Barrow in Furness move

[barrowmover]

We're thinking of moving to Barrow in Furness as it seems very cheap. Our budget is 200k, our DC have left home now. We live in Kent currently and are wondering if Barrow in Furness is a nice town to live in? It seems to have a bad reputation. Is it cheap for a reason? Thanks

I grew up in Barrow, you will hear mixed reviews but personally I think it’s a great place. I now live more south lakes and if I had to move I’d happily move back to Barrow. I find the people friendly and down to earth. Yes they’re a poverty but also with BAE, quite a lot of wealth. The beaches are beautiful, West Shore, Biggar Bank, Earnse Bay and beautiful Roanhead (locals pronounce it RONhead) with its sandy dunes. The town centre is a bit run down, but big supermarkets, Asda, Tesco, Aldi. The town, in my opinion has a good community spirit. Walney Island is nice, lots of nice properties. Living in south lakes I miss it as our nearest hospital is Lancaster, Barrows is actually in Barrow! From what family who still live there say, schools are fine, there’s a separate Sixth Form college. Transport links are fine, you can get a train to Lancaster and you’re on the main line, there’s a train direct to Manchester airport. Lots of lovely places up the Trainline, Arnside, Grange etc. Overall you can do a lot worse than move there but I’m sure someone will be on to slag it off? 😩😩

I used to live nearby. It's a friendly place but sadly is quite neglected and run down. There's lots of nicer places nearby

Have you ever been ? Suggest you visit for a holiday and see what you make of it.

I was born and grew up in Barrow. Now live in London. I echo what Shoegal said. There are lovely parts such as the beaches and the abbey and not so lovely parts. I still go back to visit friends and family and I miss it. The surrounding areas like Dalton and Ulverston are nice too.

I think it also depends on whether you work and if so, would you be able to find a job/work there.

I fe it’s a ‘safe’ place as I grew up there so I ‘get’ the people! Like I say they’re a friendly bunch mainly, south lakes are quite snobby - think yummy mummies driving 4 wheel drives! I second the fact there are beautiful surrounding areas. The Lakes are literally on your doorstep. Folk often find the drag from the M6 to Barrow an issue, it’s 33 miles, you’ll hear the phrase ‘longest cul-de-sac’ a lot! But I like the A590! Until there’s an accident or roadworks but that’s the same anywhere!!!

I think the only downside is the journey to the M6 - it can take quite a while and then you are still quite far from many other places in the UK.

That only matters if it impacts on your lifestyle and what you plan to do in terms of travelling etc.

The train services in the NW are currently shockingly bad - both Northern and Trans Pennine are in trouble because of the level of cancellations and delays.

No late evening trains from Manchester or even Lancaster tbh.

shithole in the town centre everything’s gone
its effectively in a Cul de sac
the a590 from the m6 is an horrendous rd mainly single carriageway morecambe would be better link rd to m6 Lancaster mainline station
edeb project coming its going to boom

the houses are cheap for a reason
there’s bae and sellafield major employers the majority commute in

If you only need a 2 bed and don't mind a traditional terrace you could easily afford a nice area in Lancaster. It is hilly though!

Have a look at Ulverston if you're set on that area. Your 200k won't go as far but it's a much, much nicer place than Barrow.

Barrow is grim. Really grim. Cumbria is a beautiful county and is great in so many ways but Barrow is the last place I would want to live in there.

Look at other nearby places like Ulvesrton if you're set on that area. Barrow is a town in huge decline

What are you expecting for 200k? It seems a very specific choice but it depends if you are expecting a two bed or a five bed as to how limited your other options are.

What are you looking for in a new area other than cheap house prices?

I knew people would be on here saying exactly what they’ve said. I personally wouldn’t call it grim in any way but each to their own I can’t speak on behalf of others! I think you need to spend a few days there and come to your own conclusions. I think it’s a lovely town, yes there are rough areas but tell me a town that doesn’t have those?

I think I’d rather live in Lancaster if I was going to that area of the country and you could get a small house there. Is there anything particular you want for your £200k?

It's a northern industrial town. Any bad rep is probably due to a few specific ex industrial housing/tenement areas of high crime/drugs etc.
Avoid those & I'm sure it's fine. Countryside looks lovely.

I find Lancaster unfriendly. Maybe it’s because all my memories are Barrow? I appreciate I probably have an element of rose tinted spectacles here…….. 😂

Simon Reeve did a programme on the lakes in lockdown which included a whole episode of Barrow - should still be on iplayer or YouTube but think it gave a really fair reflection of the town so maybe worth a watch

I wouldn't want to live in Barrow. I agree with PPs that it's friendly and safe but there just isn't enough there.

Shopping, food, culture and every other type of facility a big town would usually have are really lacking.

@barrowmover Do you particularly want to be in the lakes or are you just looking for good value housing.

This. It's cheap, mainly because it's a long way from a lot of places. If you're happy to live with that, you might like it.

But going to a major concert venue, Ikea or an airport is likely to be a minimum of a 4 hour round trip. It's also likely to be significantly more rainy than Kent.

What sort of property are you looking at for £200k. You could buy something suitable for a couple in a nice (maybe not MN naice, but a perfectly decent place to live) area on the outskirts of somewhere like Leeds or Manchester for less than that, eg I live in a 2 bed semi on the outskirts of Leeds that backs onto green belt and is probably worth about £170k, and you have all the city attractions less than half an hour away, plus can access wild countryside, still be able to get to the coast in about 90 mins etc.

So looking to move to Barrow, just because it looks cheaper than Kent, seems a bit unnecessary and quite random.

It’s cheap for a reason. What do you need for your £200k? That might get you a small house or a flat in somewhere like Arnside (beautiful views), Grange over Sands or Ulverston. Barrow has more amenities than those places, but they are much prettier.

I didn’t think it was a total shithole but I found it quite insular, albeit I only lived there for a short time in relation to work. There are a lot of other places I’d consider before it, which are better connected to the transport network and which have more job opportunities. I feel like it would be an enormous shock to the system compared to Kent.

Barrow is/was a very industrial town, Vickers Shipbuilders (now BAE) used to open its doors to nearly every school leaver. It will never rid itself of that industrial-ness. But like I’ve said, the town centre will a run down but there are some lovely affluent areas, Abbey Rd, Hawcoat, Holbeck etc.

I live in Cumbria, Barrow is awful, massive drugs problem and huge unemployment issues. Kendal is nice but I will be paying a lot more, are u moving for work or just want to move north? Places like Penrith is nice and Appleby and not too pricey.

The other consideration OP would be whether you would need to work. Unless you'd be able to get a job at BAE (I'm sure they almost always have vacancies if you're in the right field) you might find opportunities somewhat limited.

Look at Lancaster, and surrounding areas, m6 link road, trains to Manchester airport, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh ect.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E769&insId=1&maxPrice=200000&radius=5.0&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying