What part of Bury to live in ?

[Missisdoyle]

My family & I are looking for houses to buy in the Bury area, as DH works in Manchester. We had looked in Ramsbottom, which we all loved ( we've 2 boys,aged 17 months & 3.5), but prices seemed a little too high. So we've decided to be realistic & look at Bury. It seems to tick all the boxes ,with regards to schools & things to do, but which parts should we be looking in to live ? Estate agent recommended Walmersley ,Fishpool & Fairfield. Are they relatively safe neighbourhoods ? What about Tottington & Rossendale - are they nice ? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm from across the water & know nowt about the area !

I'd go for surrounding areas near Ramsbottom if you can. Greenmount, Summerseat etc. I don't know much about the other areas but I work with a few people who live that way and love it!

Thanks for swift reply ! Sorry - baby woke up ... I actually have my heart set on Ramsbottom & would rather live in a smaller house in such a lovely area, than a larger house in a more urban setting. DH is Mr Practical though ! Is it better to have a nicer/bigger house in a town ,or a more bijou house in a beautiful area ? I think as long as it is easy to make friends, it probably doesn't matter...but Rammie is gorge !

Rammy is lovely, but pushing a buggy up those hills killed me! Greenmount and Summerseat are both nice, totty has some lovely bits, but you will get more for your money in Bury.

I'm a Prestwich girl, have you considered south of Bury? While not as pretty as Rammy, you do have Heaton Park on your doorstep, great transport links and good schools.

Would avoid Summerseat like the plague, it's a nightmare traffic wise during rush hours and there's no real centre to it. Houses are also v expensive for what you get there. Greenmount is lovely but more expensive than Rammy. Rammy is fab and Tottington is nice too. Mrs Dean Ambrse is right, you'll get far more for your money in Prestwich or Whitefield!

Thanks for your posts.We are actually looking at Whitefield (one of the reason I didn't post y'day !! Sorry, I'm useless at Mumsnet !! We were house hunting all afternoon !) I really liked Whitefield & it seemed like a nice ethnic mix ,too. Is it a good,friendly community there ? Would it be easy to make friends there ? One of the nice things about Rammie seems to be the friendliness of the people, I've found.

I prefer Prestwich to Whitefield but I am biased. Whitefield is nice though (although there are a couple of rough estates), quite mixed and very friendly.
And, Whitefield has Slatterys for all of your cake and chocolate needs.

So what parts of Whitefield are to be avoided,then,Mrs Dean ? And why is Prestwich better than Whitefield ? Sorry for lots of questions ! I'd like to send my boys to a Catholic school - I thought Prestwich was a predominantly Jewish area,though.

I thought that Prestwich would be too expensive, due to its Jewish community (thought it'd be out of our league ).

Prestwich does have a big Jewish area but there's a lot of it that's very mixed as well. Towards the village off bury new road and north of st Monica's (the main catholic high school) are the most mixed areas. Prices are around the same as whitefield at the moment, at least in the streets around me.

In terms of whitefield, the Victoria estate (behind the beehive pub, near aldi) has a reputation, although it's all relative I suppose, and some parts of the Mersey drive area.

Prestwich isn't necessarily nicer than Whitefield - it depends what you want. Prestwich is nearer Manchester which is good if you want to go into the city centre frequently. But it is also nearer more economically deprived areas like Cheetham Hill and Salford. I think Prestwich is rougher around the edges.
The primary schools in Whitefield are good and not oversubscribed. St Michael's is a Catholic primary school. There is a Catholic prep school nearer Bury too.
Unsworth/Sunnybank is considered desirable with a premium on properties overlooking the golf club.
There is also a strong Jewish community in Whitefield although less orthodox.

I'd choose Whitefield over Prestwich every time, and make sure I was nearish a tram stop. I'm Jewish and pockets of Prestwich are too orthodox for me. It's also a common misconception that just because an area has a large Jewish community, it is expensive- not all Jews are wealthy.

I'm only going on what our Jewish EA mentioned about Prestwich being v Orthadox community. He said that the bidding wars on houses there could get v competitive !
Thanx for feedback about those less desirable pockets (always handy to know.) I did actually look at a house this morning near that Victoria estate & it seemed ok. I think Whitefield seems leafy & suburban, but I've not seen many shops there -am I missing something ? Where is the heart of Whitefield ? Is there a town centre that I;ve missed ?
Also,while we're on that topic, has Prestwich a better town centre ?
What about Radcliffe, is it nice ? I really appreciate this info ! Thanx all !

I might be wrong but there are some things that Orthodox Jews would look for in a house (two kitchens, roof that opens etc). That might cause a bidding war but probably not with other members of the community.
Whitefied centre is where the metro station is. There is Morrison's, Slatterys, restaurants, bars etc all along the Manchester Road. Whitefield isn't as big as Prestwich so if you lived in Whitefield you'd go to Prestwich or Bury to go to a bank for example (unless it's Natwest, there is one in Whitefield). Some of the shops in Prestwich are a bit grotty.
There are more gangs of kids roaming around Prestwich and the traffic is much worse.
But there are some lovely leafy streets in Prestwich.
Radcliffe is a completely different story. It is much more economically deprived. If you lived in Radcliffe you'd aspire to move to Prestwich or Whitefield.

Forgive my ignorance ! I did not know that orthodox Jewish people needed such houses. Thanx for the extra info, though, it's really useful. We are looking in Prestwich at the weekend. I think I'd prefer living nearer to shops, than living in Whitefield, which seems a bit lacking in that aspect. I'm really trying so hard to be practical about this, but I just can't get Rammie out of my head. I feel like a love struck teen !!

What about Edenfield, that's near to Rammy, a bit smaller but a nice village. You could go over Owd Betts and look at North of Rochdale - Norden is a very nice part of Rochdale. Your DH could get the tram or train from Rochdale into Manchester or pick up the M62 at Junction 20.

I have been looking at Edenfield on Rightmove, but it seems more expensive than Rammie. I will check Norden out, though. Thanx for those new ideas.

Just come to Rammy, it's great and you won't regret it. I wouldn't live anywhere else

I know this post was in 2014 but I live on Victoria estate have done 5 years and nothing as you've said is horrible its changed and it's very quiet now and people are friendly round here if you've never lived on the estate dont judge it by hearing things from people who heard rumours it's actually nice area now and everything has been changed on the estate

My sister is in Torrington and brother in Edgworth - both are great. Look at Holcombe Brook too and Greenmount as there's lots to do there. I went to BGS but not sure I'd choose it again for my children. St Gabriel's has a poor ofsted but my friend has children there and still loves it. Woodhey is the Ramsbottom school and I think that is ok.

Tottington not Torrington!

Check out Rochdale too. I grew up in Hawkshaw which is a lovely small village with a great primary and close to Ramsbottom and Edgworth.

Whitefield near sergeant's lane is a lovely estate.