Knutsford or Wilmslow?

[AJB90]

I'm planning on relocating to Knutsford and would really appreciate some advice from anyone who knows the area or surrounding areas. Quite keen on Knutsford but Wilmslow is also an option. Thanks in advance for any help that you can offer :)

Do you have (school aged) children? What are you looking for in a house / area?

A nice area is our priority. We have a 10 month old girl.

Restaurants/cafés and maybe a nice bar within walking distance would be great. Some green a space/somewhere to walk too (we really liked Tatton Park).

We are also considering Wilmslow, but prefer Knutsford. Some have recommended Poynton as it's more affordable.

We do feel as though we will be making some sacrifices financially in order to live in Knutsford, but location is the most important aspect for us, so feel as though it will be worth it in the long run. Thanks for replying!

Where do you need to get to for work? This may influence which one is best eg. Wilmslow has a better train service than Knutsford.

The train service is a good point. My partner works in North Manchester and when I return to work it will likely be Trafford, or the city centre. We are both planning on driving, which I know might be a bit of a nightmare! I've heard that the trains from Knutsford are slower and less frequent, but I'm hoping that might not be too much of a problem as we would be likely to only use them the odd weekend.

Knutsford is nice but you can pay over the top for a nice house and the area has it's degenerated council estates the same as anywhere else.

I'd live in Wilmslow any day, but not Nutty.

Trains to Manchester are slower from Knutsford but you can easily drive to altrincham and get a tram to Manchester.
Knutsford is a smaller town, you can walk from one side to another and could walk into Tatton Park from most housing areas. It has supermarkets from Aldi to Waitrose but not many every day shops, it's all restaurants, cafes, hairdressers and antique shops. Wilmslow is a bigger town with more of a high street, more shops, bigger supermarkets. Travel is reasonably easy from either, can get on the M6 at Knutsford, it's about a 40 minute drive to Manchester from either, although more like an hour in rush hour.
Lots of green space in Knutsford, and a nice park for small children. There is loads to do with children and the nurseries and schools are all very good aswell. Poynton is nice aswell but not as rural as Knutsford.

Given where you will be working, you're both going to have some truly awful commutes - my DH has often been the victim of them. What about other areas such as Hale or Bramhall?

(Personally I love Knutsford, it's got so much going for it - style, restaurants & shops, countryside, even a McLaren dealership should one have any spare cash... )
Good luck, I'm sure it's going to be very exciting for you, wherever you go!

Newlife4me: Would you say that Wilmslow is more affordable? I can't seem to work this out! From my research, they seem to be fairly comparable. I'm not entirely sure though because I'm aware of the better areas in Knutsford, but I wouldn't know where to start in Wilmslow!

Openmindedmonkey: I am pretty terrified about the commute if I'm honest! OH doesn't seem to be as concerned. I've never experienced much of a commute by car, so I really don't know what to expect. I used to get to work by train some time ago, but with the delays and rain, I think I'd prefer to sit in a nice warm car, and have relatively frizz-free hair!

I can't say I know Hale or Bramhall. I do feel as though we need to continue exploring because Knutsford isn't practical for a lot of reasons. For instance, I am concerned about the commute and the expense, not to mention the flight path!

We've been looking for areas to buy for well over a year (we've been renting for some time), but we always seem to come back to Knutsford!

Gobletofgin: thanks so much for all the info! Poynton is also on our list at the moment. We need to have a good look around both Poynton and Wilmslow (and possibly other areas).

I've been told that Poynton is essentially where to go if you can't afford Knutsford - judging by what's currently on Rightmove, this may actually be the case! I don't really know much about Poynton, expect that it has a train station and is likely more affordable.

I think Knutsford is generally more picturesque than Wilmslow and has more of a centre - it's lovely. Lots within walking distance and more of a buzz - Wilmslow seems a little soulless in comparison much more spread out.

The driver for me would be schools and the commute. Knutsford would be the easier commute by car i'd think, but neither are good. Primary schools are good in both but you'd need to do your homework for senior schools.

Trafford is unbeatable for schools in my opinion and seems a good option if you're likely to work in Trafford. Also much easier (as far as public transport is concerned) to commute into Manchester City Centre via the tram. Agree with Hale, Bowdon (with Dunham Massey on your doorstep) but your money won't go as far as it would in Knutsford or Wilmslow.

I think they are all similar in terms of a range of housing, I don't know about poynton and Wilmslow, but in Knutsford you can buy at any budget from £120,000 for a 3 bed ex LA semi up to £400,000 for a 3 bed in a naice road to £2,000,000 on legh road for a massive house. It totally depends on your budget and what sort of road you want to live in, and if you want to buy in catchment for one of the more popular schools.
Knutsford and Wilmslow and the areas in between are right under the flight path so there is a lot of aeroplane noise. I have lived under the flight path all my life though so I don't even notice it any more, just pause in conversation every now and again when in the back garden!
Have you considered somewhere nearer to Manchester if that's where you'll work, maybe Timporley, sale, hale barns....

I'm sorry OP I don't live in the area so haven't looked recently.
I do know that Knutsford is a bit weird at times. I found some were really snobby and believed this was because the area was being brought down by the unsavoury type.
it seemed as though ordinary people who weren't snobby or unsvaoury were stuck in the middle and not fitting iyswim.

By snobby i don't mean mc btw, I mean horribly looking down their noses.
it has always been referred to as the place for all fur coats and no Knickers, even back in my parents day

Wilmslow has much better reputation as do places like Sale, Timperley.

There is no way I'd consider either Knutsford or Wilmslow with a commute to north Manchester by car. That would be a nightmare and will only get worse. Even with the managed motorway scheme on the M60 up and running, the number of cars on the roads will only increase.

Poynton should be on your list as should Bramhall, Davenport, Disley and Marple. All have decent rail links to Stockport, Manchester and beyond. Once the airport link road construction is completed, access by car to the A34, M56 and M60 will be better. Unless you need a car because your jobs involve driving from appointment to appointment on a daily basis I don't see the point of giving yourselves that kind of stress.

Live somewhere where your day to day lives will be easier - you can visit the likes of Knutsford and Wilmslow at the weekend. The places I've mentioned are near to Lyme Park instead of Tatton and you've the Peak District practically on the doorstop once you've got past Hazel Grove on the A6.

All of your replies are so useful! Thanks so much.

Namechangedtoday15: I'm really interested in your description of Wilmslow as soulless. You aren't the first person to describe Wilmslow in this way to me. I'm less familiar with Wilmslow but I'll definitely bear this in mind when we look around. We're planning on doing a bit more exploring in the coming weeks. I do really like how everything on Knutsford is fairly compact, and accessible, so I can see Wilmslow not having the same feel.

I accept all of the points regarding the commute. I am pretty worried about this aspect. It might not be so bad for me going into Manchester, but I worry about family dinner times and time together in the evening being disrupted by OH's commute. He starts work fairly early, so will miss the morning rush, and can generally get out of work around 4:30pm, 4pm on Friday's. He ruled Knutsford out some time back due to the commute, but has completely changed his mind now and is not concerned at all! He's commuted up to an hour previously, but that was more through villages/towns. Surprisingly, estimates are only around 45 mins to his work vs. 35 mins to the city centre due to the route he can take, but obviously that's not accounting for rush hour traffic!

Newlife4me: I was worried about this! I have some friends around Wilmslow and some further afield. Friends closer to home refer to them as the 'Cheshire set' because they regard them as snobby and looking down their noses at others. Personally, I have never felt this way around our friends from Wilmslow (and they live in the very expensive areas).

For Knutsford though, I genuinely wouldn't know what to expect. We are hoping to establish a nice friendship group there though, so it is important to us that we feel like we 'fit in'. We are looking into the private school, but we are by no means in a position to compete financially with many others in the area. I really don't want that kind of feel. I would hate to feel like I'm being judged, especially around the school gates (but I guess you could probably get that anywhere!). Has anyone else noticed snobbery around Knutsford? I was warned of this in Alderly Edge - by quite a few people actually! Not sure how accurate that is though.

Also, the various suggestions of additional places to consider have been really useful. I have an ever increasing list of locations I plan on visiting. We will be making various trips over the next few weeks!

I think Alderley Edge is in a different league from Knutsford. I think Knutsford is much more "normal" and has a mixture of wealth (or not).

Re the commute. I commuted until recently from around Junction 6 of the M56 to Leeds (via the M60 clockwise, so past parts of North Manchester connecting to the M62). I left home early 6.15ish - at that time it was pretty much a clear run. I suppose coming home I'd be on the M60 (from the M62) about 4.45pm. I could get back (most days) for about 5.30pm. From Junction 6 of the M56, it's probably 20/25 minutes to Wilmslow on the A538 or 15/20 Mins via the back roads to Knutsford. I'd say the morning commute isn't an issue, he'd be looking at 60-75 mins on the way home. Hope that helps.

We lived in Cheshire for a while and I worked in Poynton. Now it was a while ago but I have to say I hated it. There were a lot of people with Hyacinth Bouquet attitudes, they couldn't afford Bramhall or Wilmslow so bought in Poynton and thought that they'd become special (I'm sure you can imagine the type).

We lived in Bramhall which was lovely. Nice town centre and Bramhall Park was easily accessible. Schools were good but it was a while back so can't say now. Had friends in Wilmslow which I didn't know well but the town centre was great

In fact I would love to live there again

In terms of commute, don't worry about it. I live in Delamere and don't drive so rely on the train to get me to Altrincham for work, this train is every hr and goes through Knutsford. Knutsford is only about 15 minutes from Altrincham by train and maybe 30mins -/+ to Manchester or Chester. My mum also lives minutes from me and drives to Sale everyday and it takes her approx an hour each way, this would be quicker but obviously rush hour traffic and of course you wouldn't have nearly as much distance to travel so the commute from Knutsford really wouldn't be that bad.
I worked in Knutsford when I was younger and I visit there often for meals out or shopping etc. and it really is a lovely place and very idyllic looking in the town centre. It's very nice are and I personally think the distance from the bigger towns is great as its easy enough to get to Manchester as it is Trafford Centre or Chester and Cheshire Oaks so you have options.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply and offer advice. Sorry about the delay in responding. The OH and I have discussed all of your points (some at length!), and we've decided to not rush into any decisions for now. We are going to further explore the areas you guys have suggested, and see if somewhere slightly nearer to work etc. would fit better.

We are considering renting in Knutsford for 6 months or so. Not really what I had originally intended, but I think it might be a sensible option to test out the commute and see if this is what we really want and if the sacrifices are worthwhile in the long run.

Again, thanks so much for all of the replies. I'll post an update when we make some sort of decision - hopefully soon! No doubt I'll come up with some more questions before that happens though x

Think thats really sensible. Good luck

Wilmslow has plenty of beauty salons, jewellery stores and a clothes shop for dogs - I mean actual dogs. And underwear shops. And an Aston Martin dealership. It also has a better rail service than Knutsford. But a commute every day to north Manchester would be horrible by train or car. Plenty of better suggestions on this thread.

In a "knutshell" Wilmslow is new money, Knutsford is old money