Advice from Lymm/ SW Manchester Mums/ Dads please!

[MAMAlil2014]

Hi all

I need some advice/ opinions on areas to live please! Any pros/ cons much appreciated!

Relocating with husband, 2 year old and baby number 2 is due early 2017.

Have read some previous threads on here and had narrowed down to south west Manchester areas (around altrincham, sale, timperely).

But we recently visited Lymm and liked it so now I'm confused about areas- I had thought we would be more towards Manchester!

Any of you out there have experience or opinions on Lymm/ SW Manchester? With two little ones I want to be close(ish) to baby toddler facilities/ good nursery/ schools etc.

Thank you!!

We were tempted to move to Lymm and then we decided on Chotlon. For us it felt Lymm was just too far from the city for us while we are young(Ish). I'm very glad we moved here.

Lots of people like Lymm. If it's a feasible journey work wise then go for it. High Legh nearby is nice too.

We live in Monton the green part of Salford. It's lesser known to people moving from the south but a very very convenient commute to Manchester. Check right move.

It depends on a few things really. Where will you be working and how will you get into work? Commuting via public transport into the city centre is much easier from Altrincham / Sale / Timperley due to the metro. Commuting by car is poor from either option! Lymm is obviously further out.

I think both areas have lots going on for little ones. Schools wise Altrincham / Sale / Timp are all Trafford which is generally accepted as having the best schools at primary / secondary levels. Having said that I know Lymm High has a very good reputation.

I expect you'll get more for your money in Lymm than in Altrincham.

Thanks for your replies so far!!

Husband will be working in Carrington area, and will need to drive for work.
I will be taking a career break for next 12/18 months and then looking for something.

Lymm is fine for carrington. I actually live in between! Lymm house prices are very expensive. There is a small council estate in there but to get on to that you would have to be extremely lucky.

Lymm is a lovely area we visit the damm when it's nice and the atmosphere is nice. It's classed as a 'posh' area and can be snobby and some parts are semi rural.The schools are good, we visited a little preschool that we were going to send dd 2 to. Lymm is closer to Warrington than Manchester. Warrington is ok for shopping although obviously not as cosmopolitan as Manchester. It still does its job though.

There are lots of areas round carrington, Urmston/flixton (5 mins from carrington) expensive, Sale expensive and some rough parts, Partington a cheap mainly council estate, quite poor but regeneration going on. Also there is going to be a huge new build estate on Carrington. Cholton (I wouldn't move there) can be very expensive but some of our favourite restaurants are there as it's very diverse.

We are currently looking at Croft in Warrington it's about 15/20 mins from carrington - semi rural (in parts) but you get more for your money. Have s look at the other direction in to Warrington - only two junctions away on motor way and you get a lot more for your money, you just have really look in to the immidiate area as some are a little scruffy while others eg. Croft is quite nice.

Altrincham prices are crazy!

I can't comment on Lymm as we only visit for walks but it is lovely.

Hale/Altrincham does tick all of your boxes.

Pros
Lots of mum and toddler groups and activities geared towards preschoolers.
Lots of excellent primary schools
Trafford has well respected Grammar and Secondary Modern schools.
Easy tram journey in to Manchester for MOSI and art galleries.
Three National Trust places nearby; Dunham, Tatton and Quarry Bank.
Handy for the airport.

Cons
One of the most expensive parts of Manchester
Altrincham is improving esp round the market but there are still lots of empty shops.
Hale is a lovely village with lots of places to eat. Plenty of normal people but lots of Cheshire Housewives types too!

Lymm will be perfect if he's working in Carrington.

I live in Sale and DC's go to school in Timperley. I don't have much knowledge of Lymm , sorry, but Carrington is 10 minutes down the road from where we are (Ashton on Mersey) and the schools in the area are great. There are also a large number of Trafford grammar schools if that is something you would be considering in the future. Transport wise the tram system and motorways are practically on the doorstep and loads going on for little ones too.

Not trying to put you ofc Lymm though, it's a lovely place!

Lymm is lovely and pretty with decent schools, but too quiet for my liking. Needs a car to go most places: but I like taking the DC to loads of interesting places such as museums, galleries, stadiums to see events etc
I am not a fan of Warrington really and prefer to be nearer the city. Trafford has good primaries although the results are skewed by so many people tutoring for grammars etc. Urmston, Flixton and Monton are all nice and cheaper than Chorlton / Didsbury etc.
Depends so much on what type of area you fancy. (Diverse, city access, things to do, cinema, restaurants, museums etc)

I'd also post on the Cheshire board as Lymm is much more Cheshire than M&T

If he is going to work at Carrington why don't you look at Urmston instead?

I love Lymm, it's lovely but a. very expensive, as others have said b. in recent years they've expanded the town but not the infrastructure and I know they have issues with school places etc. and c. it's not very accessible except by car and it's nice to have the option to take a train into town occasionally