Moving to Newton-Le-Willows/Earlestown - Advise please!

[JosieHW]

Hi all,

My fiancé and I are looking to move back up north from London to settle down before we get married and be closer to our families.

His new job will be in Haydock and I'll be working in Manchester City Centre. We are looking to rent initially.

We have been looking at Newton-Le-Willows, but a lot of the properties we have found seem to be on the Earlestown side, and having done a lot of research I've read mixed things about what Earlestown is like as an area.

Can anyone confirm whether Earlestown is an ok area? Due to my hours I would often be walking home by myself after dark - is it the kind of place where I would be ok doing that (I know there's always a risk, but would be good to get an idea whether the area is considered particularly 'rough' or to be avoided at night).

There's a rental we found in WA12 9XG which we like, which looks as though it's relatively close to Earlestown station/the centre, but is in walking range of both Newton-Le-Willows and Earlestown stations. Does anyone know anything about this area in particular?

All thoughts/help appreciated!!

Hi,
I don't live in Newton but I've lived in Winwick and so know the area a bit. I'd say avoid Earlestown, there's some new estates which might be ok but generally it's not a good area - quite deprived and I wouldn't feel comfortable walking alone at night. The shops are mostly pound shops/discount and I find it a bit depressing tbh. Have a walk round and judge it for yourself but I'm just being honest, I wouldn't want to live there.
Newton is mixed, the high street has really thrived in recent years and has some good little independent cafes/bars etc. The train station has great links although the car park gets full (or did pre covid) so that's something to consider. Some roads are nice, some nice period houses and new estates but you don't have to travel far to be in less nice areas. Park road north for example has some lovely houses at the high street end but changes under the bridge to somewhere I wouldn't want to live.
Winwick, Croft, Lowton, Culcheth are better options in my opinion but don't have the train station in walking distance. Feel free to message me if you've got questions, I know Warrington well.

We lived in Earlstown about 15 years ago, moved after 6 months and would never live there again, sorry. I definitely didn't walk my dog alone once it was dark. We were in a what looked like a quiet little row of terraces but our neighbour was dealing from his living room and would play dance music until 4/5am. Maybe we we were unlucky but I think there's a reason it's cheap. N-le-W has a better reputation but it is a bit mixed. Culcheth is much much nicer and worth the drive. Croft might be too quiet for you but I lived there too and liked it.