Moving to Cheshire - where's good, where not so much?

[usernolongerexists]

Hi! I wanted to pick the collective MN brain please.

I'll be moving from the South East to Cheshire over the coming months and wanted to ask for some advice about areas to pick and also areas to avoid please.

There are big differences in house prices across the county and I'm trying to balance having the right lifestyle and community on my doorstep against not extending my mortgage too much.

In a perfect world, I'd be moving somewhere like Hoole in Chester. But obviously properties there cost about £150-200K more than in say Crewe.

Areas looked at so far are Northwich (traffic but people were lovely), Rudheath (a little bit too rural), Hartford (very pretty but pricey), Hoole in Chester (which I loved), Middlewich (seems very nice but am aware that there isn't much on the doorstep and also traffic). I'll be heading up to look more closely at Nantwich and Crewe also.

I need to have good links to the motorway for Manchester/ Leeds and the south. My preference is always a character home, prefer not to go for an apartment or new build. No schools to consider. I mainly work from home now and so the local community is going to be important to stop me from getting too witchy. Also, I like parks and green space, it's nice to be able to pop to the local high street.

And while I shouldn't think this will be an issue, I'm not white and wouldn't want to be somewhere this might be a problem. My experience while looking around has generally been great so far.

Any help or pointers would be appreciated. Thank you!

Nantwich is nice. I think you get what you pay for with Cheshire at the end of the day there's a reason why Crewe is cheaper! Also more convenient = more expensive.

I love Knutsford and would love to move to say Mobberley but £££££

Knutsford looks lovely, I've been eyeing these up but they're at the top end of what I'd reasonably afford.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117656897#/media?id=media0&ref=floorPlanPage&channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118491725#/media?id=media0&ref=floorPlanPage&channel=RES_BUY

also, is Crewe completely dreadful? I've seen a lot about the line between Nantwich and Crewe become ever blurry with development etc, is it not quite the case?

Avoid Crewe!

Newton is right next to Hoole, as is Upton, which are both nice and slightly more affordable.

Nantwich, Knutsford, Tarporley, Frodsham are all very nice

Tarporley and Knutsford

Malpas is a lovely area not too far from Chester :)

If you need access to Leeds & Manchester I’d say to avoid going as far East as Chester. The M56 is a nightmare at times.
West Cheshire such as Lymm, Timperley, Knutsford or areas around Warrington (Grappenhall, Stockton Heath, Culcheth) might all be options.

All good shouts, thank you so much.

Definitely putting Crewe in the perhaps not box then.

Lots for me to think about in terms of alternatives. And I do really like both Upton and Newton. I'll have a proper look around the other areas also.

Re getting to Leeds and Manchester, it's not going to be for commuting so am hoping being this far west doesn't become an issue.

I'm wondering if it's worth taking a look at Warrington also.

I live in Wilmslow (from York originally) which is nice if not lacking a bit of character but overpriced (especially now) I did look at buying in Knutsford myself but the air traffic noise was a bit much for me, we were house hunting spring/summer 2013 and the one property I looked at in Knutsford had 4 commercial flights fly over the garden in the 30 mins we were there (I could read the numbers on the bottom of the fusalage they were that low) but Knutsford is a really nice town. Just keep Manchester airport flight path in mind if that would bother you, some parts of Knutsford are worse than others for it.

Congleton? Sandbach?

I used to live in Frodsham and highly recommend it. I commuted to Manchester and while busy, it was doable. It’s a great small market town with really good restaurants and bars, excellent bakers, butchers etc, a strong community spirit and lovely walks, being at the start of the Sandstone Trail. A nice park.Very well connected to Chester, Liverpool and Manchester by rail and few minutes from Jc 12 M56.
We moved to North Wales to be near the mountains and love it, but I miss Frod.

Rudheath is part of Northwich and not exactly rural (also a bit rough.)

Wincham is nice, Knutsford if you can afford it and certain bits of Middlewich.

We like Holmes Chapel too

Both already mentioned but another vote for either Frodsham or Stockton Heath.

I lived in Runcorn for a while in the eighties. It was a dump. All the middle class people seemed to live in Frodsham. How I envied them.

You get what you pay for with Chester. Chester itself is a bit small and provincial compared to somewhere like Leeds, Liverpool or Manchester. Then places like Crewe, Northwich and Winsford are even smaller again.

I've lived in and near Chester most of my life. I'm interested when you mention Hoole, I used to live in Hoole and I wouldn't say its one of the best parts of Chester. Upton and Boughton are much nicer IMO. (I used to live in both too ).

If you're regularly commuting to Manchester, you want somewhere close to the M56. Having worked in places like Northwich, Winsford and Crewe, they are not great to commute to compared with commuting by motorway. I also have family in Warrington. It's closer to Manchester and has lots more to do than places like Crewe and Northwich.

But yes Chester, is expensive and lots of people I grew up with have been priced out. We now live just over the border in Wales. You get more for your money, but still close to motorway and ten minutes from Chester, Cheshire Oaks and Broughton Park when I want to get out.

Nantwich is nice, my parents live in a village near there and it's a lovely market town, nice restaurants and independent shops. NOT Crewe, it's a dump.
Frodsham and Tarporley are lovely. I would avoid the Wilmslow alderley edge area, overpriced and soulless, plus full of grim wannabe footballer's wives types.

Macclesfield might what you're looking for, excellent train links, also bollington is pretty quaint. Bramhall/Marple/Romily technically Stockport but all lovely and right by the peak District. Beautiful walks.

Holmes Chapel is popular, and right on the motorway (junction 18 of the M6) but it's been overdeveloped now and there are virtually no period houses -- 90% of the place is 1980s and onward housing estates.

I'd choose Congleton or Sandbach over Middlewich or Northwich tbh.

Knutsford -- I have a personal loathing of Knutsford but likely due to some horrible formative experiences there! Plus I find it very twee. At night, especially Fridays and Saturdays, the town centre always used to get overrun with massive groups of sixth-form aged young'uns going out on the piss, I don't know if it's still like that now.

I tended to feel more at home the closer I got to Manchester.

Moved SE Lewes to Cheshire in 1990, I'd recommend Ashton Hayes, lots of bohemian/media out of Manchester types, so pretty inclusive for a small Cheshire village.

Has some fame re carbon neutral aims, small community shop with fresh deliveries of vegetables, fish and meat. Dry cleaning collected and Post office open in the afternoons. Village is fundraising to buy the pub as a community asset.

Good theatre club, small Dr's surgery and supportive of Dementia/elderly.

Attractive old houses are central which unfortunately spread to bungalow city, some new builds and a row of fabulous ex local authority semis.

Manley and Mouldsworth are lovely, no shops but great pub and rural train station (walkable from Ashton)
I also like Tarporley, high street is very chi chi!) Kelsall, good community centre and Co op.
Tarvin similar but more linea.

Love Hoole, real community spirit, cheese shop, fishmonger, florist, cafes and restaurants, gluten free etc.

Upton less so but then had an amazing response against fracking...
Hartford has good areas and a nice little row of shops, unfortunately The Grange school pushes up prices.

Maybe look at Bunbury?

Macclesfield is nice and has a range of properties and prices.

just popping onto say thank you all, it has been really interesting to hear your thoughts, and you've highlighted a couple of areas that I'd not looked closely at as yet.

with luck I'll be able to pop back on soon with an update of where I end up.

Hi, just to let you know we were in a similar position to you about 3 years ago. Wanting to move up from the south east. We eventually settled in Stockton Heath and couldn't be happier with our decision. It's lovely, a really nice family community feel. Great shops, restaurants, cafes and beautiful walks straight from the doorstep.
Travel is easy to anywhere. Weekend visits to the beach, hills or mountains is simple.

After a lot of agonising about where to live I'm so glad we chose here.

Feel free to ask questions if you want to know anything more. Good luck with it all X

Knutsford -- I have a personal loathing of Knutsford but likely due to some horrible formative experiences there! Plus I find it very twee. At night, especially Fridays and Saturdays, the town centre always used to get overrun with massive groups of sixth-form aged young'uns going out on the piss, I don't know if it's still like that now.

Same here. Knutsford has a lot of problems with ASB as well as county lines drug use. The pollution and congestion is terrible and it's right in the flight path of Manchester airport so is extremely noisy. There's a huge amount of new development there including a huge Redrow new build estate immediately adjacent to the M6 which is an eyesore. It's also pretty filthy - plenty of litter and dog poo. The restaurants are largely chain quality (e.g. Pizza Express, Gustos, Piccolino) so not somewhere you'd choose to eat unless on a budget.

Watching with interest. We are also considering a move from the south to Cheshire. Our daughter moved there a few years ago, so we visit often and like it very much. Very difficult to find the ideal place though, so wish OP luck in their search!

I’m from Stoke and even I wouldn’t move to Crewe! Madeley, Betley or Woore perhaps.

Congleton is nice without being too expensive as is Alsager. Also the Congleton side of Biddulph. Then getting a bit more expensive are places like Macclesfield, Holmes Chapel, Smallwood, Sandbach.

I do love Chester. Dh works there and I’d love to live there.