Where to live between Liverpool and Manchester?

[confusednw]

Hi,

We are a young couple in our late twenties/early thirties looking to buy a house in the North West and currently researching places to live.

We will be commuting to Liverpool and Manchester city centers for work using public transport (Liverpool three times a week, Manchester once or twice a week).

Our budget is around ~£400k for a three-bed, with the potential to go a bit higher.

Ideally, the area would have some nice cafes, bars and restaurants plus some green space for weekend walks.

We are currently considering places like Urmston, Hartford/Northwich and Frodsham. We visited Stockton Heath and liked the feel, but found the journey via bus and train potentially problematic. In a perfect world, we would walk to the station for a direct train (< 1 hr journey) to work.

Are we missing other nice places to live that would be commutable to Liverpool and Manchester?

WA5 area of Warrington would be ideal, very easy commute to Liverpool & Manchester from Warrington West train station or not too far to Warrington Central.

Latchford is nice better connected than south of the river and a lovely vibe in the centre with shops and restaurants. I’d choose there over padgate or fearnhead etc

Lymm or Culcheth.

whoever suggested Atherton- absolutely not !!!

My first reaction to your post was really? When I think of Hale I think of multi million properties for footballers. I had a quick look on rightmove and there are pages and pages of those properties. The OP could just about get a 3 bed for her budget but it would be a terrace. It’s not somewhere I would recommend to an average family, I think you would end up feeling like the poor relations.

Trains are awful at the moment from Warrington (and have been for ages since covid). Regularly cancelled without notice. If you do decide to move anywhere in the north west and will be reliant on public transport (trains) make sure you monitor the live departures boards online for a period of time to see what actually runs to give you an idea of reliability. The timetable looks great for some places in theory but the service is appalling.

There's a big difference between Hale Village in Liverpool and Hale nr Manchester @TrioofTrumps the first is affordable for normal people, the second is affordable for footballers!

Live in Liverpool and bounce between the two, plenty of people go between th both. Otherwise I love Frodsham but it's a bit "god aren't we posh here" and no idea why.

Not St Helens.

Knutsford is lovely but beware trains at the moment (applicable anywhere really TBH). Services are a nightmare and totally unreliable. I know a few people who commute from Manchester to Knutsford and they are driving at the moment because the trains are such a nightmare.

Agree with this! You’ll also get more for your money than south Manchester way

i wouldn’t pick a half way spot between the two. Instead I’d decide on which city I preferred and then look at places near enough to get a cab out late at night without spending silly money & whittle it down by how commutable a place is relative to the other city. No point being so far away that it’s too much of a faff to travel in for going out/shops/nightlife etc IYSWIM.
Basically, it means tracking places along main line station routes/ motorways. Given the choice I’d live nearer to Liverpool and commute a longer distance to Manchester.

@TokyoSushi ahh, that makes a lot more sense now.

No but it is still rude to reply to that post with that.

Some of these suggestions are utterly nuts and miss the point that the OP wants to be able to travel to Liverpool AND Manchester.

That means Knutsford is a ridiculous suggestion given how long it takes to get to Liverpool.

Anywhere south of the Mersey in Warrington is shocking for public transport.

It's like people have never tried to travel by train in the NW!

Frodsham or somewhere in North Warrington on the main Trainline between Liverpool and Manchester or around St Helens are pretty much your best (only) bets.

You'd get a nice shoebox in Hale nr Manchester on 400k.

Ok

Yeah, I'm wondering how many of these suggestions are actually useful. If people don't travel themselves it's like they haven't even bothered to open Google Maps.

@WaterIris Even pre-Covid the Knutsford trains were appalling, only one an hour and the morning ones often cancelled. I worked there and was left stranded many times.
And at weekends even worse, one train every TWO hours. Again, if they even arrive.
I hear it's gotten worse now.

You also want a backup plan unless work is fine with you arriving whenever you fancy with the inevitable strikes/delays/cancellations.

That means other stations with other lines within driving distance (and taxis), or a bus route.

Where I live currently (East Manchester) isn't the most upmarket area but I have a train, bus AND tram (10 mins drive). Always a plan B.

Btw https://where.rightmove.co.uk/

Is a useful tool...

Trains between Liverpool and Manchester are a nightmare. If you're totally reliant on public transport you need to carefully research the most reliable travel routes, preferably with other options if trains are cancelled, and then pick an area based on this.

My home town of Newton-le-Willows! Close to Warrington, and major motorways. Has a mainline station that takes you straight to Liverpool or Manchester. It couldn't be more in the middle of them both if it tried! (I remember painstakingly trying to explain its location, when I first moved down south to a bunch of kids who'd never left Croydon).
It has a lovely market town esq high street, with great restaurants, pubs, bars, cafes and small businesses. It's a gem of a town, though I'm biased
You'd get a lovely sized, well maintained property for your budget.

No, you can get a direct train from Burscough to Manchester. It’s only a very short and easy drive from Ormskirk (or can get a bus). Easily doable if it’s only once a week.
As the Liverpool commute is the one that’s being done most often I think that should be your main concern OP.

Loved in Birchwood for a long time and there are some lovely parts! Very commutable to both Manchester and Liverpool (i used to do both journeys! It's literally central to both with a train station!)

I know Atherton well @3BSHKATS There are some really nice parts.
I think Newton-le-Willows is a great suggestion. It’s really nice.

Basically those in between towns Atherton, Leigh, Tyldesley are developing into commuter towns with new estates everywhere.

The OP found Stockton Heath an issue via 'bus and train'. Warrington Bank Quay is a short drive away, so I figured that they can't/don't drive.
Buses between Burscough and Ormskirk are 40 minutes, there's a train but as we've established those aren't particularly reliable.

I wouldn't prioritise one commute over the other - you can't guarantee that they'll remain the same, or that you won't switch jobs.

Chorley....euxton village specifically. Is a lovely area with lots of green space. Local train station within walking distance and only a short bus ride into chorley for some nice bars and cafes