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.

I moved to Worcester three years ago and I love it here. Barbourne's a great place to live - close to the countryside and also within walking distance of the city centre. Lots of nice green spaces and canal/river walks. The city centre has good shops and lots of nice cafes and restaurants. And the library's amazing

Remember some parts of Worcestershire have a 3 tier system for schools (Middle school then High school)

Loving people suggesting Bromsgrove and worse, Catshill. Catshill is great if you want motorway noise all day every day.

I grew up Bromsgrove and you couldn't pay me to move back there!

In Worcester - Warndon is soulless! So it's St Peter's but less so than Warndon. For the motorway connections you'd really be better on the north side of the river as even though they're widening the bridge I'm not convinced it will ever not be congested. I do love Barborne and if you're back enough from the river it won't flood.

If you want to be a bit more out of town then look at Crowle and surrounding villages. Claimed is quite popular though the primary school has been constantly oversubscribed for a while.

If you prefer the Bromsgrove side of Worcester then Hanbury or Ombersley.

Good luck.

@gukvguk

Loving people suggesting Bromsgrove and worse, Catshill. Catshill is great if you want motorway noise all day every day.

I grew up Bromsgrove and you couldn't pay me to move back there!

In Worcester - Warndon is soulless! So it's St Peter's but less so than Warndon. For the motorway connections you'd really be better on the north side of the river as even though they're widening the bridge I'm not convinced it will ever not be congested. I do love Barborne and if you're back enough from the river it won't flood.

If you want to be a bit more out of town then look at Crowle and surrounding villages. Claimed is quite popular though the primary school has been constantly oversubscribed for a while.

If you prefer the Bromsgrove side of Worcester then Hanbury or Ombersley.

Good luck.

I could have written this post! I would also add Hartlebury to the list of North Worcestershire villages too.

Agree with all this!

@Angrymum22

You have nailed it

Bromsgrove is good if you want road and rail links, house prices are quite reasonable there and easy to get to Birmingham or Worcester on the train. Worcester has really bad traffic problems in the centre, particularly when the river floods so be wary of that and Bewdley is lovely, small village feel, but a bit further to the motorway, be wary of flood areas and house prices are slightly higher than surrounding areas. Overall it’s a really lovely county, good mix of rural and amenities, towns and small villages, it just depends on what you want.

Me and my partner moved to Bromsgrove three years ago after residing in Reading. Bromsgrove and its close surrounds has a bit of everything. There are lots of places to eat not just in Bromsgrove but surrounding villages. I do a lot of cycling and getting into the countryside for me is minutes away. We also have the lickey hills is a five minute drive which is lovely. Bromsgrove has some great schools including a independent school.

I also love that in Bromsgrove you have the nightlife and shopping of Birmingham or Worcester within a 25 minute drive, so best of both worlds. The motorway from my house is 5 minute drive away. When we've travelled to Birmingham airport we've been able to get there quickly too. I do like Worcester but I wouldn't live there as I prefer being closer to Birmingham as it gives me more work opportunities as a contractor.

I don't think anyone's mentioned Hagley yet, which is also very nice, nicer than Bromsgrove IMO. (nearby Blakedown is also lovely, but that's probably outside your budget)

We moved to worcester from south Birmingham and we are just about to move back!
The vibe isn't right for us (probably because we like the atmosphere of south brum and appreciate more diversity). Wish we'd liked it more, and lots of my friends have lived there for years and love it
Do be very careful where you move to!
We live in Northwick/claines and apparently it doesn't flood there but I think the city will be a bit grim when it does.

I agree. I grew up in Worcester and parts of the city flood badly. It's impossible to cross the bridge as peak flood times and they even close it if it's too bad and St Johns is practically impossible to reach which out a very lengthy detour. The cricket ground gets totally submerged enough that they had to play the whole season after the flooding in Kiddy one year as the ground hadn't recovered in time. It floods the whole of the quay side and practically got to the cathedral door one year. Barborne js lovely, St Peters js quiet but a nice area, I grew up on Bath Rd so I have a soft spot for the area. Everywhere is a good walking distance to get into the city as well. Avoid Warndon, I don't even know why people are suggesting that cesspit!

But saying that, it's a beautiful city and there is lots of do. My mum still lives there so I visit regularly and think of it as home. It's a shame the high street has been hit by covid. They have a wonderful Christmas market every year though! The cafe at the porcelain museum is lovely! As is the commandery coffee shop, worth a visit just for the cake!

I grew up in Worcestershire and almost all of it seems to flood
A bit of an exaggeration!
The flood map is here