Ok, apologies for multiple threads but can you tell me more about Sheffield, Birmingham, Norwich and Liverpool please

[kissmyheathenass]

Based on extensive research I have concluded that an affordable city alternative to London might be one of the above.

I would love to know areas with:

good schools - secondary (with good SEN) and primary
in affordable-ish areas which are also nice to live in - not rural
lots for teenagers to do, plus brownies, library an all that.
decent pubs or 2
ditto coffee shop
general decent shopping

Oh, and a nice community vibe would be good.

thanks

Leafy South Liverpool! Lark Lane for slightly Bohemian coffee shop vibe. Several outstanding secondary schools (mainly single sex, and church - but Belvedere and Liverpool College have both recently joined the state system with very good reputations and are secular. Aigburth High is a special school for children with complex SEN, but don't know much about it). Allotments. Loads of outstanding primaries. 5 minute bus ride to centre of Liverpool with first rate art galleries, theatres, lots of public art (think the Giant Puppets, capital of culture). Liverpool One has exceptional shopping opportunites. (I've also lived in Sheffield and Brum and I think Liverpool beats the pants off them for a nice community vibe).

South Liverpool - that sound fab - especially the secular schools as my name hints Im an athiest and so is ds! And the culture... how I miss that. I spoke to a school in Crosby (St Michaels, CofE but take heathens too! Absolutely lovely on phone). Dont know South Liverpool so will google away instead of working again! Backlog of paperwork but this is so much more fun!! Thankx.

In Birmingham, areas like Harborne, Edgbaston, Bourneville would fit the bill I think. It's been a while since I was looking at houses in Birmingham though (10 years ago) as DH used to work at the University.

In Birmingham you sound like you would fit either Harborne or Kings Heath/Moseley. I live in Cotteridge which is a lovely area too, but lacks in nice coffee shops and pubs unless you walk down the road to Bournville or Stirchley respectively and then you're still limited really.

Harborne = expensive housing, decent primaries I think but secondaries less good as most locals go to Grammar or private. Keep in mind that getting around the city is reasonably easy and many kids go to schools not in their immediate area. Great High St, lots of coffee shops, gorgeous pubs and little shops. And a Waitrose. We lived there for a long while and moved out as we couldn't afford to buy there. Reasonably well connected - buses to City take around 15m, Number 11 bus passes through which goes all round the city. Some places are walkable to University Station. Close to the Uni and the hospitals.

Kings Heath/Moseley - Good HIgh Sts, again with good coffee shops and pubs/bars and cool shops. Secondaries are OK over there I think, but I'm not an expert at all. You have to be more careful on area as there can be some more dodgy areas there. You'll be able to tell on price tbh! Less well connected than Harborne IMO, no train station close by and buses seem to be slower.

Cotteridge/Bournville - Lovely area, lots of families of all ages around, Cotteridge Park has fab activities going on and a huge free festival. A couple of coffee shops in Bournville and a great Community Bakery across the road in Stirchley. No pubs thanks to the damn Quakers. There's The British Oak in Stirchley which is a really great local and a few others dotted around Cotteridge/Kings Norton too. To be honest we mainly go to town or Harborne/Kings Heath which are easily accessed thanks to great transport - train takes 15m to New St, buses are frequent to town and the Number 11 circular route too. High St functional but largely full of crap...I live in hope it will improve! Schools v good - within catchment for Kings Norton Girls/Boys which are great schools.

Does that help? If you're looking at other areas let me know and I can give my opinion!

Wow, thanks - loads of info there. Absolutely great. Will google and check houseprices then ring some schools for a chat. I must do a bit of proper work too

I would look at Solihull. Lots of great schools at all levels. Problem with kings Heath etc is that unless you get in the grammar schools ( very hard to! And lots of entrance tests etc) then the rest are not all that great. Langley secondary school in Solihull, has outstanding ofsted and highly rated for SEN. Have a google.
Solihull v friendly, has cinema, sports centre, ice skating for kids, and safe town cent. Also brilliant train links to Brum city centre and to London. We moved here from Moseley/kings Heath for the schools and have never regretted it.

Crosby is very nice. The town centre or village as the locals call it is awful at the moment because of a planning dispute with Sainsburys, but there's a nice row of shops at College Road and there's a campaign to bring a Booths supermarket to the town.
The schools are all pretty good although the best state imo is definitely Sacred Heart. There is a beach nearby with Antony Gormley's famous Iron Men, a community cinema, the Plaza, where all the teenagers go, and a good community spirit. It is of course very close to Liverpool City centre as well.

Wow - you have done your research quickly! Have you decided not to venture as far north as Newcastle? Alot will depend on where your family are, if you need to get back down to London frequently etc so where you want access to etc. Of all the places I guess Birmingham and Sheffield are the most central, I dont know Brum really, but as I ve said before, Sheffield is a great city with lots of nice areas, and access to the Peaks is very easy, you now need someone to give you up to date answers to your list.

I guess out of all of the places on your list, I know Norwich best, great shops, and housing reasonable, tho' pricey in golden triangle areas. I am sure it can tick most of your boxes- you probably need to go to the cities and spend some time looking round.

The only thing I can honestly say about Norwich over all the others, is that the climate is warmer and drier - oh and the football team is fabulous!!!:)

I was coming on to say South Liverpool but see FantasticDay has already had a go at selling it :) I'll just add that you could get a fantastic period property with your budget, check l17-19 on rightmove. There is also a library near Lark Lane as well as various classes at the old police station and a new art and crafts co op has opened there.

Dinkydoos, Solihull looks quite expensive - we need a big 4 / 5 bed as we have 3 dcs and run 2 businesses from home. Cant get much in our price range and we are determinded to stick to our budget and be mortgage-free. Langely looks very good for SEN though and it looks a great place to live.

Crosby sounds lovely too - do you know St Michales school?

Guineapiglet, newcastle gets so much praise on here - it's very tempting but a long drive south to family (I would probably bring dcs to visit rellies during school holdays while dh works). Thought I would try a little bit closer first The climate in Norwich is a big plus point. Here in the south we get fab weather and it is one of the few things I would miss (and some fantastic friends but I will make more).

Will looks at those postcodes ABAB, loads of massive houses for sale - like bedsits/student houses. Do you know why so many are for sale?

In Sheffield I would go for ecclesall or greystones or millhouses. Great schools, lovely parks, close to the peaks but not far from town.

ooh, was jsut thinking about Sheffield! Ta.

Can you recommend any secondary schools in sheffield? I dont really know where to start. I have heard of Brandfield school and Yewlands. Do you know them?

If you are looking to get back to London regularly then Birmingham would be the best option. Trains from New Street can get to Euston in less than 90 minutes. I would not recommend Edgbaston myself. Some parts of it are really nice but other parts are on the boarders of Ladywood/Winson Green and they are really run down. In my opinion, the negatives of Edgabston far outweigh the positives. Schools are good round there if you want to go to a private primary. There are lots of grammar schools but places are competitive. It is extremely close to the city centre though. Harborne is also nice but really overpriced. Bournville is pretty but quite far out and driving down the Bristol Road is a nightmare whatever the time of day. Constant traffic!
Solihull is nice (and I know it has been covered above) but I much prefer Sutton Coldfield. It is less than 20 minutes on the train to the city centre, has huge parks, a small town centre, lots of restaurants and lots going one. It feels smaller than Solihull so more community based.

I see you ignored all of us who tried to entice you further north (to Newcastle). Oh well. You're missing out!

I have nothing useful to add here.

Sheffield secondary schools are a very mixed bag! King Eckberts in Dore, King Edward's, Tapton, Silverdale and the two Catholic schools have good reputations, some of the others are around the worst performing in the country. I would advise close scrutiny of the Ofsted reports to check out the schools in your catchment area! There are indoubtably other good schools that I haven't mentioned but just make sure you check them out. Sheffield is lovely and very friendly though, come and join us! I would second Millhouses and Greystones as nice areas. Walkley and Hillsborough are also quite nice and perhaps a bit less expensive but I don't know which secondary schools they are served by.

King Ecberts I THINK (don't have old enough child to know) vg for SN. Didn't see previous thread so not sure what sort of SN you're talking about, but they're definitely very accessible.
SW Sheffield is a lovely place to live.

Arbitrary, Im not ignoring your lovely useful suggestion - honest! I rang Gosforth school and am waiting for them to call back. I thought propoerty looked quite expensive but I think I have been conditioned, as a southerner, to thinking the North of England is very cheap which its not. I will ring Gosforth again right now. My shortlist is rubbish cos it keep changing.

Why not Manchester, if you are prepared to go north?

Walkley is King Edward V11 which is good. Hillsborough is Forge Ve
Alley school which is...ahem..less good

Property near good school in Sheffield is very expensive. I live in an area served by excellent secondary school. Detatched 3 bed is upward of £300000 minimum

Good schools of course

Detatched 3 bed in good area for £300k? That sounds cheap to me. Same thing can be upward of £400k in good areas of Bham.

King Ecberts - v good SEN - thaks for that recommendation.

Katehrine, I ttried looking at Manchester but I got a bit overwhelemed with area and choice . Any pointers to good SEN secondary schools in affordable areas gratefully received

I am surprised at prices countrywide of houses near good schools. Its a scandal - all the schools should be good, we all pay enough into the system. I always thought Sheffield was cheap but its not at all is it