Somewhere commutable to Manchester and Liverpool?

[HipposareHungry]

DH will be in Liverpool 5 days a week and I’ll be in Manchester 5 days a week. Neither of us are familiar with the north west other than Warrington, which we’re excluding.

I’d really appreciate some suggestions on where people think are nice areas?

We’ll both need to drive as we need our cars for work so a lack of public transport isn’t an issue. We like green spaces and pubs Our budget is £200k.

Urmston has a direct train straight to both Liverpool & Manchester.

Sorry! Posted too soon.

Lots of parks, pubs, cafes & restaurants. Near to motorways for transport, Trafford centre if you like a hell hole shopping & entertainment. Good schools, nice vibe.

We live in Lymm. It is just off junction 20 of the m6. Easy to get onto m62 and m56. Traffic is busy at rush hour though. It is a big village. A few restaurants and bars. It's very friendly though. Lots of green too. Been here nearly 20 years and no plan to move.

Wigan. It's got a pier and everything.

Ormskirk/ burscough / Parbold or Southport? Southport has a direct train to Liverpool and Manchester. Ormskirk gets you to Liverpool in 35 mins and you have a 5 min drive to pick the burscough to Manchester train. A lot of people round here (inc me and my DH) live here and commute between the two cities

Thank you, I’ll take a good look at Urmston and Lymm. Not sure Wigan is right for us although I hear they do good pies.

I had settled on Glossop when it was just me as I liked the sound of a village surrounded by nice walks but now that DH is joining the move and needing Liverpool it’s thrown a spanner in the works. Lymm sounds similar to Glossop so that’s very interesting!

Sorry just saw you said that you need your car !! Well same applies ! Aughton / ormskirk / applet bridge / Parbold - all by the m58 , nice and green and good schools

Stockton Heath, Grappenhall, Lymm?

Have you thought about Mid Cheshire? Northwich has access to M6/M56 lots of green spaces and countryside not far from the town.

I have friends who do a similar commute between them and have moved to Stockton Heath and seem to really like it there.

Out of interest why have you discounted Warrington?

I'd second Lymm/Stockton Heath/Grappenhall/Thelwall. All have good transport links and are lovely villages in different ways. You'll get most for your money in Thelwall.

Hi, you don't say how big you need? South Warrington (Lymm, Grappenhall, Thelwall, Stockton Heath) is great although you won't get much more than a small 2 bed for £200k. Northwich is a bit cheaper. Or perhaps Lowton, Culcheth, Glazebury, Glazebrook or Newton. You're welcome to message me if you want advice on the area. I live in Stockton Heath and work in Bolton so know the area well! Good luck!

Do you want the option of a train?

Hartford in Cheshire has a line to Liverpool and Manchester.

Any of the villages / towns near Crewe would mean you were really well connected to Manchester and Liverpool by road and rail. Maybe Nantwich or Sandbach?

Lymm/Stockton Heath ideal from a getting to Liverpool or Manchester perspective but you don’t get much for your money. I used to live in Hartford, partly chosen because I wasn’t sure where work would take me so wanted somewhere where I could get to Liverpool, Manchester or Warrington. Good rail links too - greenbank station on the Chester to Manchester line and Hartford station on the Crewe to Chester. Lots of decent schools too if that’s relevant to you!

Plenty of green places and pubs around Hartford (looks like you basically had the same criteria as me when house-hunting!!)

Newton-le-Willows, slap bang on the middle with trains equal distance to both cities

Also, N-le-W has the East Lancs/A580 which runs between Liverpool and Manchester, and is also right on the M62 and M6

Lymm

The Wirral.
West Kirby, Thurstaston, parkgate, Hoylake

I wouldn't fancy driving into Manchester every day from the Wirral though

I wouldn't recommend Southport for this, having done some work in Manchester for a few weeks and commuted. The trains are packed (and I mean packed) at rush-hour, it takes ages (they're not electrified), and that's before all the recent utter rail chaos.

It ought to be a great, easy journey and a no-brainer but unfortunately it isn't. Not in my experience, anyway.

Maybe go further north, Buckshaw village near Chorley. It’s near to the m6 and m61. House prices reasonable too.

The Wirral is a DREADFUL commute to Manchester, perfect for Liverpool but I would rather scoop my eyeballs out with a spoon than drive from here to Manchester 5 days a week!

Commuting into Manchester is tougher than commuting to Liverpool ime so I'd go closer to Manchester. I think Culcheth is a good call as it's between the East Lancashire Rd and M62 and near the M6 too. There are public transport options nearby for days when you don't want or need to drive.

Where are you driving to in Manchester? It's really, really busy to get into the city centre. I live about 8 miles out and it takes me up to 1.5hrs if I don't time it right!!

Lymm is lovely but as others have said £200k won't go far.