Moving to Worcestershire - where to live?

[Looking4ah0me]

I live in Manchester and looking at making the move south and Worcestershire has caught my eye. Where is the best place to live? My focus is somewhere close to the motorway, safe and good schools. I like the look of Bromsgrove and Worcester - are these good choices? My budget is £400k. Thanks.

Pershore. Malvern.

St. Peter’s in Worcester is lovely (it’s where I live!) but houses are going faster than they can be put on the market, it’s craaazy.

Loads of lovely fields, grass, parks, schools (high schools in particular are insanely good, primaries also incredible but our nearest just got taken over by an academy- if dd1 wasn’t in y6 I might have thought better of sending her there! It suits dd2 though… ds1 will probably go to Whittington as he’s a delicate sue and a smaller school will suit him!

Husband works in bromsgrove. Nice enough, good links to Birmingham if you need to be closer. I find it a bit small, love the little villages round Worcester though (kempsey, inkberrow, lower broadheath etc)

Warndon villages in Worcester-close to motorway and countryside. Great community feel.

Came to say Malvern but someone beat me to it! Absolutely gorgeous little town with stunning scenery. And a Waitrose 👌😂

Malvern is gorgeous but don’t think it’s for me! I really liked the feel of Worcester. I definitely want to put an offer somewhere before the end of the year and constantly looking at houses. Thanks for the suggestions!

Bromsgrove is nice but I prefer Alvechurch over the two - quite similar places really. Schools are okay, close to the lickey hills, nice country pubs, same distance to town (near enough).

How old are your children OP? I live towards Alvechurch -other side of the park really where it’s nice but a bit busier there for a little less safe.

If I were looking at bromsgrove I would go more towards Catshill but I’m not sure of the price difference in housing and whether that would work. Other areas relatively similar more my side are Redditch/ Longbridge

I only have one and he’s 9! @ChalkAndChoz. Catshill seems to be nice and really close to the motorway. Alvechurch looks nice but not much on the market. Not really a fan of Redditch but Longbridge seems lovely! Massive M&S there which is handy

Check the flood maps very carefully.

@Looking4ah0me - I have PM’d you x

Worcester is a lovely city. We live in a village north of Worcester but DS goes to school in the city so spend a lot of time there.
Not keen on Bromsgrove. Pershore and area nice good rural schools. Also Lower Broadheath and to the west is lovely, catchment area for the Chantry which is probably the best state senior school with lots of small village schools feeding it.
Droitwich…meh bit of a smaller version of Redditch. Malvern… on a hill with loads of retired people. St John’s lots of student accommodation. St Peters, London Rd and Bath Rd nice. Warndon soulless 80s/90s housing estate. Barbourne nice. Less desirable is the area between the city centre and the hospital.
We are looking to move to the city when DS leaves home. We like the vibe, it’s a small city that hasn’t lost its soul.
You have good motorway access from both the north and south of the city.
But don’t expect the same amount of property for your money as Manchester.

I moved to the area 35 years ago so have an outsiders view of the area.

I'm not far away from the border and would say the villages around Bromsgrove (in any direction) would be preferable to the town itself as they are all well connected to Bromsgrove, Longbridge, Redditch and various bits of SW Warwickshire, and Solihull. But Bromsgrove as a town is very underwhelming, Redditch has more shops and amenities but again I wouldn't want to live there in the town itself.

You could have a look at Alcester and Studley sort of areas as well?

Warndon looks like a soulless estate, but actually it’s been really well designed. Loads of footpaths and green spaces and really active community groups.

If you want to be close to the motorway then North and East Worcester definitely better. Warndon Villages, Barbourne, Bevere, Claines, St Peter’s, Battenhall areas are all nice.
Fernhill Heath also an option. Pershore is further from the motorway.
There are plenty of villages around if you want more rural.
I’d go for Worcester over Bromsgrove personally.

Thank you everyone for your help! I really love the idea of living in Worcester and it’s so conveniently located to the motorway and the shopping looks fab!

Your budget of £400k is quite healthy. You might be able to get somewhere in Barnt Green for that. Very naice (footballers and old money), good schools, near motorway, handy for Brum and that M&S you mentioned.

If you are looking elsewhere then, as pp said, watch out for flooding near the Severn and Avon.

Ooops. Have had a look at RightMove sold prices. Not sure that your budget will stretch to Barnt Green and, besides, there's not been many sales in the last two years. When people are on to a good thing they don't move.

@Angrymum22

Worcester is a lovely city. We live in a village north of Worcester but DS goes to school in the city so spend a lot of time there. Not keen on Bromsgrove. Pershore and area nice good rural schools. Also Lower Broadheath and to the west is lovely, catchment area for the Chantry which is probably the best state senior school with lots of small village schools feeding it. Droitwich…meh bit of a smaller version of Redditch. Malvern… on a hill with loads of retired people. St John’s lots of student accommodation. St Peters, London Rd and Bath Rd nice. Warndon soulless 80s/90s housing estate. Barbourne nice. Less desirable is the area between the city centre and the hospital. We are looking to move to the city when DS leaves home. We like the vibe, it’s a small city that hasn’t lost its soul. You have good motorway access from both the north and south of the city. But don’t expect the same amount of property for your money as Manchester.

Flooding is a MAJOR issue in the area though as mentioned above, so be really careful. I agree with @Angrymum22

Most of the flooding issues are in Bewdley and Upton on Severn. People visit the river side towns and see the pretty cottages and buy them, then spend most of there time campaigning for flood defences. A little historic research and they will see countless reports of the houses flooding.
Flooding can be disruptive during the winter but you just get used to adding a bit of time to your journey.
Due to the rural nature of the county don’t expect a good public transport infrastructure. However their is a good train service to Birmingham. Worcester is small enough to walk most places and as you have mentioned the city centre is good for shopping however it has been affected by lockdown. Good for eating out.

Thanks for the warning about flooding! Will look into that. I did look at more expensive areas like Dorridge, Knowle and Barnt Green but they are way out of my budget. I’d get a shoe box in those places!

Worcester has a massive flooding issue!! As does the area around Pershore.

Flooding much much less of an issue near the motorway.

Pershore itself doesn't flood, and though it can be a pain a few days a year with bridge/road closures the flood remediation stops property flooding