Most welcoming community near Chester?

[ramblingforest]

I'm moving to the Chester area soon (actual location tbd!), and wondered if anyone had any advice on which places might have the most welcoming and vibrant communities locally?

I've been looking at places like Tarvin, Kelsall, Tarporley, Tattenhall and Waverton, and as far as Malpas and Nantwich. Plus areas like Upton in Chester itself.

I'm a single mum, so really keen to immerse myself in local groups etc (my kids are in primary school, but almost secondary school). I really want to be part of a local community and build my support network, so any advice on where I'd stand the best chance of doing that would be great!

Thanks :)

Just a little bump and I realised I added this quite late last night!

One more bump for luck (hope that's ok!)

Hoole and Newton in Chester itself.

Tarporley, Malpas, Farndon all good too.

Feel free to ask anything!

Tattenhall too. And Upton.

Kelsall and Tarporley are lovely. Are you moving far? Good luck!

Ashton Hayes is a lovely village to the east of Chester with a primary school, nursery and community shop. If you’re on your own, it may be too small and quiet but it’s exceptionally friendly. When I divorced 15 years ago, I rented a cottage in Kelsall and it was very easy to live-nice people, good sense of community, Co-op, butchers and various pubs and church. I ended up buying in Frodsham which is a great place if you have children. Lovely sense of community with lots of groups to join. An advantage of a slightly larger place is it was very easy for the children to meet up with friends rather than depending on lifts as they got older. So a Chester suburb might suit. A decent train station is good for going to Liverpool or Manchester. We actually live just over the border in N Wales now, very close to Chester and very friendly with stuff going on.
A lot will depend on your commute if you have one. The A41 (Waverton) and A51 (Kelsall) get very congested, the A56 much less so as traffic is diverted to the motorway. Good luck-all of those places you mention are nice but some may suit your circumstances better.

Ashton Hayes is lovely but a PITA for teenagers as there is only one bus every leap year, and only if it falls on a full moon.

Id be ringing the council first to see where there are school spaces. Catchments for secondaries are on the council website. If you're thinking of upton/hoole/Newton then look at Upton high. Christleton high is highly regarded and has different catchment.

Frodsham is a good shout. Good transport links and decent schools.

Frodsham is great for families. Lots going on and a good sense of community. And really well connected for transport etc.

Check out Hoole and slightly more affordable Newton, slightly less Upton. All lovely areas of Chester, lots going on, great theatre/library/cinema in town. Hand ridge is also lovely. I’ve always been put off the villages as envisage being taxi in the teen years but all the villages you’ve mentioned are great.

Best of luck with it!

Oh this is so helpful, thanks so much! I feel quite alone in the decision making, so it's great to hear experiences and get a confidence boost. I'm going to see a few houses today, and I'm planning on driving around all the areas above to get more of a feel for them. I'll look at Frodsham too!

Frod was great for me as a single parent. Although the surrounding villages are lovely, it s a bit onerous doing all the taxiing on your own whereas Frodsham was a place where my kids’ friends would meet up as they got older. Train to Chester (15 mins), Liverpool and Manchester which was great for teens. Busy but very pretty Main Street-think of a more down to earth Tarporley iyswim. Tattenhall and Tarporley are lovely but public transport dire. Nice walks on Frodsham Hill. 2 really nice primary schools-pm me if you like.

Pm me too if you want to know anything about Frodsham life!

Aw brilliant, thanks so much everyone! We went today and loved the hustle and bustle of Chester itself. Harder getting a feel for the villages with gloomy weather! Saw a lovely house but in Vicar's Cross and I wasn't sure on the area. Didn't make it to Frodsham but will next visit x

Hi OP, Vicars X is a very family friendly area, my kids go to school in Hoole and lots of families from our school live in vicars X. Good access for town/a55 and m53/56 too. Do you need primary or secondary school, or both? Have you looked at any schools yet or have an idea of which ones you like as that may affect suggested places to live. As per PP if not in Chester itself Frodsham is a good shout and I would say public transport for teens better there with the railway.
We live in Upton and love it, lots of families and stuff for the the kids, close to town and the motorway too.
Are you looking to buy or rent? What’s your budget? As that may help narrow suggestions down. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Thanks so much I really appreciate it, that's good to hear about Vicar's Cross! Last time I spoke to the council (back in May) there were only two primaries with spaces for both children...Upton C of E and Tarvin. Hoping some more will have opened up by now! I'm waiting to hear back but I'm going to phone the schools directly too.

I'm mainly focusing on high schools as they're almost at that age - catchment for Christleton would be a bonus, but I've heard good things about Upton High too?

Tarvin is nice.

We’re in Hoole/Newton and love it. We can walk into the city centre but Hoole has some lovely shops too. There’s a real community feel. Same with Upton next door, yes.
Vicars cross is nice to live in, but it hasn’t got the same shops and feel to it as Hoole (hence the price differences!)

Another vote for Frodsham - we moved here before having kids. Love the location. Direct trains to Liverpool, Manchester and Chester. 10 mins to Runcorn which takes you straight to London. Lots of groups, great local theatre. Tennis club in Helsby, with linked courts in Frodsham. Good local schools. Might be worth joining the local Facebook groups for your choices to give you a feel for the different areas. Good luck with your choice !

Also - Newton Primary is brilliant. Upton High is pretty good, went on the open evening recently and we’re happy for our DC to go there

Aw this all feels really exciting 😊. I had nice chats with lots of locals today too which was really encouraging. Everyone seemed very friendly. Great idea with joining Facebook groups!