when we move.

Haven't thought about Newton-Le-Willows...will add it to the list of places to check out!

You could also look at Stockton Heath in Warrington. Vibrant village although more expensive and a trek to Salford

Have you thought of somewhere like Didsbury, which is on the tramline to Salford?

Actually we really liked Didsbury, I guess we thought we'd live somewhere a bit more suburban but there are some lovely leafy parts.

Will check out Stockton Heath as a few people have also mentioned this to us. I guess driving to Salford is always an option - I'm in London mentalilty still whereby you have to depend on public transport!

Great suggestions, thanks!

Forget public transport from Stockton Heath to Salford or Lymm to Salford. It's prob possible but would take a long time! The downside to Lymm is you need a car to do much at all.
Didsbury means you never have to leave the village for anything (every activity known to adult or child of every kind ) and awesome transport links to anywhere (road/train/tram). All the schools are great at primary of secondary. State and private. Cosmopolitan. Downside is that it's so popular we pay the price for it on house prices!!!!

We live in the south of the county, think I've used public transport a handful of times in the decade we've been here.

Think you need to factor in the additional house prices with somewhere that is well linked like Didsbury or the cost of running a second car. The property investment is unlikely to go down though, obviously

We definitely need a second car. By the looks of it seems like you get more house for your money in Disbury compared to Hale? I think Hale is our top choice followed by Lymm.

Stockton Heath also sounds good - we like the villagey vibe but need a few things going on for kids too. Anyone any experience of this place?

Hale is slightly more expensive but depends by exact location and school catchments. Hale is in Trafford so has the super competitive and selective grammar schools. Stockton Heath is the nearest equivalent in Warrington - but the local town is Warrington and not Manchester / the city so different level (much less) of ents, museums, theatres, festivals, sports stadiums, events, transport links etc I assume the schools are decent there.

I assume there plenty to do for kids as lots of families in the area. No idea how decent it is for teenagers - comes round fast!

If I were to chose, I would be closer to Manchester than Warrington. That is just my choice though

I'm more inclined to be nearer Manchester too and the bonus of having fantatsic schools in Trafford is a major pull. Are the schools very over subscribed though? Is it difficult to get in without already having a sibling to the outstanding ones? We'd be looking at Stamford Park Primary as we love that area and some gorgeous houses around there. Anyone have any experience of this area and school?

Does this local site cover that area? Just asking in case you need to post in another area

oh good point!!

Stamford Park & Bollin are oversubscribed. They are hugely popular. Call Trafford LA tho as spaces do come up. Try Bowden CofE too

Just realised you will be applying fort reception. You'll be fine if you are in catchment area - maps on web site

Thanks itsahen, yes it will be for starting school in Sep '16 so hopefully we can get within a good catchment area for these schools if we end up in Hale. Will also post on the Trafford pages.

Hi Charlie and welcome to the Cheshire pages! I am in Knutsford, which is great for m/way access but public transport is poor, two trains an hour into Manchester and it takes an hour. You can drive to Altrincham to get the tram but the car park gets full very quickly very early and adds another 40 mins to the commute.

There is a Mumsnet Manchester and Trafford site, which covers Hale, we tend to share info as there is an overlap, Racheal the local editor is lovely, might be worth heading over there to get some info too!

I will tweet and Facebook your post to see if we can get you a little more on the ground local knowledge.