Moving to Cheshire

[Warmandtoasty]

Hello I'm hoping for some help, my husband has been promoted at work and we will be moving to Cheshire in January. We currently live in the East Midlands and have a son who will be in year 6 (aged10) when we move so will need to consider both primary schools and high schools.

At the moment we live in a small town which is quite quiet so ideally we would like to avoid city centre such as Warrington and Chester as these feel too large but we don't want to be out in the sticks either as I don't want our son to have to rely on us to taxi him about everywhere.

We have a budget of 250k which we could potentially stretch to 300k which from what I've seen gets us nowhere near what we can get over here so I think we will be downsizing but would ideally like 3 bedrooms.

We've had a little drive through some areas and these are the ones we like, some which I think are way out of our budget but I will list them anyway

Knutsford
Stockton Heath
Lymm
Altrincham
Tarporley
Hartford
Kelsall
Kingsmead

Does anyone know anything about these areas or recommend anywhere else to look? My husband will be working near Ellesmere Port and would like a 30-45 minute commute.

Sorry for the massive post just wanted to give as much info as possible! Thanks

Or go for a village just outside knutsford to the south or south east - easy access to m6, avoid the plane noise and fall under Holmes chapel catchment

Honestly? Knutsford area to Ellesmere Port daily? You would be looking for 45mins commute as a minimum during rush hour. The area around Knutsford/Lymm on both the M56 and M6 the motorways is a traffic blackspot and notorious for delays. I can not believe no one has pointed this out yet.

Knutsford, Stockton Heath, Lymm and Altrincham I really would rule out for this reason, coupled with the fact that there are loads of really nice places far closer and far cheaper. Your budget will struggle to get much in those areas, but you can get wonderful properties much closer. I have friends in the Ellesmere Port area, who have a wonderful house and quality of life to rival the more well known and 'prestigious' above areas. And they don't have the horrendous commute.

Smokepole, we used to live in Kent years ago so absolutely see where you are coming from. I do miss a few things from there though mostly a great beach we used to go to and our local pub when the weather was great.

That's interesting about the traffic Red, he is happy to travel 45 mins but not if it's constant heavy traffic as the point of him not being too near work is so that he can use the journey to get work out of his head before he gets home, but being stuck in traffic everyday is annoying. Ellesmere Port is too close to work but people have recommended some places quite near which might be good.

Agree with Red that the drive could be a bind - everyone has a different version of 'OK' when it comes to commuting. In your shoes I'd probably choose Tarporley which I've always liked. Excellent primaries around there, Tarporley High well regarded, easy access to Chester and not a million miles from Manchester.

We strongly considered it but slightly smaller and further away from Manchester than we wanted. Also public transport is very limited, e.g. the bus service into Chester for teens.

We also considered a house in a village called Ashton. Ashton and Mouldsworth are interesting because they are on the cusp of Delamere forest but also on the (slooow) train line between Manchester and Chester. Means that independence is there for train in and out of Chester. However those villages will probably be smaller than you want - think pub, school, shop.

I'm in agreement with R, Tarporley is lovely.

Have PMed you, but am also thinking about commute time and thinking Tarporley might be a good option. It is lovely, and the high school is good. (The bus to Chester isn't too bad - my teens get it from further out.)

Not 'Cheshire' as such but Trafford I am trying to move to Timperley, but I am faced with logistical problems as I only have about 300k and need a three bed semi ( even that requires help from brother) . Other logistical nightmares include, who will look after my ageing parents in Kent, getting DS who will be year 10 next year in to AGSB who will no doubt have no places available so will need Private ,thinking Cheadle Hulme School but will require brother to pay. DD2 should be fine for AGSG Sixth form though. The reason I know so much about Cheshire and Trafford is because I have been planning to move for 10 years but it never seems to happen due to logistical nightmares . Incidentally DD2 and DS want to stay 'here' if I do decide to relocate next summer after DD2s GCSE's I will just throw the kids in the back of the car ,if they don't want to go Tough!.

I just wanted to say that parts of Chester or the Wirral are great and would provide easy access to Ellesmere Port , you really can't lose where -ever you end up living in Cheshire.

Sorry for the rant but after planning for 10 years to move, I needed to vent my frustration.

As some one who has lived within a 20 mile radius of Ellesmere Port all my life I wouldn't consider anywhere in the direction of Tarporley, Knutsford, Altincham etc. I would always be looking in the West Cheshire/ Wirral direction mainly because it's about equidistant from Liverpool and Chester (teenagers love Liverpool and Chester comes a very poor second night life wise despite it being a University town) plus there are several route options for the daily commute. Like others have said the M56/M53 can be a nightmare at busy times of the day and in the holiday months there's the added congestion caused by traffic heading towards Wales and back home again.

East Cheshire is lovely I'm not denying that, but it's a bit rural and out on a limb for me - the Wirral is lovely and offers so much more. Plus house price wise if you choose your area carefully you can get a lot of house for your money.

Smokepole I wouldn't be too sure about that, have you been to Crewe?!

Crewe is a little bit of the 'Garden of England' transplanted North.

What always gets me though is when I hear people from Medway or Sheppey say 'UP North' as if they are stepping in to the ABYSS or a Black Hole. Anyone who has been to 'Leysdown' or Chatham knows what ' Black Hole' means yet they think that you can buy a 'Mansion' up there for £100k. When I correct them and say £ 4-5 Million they think I am from 'Mars'.

smokepole - I'm married to a Medway boy (lived there myself fit a while) and will never get over the reaction when we announced we were moving to the NORTH. You'd have thought we were moving to the moon!

Ps I commented on your other thread op, but I still think it's worth considering Frodsham or Helsby

I didn't get a PM absinthe. We do still love Tarporley, we just love the houses we can't afford though which is a problem.

Thanks milliemae, we've really not looked west enough not even been that way yet apart from driving through in passing so we will definitely spend a day exploring it. Is there anywhere in particular to look at/avoid?

Rally, I know and everyone says Frodsham is lovely but what about the works does that not impact that area at all? It looks really imposing when we drove past, also it's so close to Ellesmere Port. But we haven't properly looked yet so definitely not ruling it out

Thanks everyone, it's really helpful :-)

Well, the works are in Runcorn and Ellesmere Port, not in Frodsham. You can see them from certain areas of Frodsham, but not from most of it. If you live higher up the hill, you could have lovely views of countryside. I can see the Peak District from my bedroom window, for example.

Other than that, there is no impact on quality of life, except for the fact that they create employment, which in turn feeds a healthy local economy.

Oh no - don't know how I managed to mess that up! Basically I was doing a PR hard sell for my home town, which is one of the ones mentioned upthread Think it might be a bit far out though.

I live in Tarporley. The high school is outstanding (ofsted 2014) and the village is gorgeous as is Kelsall, tarvin and willington. Knutsford waaay too far from EP. Christleton and tattenhall beautiful too. PM me if you want advice or anything else

I'd avoid Ellesmere Port (sorry to anyone who lives there) and I don't like anywhere that's off the A41 like Bromborough, Eastham, Rock Ferry etc

It's the other side of the Wirral that does it for me. I mentioned Willaston as a good place to start as you can come off the M53 at junction 5 (I think) bear left in the direction of Chester then right at the traffic lights past Hooton station and into the village itself. You could then drive on to Neston - described as an historic market town. Property prices here are relatively low and for your budget you'd easily find a 3 or 4 bedroomed property in a nice area of the town. Drive on through Parkgate where there is quite a lot of house building going on and into Wirral on the A540 towards Heswall, West Kirby and Hoylake. Property here is more expensive but there are areas like Pensby and Irby that might be worth a quick look. I work with people who have children at Neston High School and the girls and boys High Schools in Pensby and none of them have any complaints about the education their children are receiving there.

I agree that you should avoid Altrincham, Lymm and Knutsford - even though i have lived in Altrincham for 8 years and absolutely love it! I also love Lymm and Knutsford.

The main reason i think you should avoid is the traffic - the A556/56 coming out of Alti/Lymm is horrific in peak time. Whilst that may be OK to your DH, you need to consider if your car is out of action and he needs to take public transport. I agree you need to go nearer to Ellesmere Port such as the Wirral.

I dont know the Wirral very well but i have heard that Hoylake is lovely - and for those in the know what is Heswall like? I have a friend who has just moved there but i havent visited her yet - i gather that is a good option too.

Northwich is lovely and you get a little more for your money.

Also consider area's around Chester or even North Wales.

Chester is lovely too with a vibrant pub restaurant etc scene

PM'd you OP.

Middlewich, sandbach, nantwich

I highly recommend Kelsall We moved from Chester almost 8 years ago and it was the best decision we ever made.

Yes it is rural, but the buses are every half hour, and easy access onto the motorway for a commute to E.Port or Manchester. We regularly commute to Cheshire Oaks in E.Port and can be there within 20 mins but it feels a million miles away iykwim.

Lots to do here - a great feel of 'community'. There are pubs serving excellent food, a large co-op, chemist, butchers, farm shop, deli, hairdressers vets etc. The Drs surgery was voted one of top 100 in the U.K and the primary school continues to achieve ofsted outstanding and feeds to Tarporley/Christleton, both excellent high schools.

My neighbour has teenager boys and they are always out and about on bikes and in each others houses, there is an excellent well maintained park, with basketball and football where the kids sometimes gather but in all the years I have lived here and walking the dog past them I have never ever felt intimidated or got the impression that they were upto anything other than playing football!
You are right on the doorstep to Delamere forest here as well so if your kids are the outdoorsy type its great!
Can't recommend it highly enough. Good luck with your search.

Millymae's comments highlight why you should take our opinions with a pinch of salt. "East Cheshire is lovely I'm not denying that, but it's a bit rural and out on a limb for me" - the opposite of this is why why chose East Cheshire of West.

We thought West Cheshire was gorgeous, especially places like Delamere and Tarporley but ultimately too remote for us at this stage. It depends which areas you're talking about - The North of West Cheshire gets more built up with Frodsham, Runcorn and into the Wirral, but as you go South it gets more and more rural - e.g. round Malpas which is beautiful but disconnected.

TheBuffyBot - I really like Kelsall and Willington - great park, couple of great pubs and the farm shops in Willington and Utkinton. I was very keen on a house on Waste Lane at one point, and later a place at Willington Corner. Not sure about kids with halos though - twice I've been to the big play park there have been teens on the bench just outside smoking weed! Not a criticism of the place though as teens experiment everywhere.

Cheshire East is built up North of Alderley Edge - Knutford, Wilmslow and Macc quicky merge into the Greater Manchester conurbation as you merge into Stockport etc.

Have to confess that Frodsham/Helsby/Runcorn don't do it for me although lots more for your money. Some love the Wirral and it would be good for your commute so that's definitely worth looking into further. Based on all you've said (& paying particular attention to commute) I'd look at Frodsham (you may like it), Tarporley & surrounds and The Wirral.