Relocating to Cumbria advice please............

[katie2323]

Hi all. I am planning to relocate my family from Guernsey to Cumbria in April. Jobs for me are likely to be in Carlisle or Kendal.....though my husband's possible jobs are around the Ambleside area. A few questions for locals or those familiar with the areas please:-where would be a nice, semi-rural/village to live and raise our little girl....toddler/childrens groups, activity classes (ballet, dance, gymnastics etc) and in close proximity to a good pre school/primary school....low crime rate....would also love a nice little town nearby perhaps......am I asking too much? Unfortunately, it is not practical to visit each area properly beforehand, though I did visit Windemere and Keswick last year and they looked lovely.....but how is it to really 'live' in these Cumbria areas please, particularly as a parent that knows nobody? :-(

Most areas have good schools and low crime. I'd avoid living in Windermere or Keswick gets very busy in summer. I'd be looking at Penrith, Staveley nr Kendal, Grange.

Budget would be good to know. It's a cracking place to live and work. Plenty going on in most towns and villages.

We moved to Cumbria two years ago from the south and love it! There are lots of nice villages around Milnthorpe and the Arnside and Silverdale AONB. We live in a village in that area. It's 15-20 mins to Kendal. Lovely views across the estuary to the Lake District fells. It's also much less busy than the places in the National Park. Grange is nice too, as are Staveley-in-Cartmel and the areas round Newby Bridge.

The village we live in is really friendly with a wonderful primary school (with nursery). It's 5 mins from Milnthorpe which is a big village/small town with a small but fab Booths supermarket, doctor's, dentist's, a good secondary school and some shops, pubs and restaurants, and there are big supermarkets 15 mins away. Feel free to pm me if you want to know more - I love my village . I don't know specifics about activities for little ones as mine are a bit older (8 and 11) but I suspect there are plenty. Crime rate is very low - everyone knows everyone and I think people are pretty lax about security! Kids play out unaccompanied a lot. I let mine go out with friends in the village in a way I wouldn't have done even in the perfectly nice village we lived in down south - it feels very safe here.

Oh one more thing - I have got to know people here more quickly than I have anywhere else I've lived. Do you have a dog? Practically everyone round here seems to - that definitely helps you meet people. But other than that, the village primaries and nurseries are small and friendly round here and I think lots of people make friends that way.

Another one to head for is Kirkby Lonsdale.

I'd avoid MILNTHORPE but that's personal arnside, Silverdale, Holme all nice as well.

I'd avoid Milnthorpe itself as well. I'm not so keen on Holme though. You can hear the M6 thundering past in places. Levens and Beetham are nice, as are the Yealands.

Hi

So many places to consider, it's difficult to suggest area's without seeing them first...which I appreciate is difficult time wise.

We narrowed it down prior to staying (we hired a holiday house) for a few days to really explore on foot and by car.

It's interesting to see people suggest avoiding Milnthorpe, why is that?

It's not horrible, it's just a bit meh. It's perfectly ok really, just slightly less homely-villagey than the surrounding villages iyswim. Probably slightly higher crime rate, a few rougher types etc.

And a crap ex council estate. So many nicer villages and better schools.