Does anyone know about living in Westhoughton, Bolton?

[Ifonlyiweretaller]

My son's looking to move out of his flat in Manchester and wants somewhere with more of a community feel. He's looked in a few areas but feels that Westhoughton offers quite good value for money, and is not a difficult commute to get to his work in Manchester.
Anyone any knowledge of the area please?

It's fine. Some new restaurants and bars opened. It can be a pest driving in and out at peak rush hour. Trains are dependent on how NR feel!

We looked at moving back this year. Didn't but not because of any of that!

Thanks for your reply @usuallyinthemiddle. So its sounds like a pretty good place to live. (Oh, and ironically he drives for NR!) Where are you now?

Cheap for a reason....

I wouldt say its particualrly cheap @dharmaInitiativelady - just better value than areas closer to Manchester. Could you provide a bit more info? It's an importannt decision he's making...

I’m not keen on Westhoughton - one big housing estate and the schools aren’t great. There are better places to live in Bolton.

It's not the worst place to live in Bolton...

It also depends whereabouts. The Daisy Hill end not so much, perhaps.

Hmm - im getting some weird vibes from this. @LancashireTea can you enlighten me a bit more re your comment? Do hyou mean its gthe second worst place? I;m asking for a bit of guidance here...

Not the worst, but I’d rather live on Ladybridge than Westhoughton.

Heaton and Lostock are better with decent primary schools. Bromley Cross if you want a semi-decent high school as well - although the traffic out of Bromley Cross is awful.

I agree. There are nicer. Depends what you want from it.

Has he considered Horwich OP?

Definitely not a terrible place - just a bit dull. I looked at houses there years ago and just didn’t like it. We ended up in Heaton.

Has he got children - the problem with Horwich is the secondary school.

The transport is better than some places for sure. The part of Bolton where I grew up has shocking public transport at times and is quite rough.

Let just say, in the part where I grew up it was a bit dodgy when the sun went down!

Has he considered Bury. Much better feel to them and some lovely areas that mean Manchester isn't horrific to get to. Most of my family lived in Whitefield and it's not massively overpriced. Plus Slattery's is amazing.

I lived in Heaton for most of my childhood but I do feel it has deteriorated massively in the last couple of years.

Long term Heaton dweller and Its not what it used to be. Crime is horrendous, houses overpriced and no community unless you have kids in primary. And no obvious high school choices. It's pretty though!

Depends which end of Heaton you are in - lovely where I am, but would’t want to live in the streets towards Chorley Old Rd. Schools not great which is why we have opted to pay.

What about Blackrod?

i'm not far from this area. I'd live in neither tbh.
What about closer to Manchester like Monton, Salford, Moorside, swinton, etc.

Thanks for the further input everyone. He's no children so at this point schooling is not an issue. I'll run this thread past him. Any other thoughts?

How about nearer to Chorley like Adlington ?

Bolton town centre is an unholy hole! It's unpleasant to be in even during the day. With the exception of museum and Octagon theatre. Do bear that in mind! Really not nice! (Shame)

I'm selling in North Manchester if he wants stupidly huge rooms and a ten minute walk to a Metrolink station.

Bury, Tottington, Holcombe Brook, Ramsbottom and Edgworth are all fat better choices with more going on. I grew up living between Bolton and Bury and it really saddens me to see how once thriving Bolton has been neglected. Even the football team is doomed.