Which town would you choose?

[NorthORSouthThatsTheQN]

We are planning to relocate. WFH so work isn’t an issue. DC in primary school.
We have a small budget, max 190k - £200k.
We have been looking for houses online and the 2 places that we have kept coming back to are Preston in Lancashire and Plymouth in Devon. Does anybody have any experience of living in those places and what day to day life is like living there? If you had to pick between those 2 places which would you choose and why?
The place we currently live is a bit of a ghost town, though it has good transport links. We have seen drug deals go on right infront of us and the whole town smells of pot. It’s quite an unfriendly place to live with zero community spirit. We don’t want to jump from the frying pan into the fire, but at the same time anywhere feels better than the place we currently live.
We need good transport links, shops and amenities like doctors, hospital and school, transport links to the beach and a friendlier place to live. So, Preston or Plymouth or is there some other town you can recommend?
Thanks!

Are there good transport links from South Ribble? Are there good bus links? Because I will be reliant on public transport because I can’t drive due to a medical condition. That’s the thing that makes me wary of living out of town.

DS gets the bus to college in the city centre and it takes him about 20-30 minutes. Frequent and pretty reliable. The bus station is pretty infamous, I think it was once the largest in Europe!

Fulwood is also nice OP and bit further more coastal are Lytham and St Anne's. The centre of Preston is objectively ugly though.

Fulwood is ok. But the traffic that side of Preston and round the hospital can be horrendous. Some parts of Ashton also ok.

It also came out bottom for the most impoverished wards in the UK

Tavistock near Plymouth, there is bus link, it is very very pretty, small, quiet, has got all amenities

We need good transport links, shops and amenities like doctors, hospital and school, transport links to the beach and a friendlier place to live.

No idea on Preston but I have friends in Plymouth.

Plymouth has the A38 which generally has lengthy tailbacks at least once a week in the summer or in bad weather. Otherwise you have to drive over the moors. The airport closed years ago and the train is slow (can close due to the parts across the coast between Plymouth and Exeter).

Plymouth has a high street, shopping centre and also the Barbican and Hoe which is ok. None of the shops are particularly exciting though.

Generally one big hospital, Derriford, for everything. It’s not a great place but that’s reflective of the NHS as much as anything else.

The schools are again fairly poor but people like the Devonport High Schools.

The beach is still quite a drive from Plymouth as it doesn’t have one. There is the Hoe which is a big grassy expanse or a half hour drive will get you to Wembury or Bovisand etc. The moors are to the north and a huge, lovely expanse of area.

I live in Plymouth 5 minutes walk from this one https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131698136. No issues with the area and has both a Wetherspoons and a leisure centre with Olympic pool in easy walking distance.
Plymouth has problem areas like anywhere else but a glance at the local paper will tell you nothing much happens most days. Lots of green spaces and easy access to the coast, countryside and moorland. The university and theatre mean there’s quite a lot going on if you like the arts.

some great recommendations here, thank you. I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply.

Transport links to beaches: Cawsand ferry, bus to Mount Edgecumbe/Whitsands or Wembury, train to Looe or Paignton.

I think there are good/bad points for each.

Equally a lot depends on exactly where in either place you would buy.

In the centre, the suburbs a nearby village with good transportation ?

Preston offers good access to Manchester/Liverpool and The Lakes, plus Morecambe if you want the sea.

Plymouth is obviously coastal but also has Dartmoor.

Personally I think I'd go for Preston.

The overriding reason is national geography. You are much more centrally located for access to airports and UK holiday destinations.

If you rely on public transport you can access the main line from Manchester to London and Scotland easily. Also good east/west train links east to Liverpool, the lakes and west to York for day trips/weekends.

From Plymouth unless Cornwall is your thing, your travel is more restricted unless you want to spend hours and hours getting anywhere.

@TitInATrance thanks for the link and the transport link information.

@BreadInCaptivity Yes, this is one of the things that draws us to Preston. Thinking long term when the DC are grown it would be good for them to be able to get to the big cities, where as in Plymouth I feel like there would be less for them long term. For DH and I, we just want to live somewhere friendlier, where we can get to the coast and also have access to a hospital.
It’s a big life decision.

How about Lancaster? Near Preston but prettier. Look at this for 200k. Good schools, nice walks locally too.

I'd say that's definitely worth a look.

Preston City centre is a bit grim, but surrounding areas I quite like. Penwortham, Longton, Much Hoole etc are within easy reach, but more rural and in my opinion nice. A bit further out but on the same main road you've got Tarleton and Hesketh Bank where you're pretty much an equal distance from Preston and Southport. Every time we go to visit family I kick myself that we moved away. We're very rural now, and I miss the nice walks but easy access to shops/facilities that living around there gave.

Lancaster has direct train and bus to Manchester, the lakes and morcombe.

Obviously from Manchester (as with Preston) you have excellent transport links east/west and north/south.

The centre is much nicer than Preston but it is smaller (but all you need).

If you live on the outskirts on the side of the Uni the transport bus links are fab - every 10 mins to the city centre.

@NeverendingCircus and @BreadInCaptivity Lancaster was a place that I hadn’t considered. That’s given me food for thought, thank you.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135112244

Here take a look as an example.

Quick search on Rightmove.

25 properties within 3 miles of the city centre of Lancaster in your price range.

Just one attached to give you an idea of what you'd get fur your money.

Plymouth

Agree Lancaster! Only 20 miles north of Preston and much nicer! Near to great coastal places, not just Morecambe. Easy access to Lakes, Lune valley, Yorkshire Dales. City with character but on a manageable human scale. Great schools. Direct trains to London, Manchester, M airport, Ed / Glasgow, Windermere....
Really friendly place with great sense of community. City itself is really nice to live in, not just surroundings.

Plymouth is really grim. Apart from a tiny bit in the centre it’s hideous. Terrible poverty and drugs etc. Taunton?

@NorthORSouthThatsTheQN oh sorry I don't know why I thought 2 bed! Still 3 beds in the upper end of your budget that are in good areas. Eggbuckland for example, very hilly but extremely family friendly, lots of green space, 15 minute drive into city. Some areas of St Judes, and Plympton as well. Lots of areas to check out and definitely look slightly over budget as every is going for a bit less than advertised now. I'd avoid Devonport, Keyham, Whitleigh, West Park, Southway. Also probably Mutley but only because its student central. But like with everywhere I'm sure lots of people who live in those areas are happy there.
Saltash just over the bridge in Cornwall is nice too :) good luck with the decision! I hope it all goes well :)

@BreadInCaptivity That house would be perfect for us😍. Looks like you get a lot for your money in Lancaster. Looking at Google Lancaster itself looks really pretty too.
@Leftlion Thanks for all of the information, friendly with a good sense of community is exactly what we are looking for.
@Wednesdayonline thank you for the recommendations of areas in Plymouth. With Saltash that you suggested, does that have good transport links?

We live in Plymouth and are pretty happy here. The mall is ok for shopping, just some standard shops, although I tend to order online most of the time nowadays anyway. I do agree the bottom end of town is a bit grim and looks a bit sorry for itself, although they’re was a good food festival there the other day! Obviously we have the Hoe, the moors etc. Then there’s devils point (or Firestone bay) which is quite nice for a swim or getting the paddle board out. Mount batten for waters sports, Oreston is nice (we sometimes take the paddle board there too). There are a few nice beaches about 20-30+ mins away. We like to camp so travel down to Cornwall quite a bit in the summer and take the paddle board/surfboard etc.
Tbh we don’t find it that much of a hassle getting to other parts of the uk. We like going to London and travel there 2-3 times a year. Only takes a few hours. I understand this would bother some people though. Our theatre has some good things going on, there’s the new museum and I do think the council are trying to invest and make things look nice. But who knows. Areas around the uni will have more student houses, so maybe stay away from those. I think the uni is supposed to be ok. We moved to an area to be near to good primary schools/secondary schools. I think a fair amount of primary schools here are ok though tbh. Secondary schools maybe more thought needed, though we do have a couple of good ones plus the grammar schools. There are definitely areas I would never live in. And like everywhere there are rough spots. I’ve never been to Preston so can’t compare with there. I’m sure it too will have lovey places and not so great places.