If you had 200k to spend in Liverpool, what would you buy?

[Whitershadeofpale]

We’re in the early stages of looking at property in Liverpool and have a budget of around £200,000. We have 2 DC so would want a 3 bed, possibly with the DC having to share and using one as a home office.

We’ve been looking at Crosby/ Waterloo but I’d be interested to see what others would go for a why? We don’t really have a clue!

A few that have caught our eye:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147097172?utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailupdates&utm_campaign=emailupdatesinstant&utm_term=buying&onetime_FromEmail=true&sc_id=47147012&utm_content=v2-ealertspropertyimage&cid=20115437-f719-4225-885b-6c3cada84945&csg=dcdb141db2a1fa65d774befa9956fed2692d8071a73bf797667de83b482b3c2a#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147025070?utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailupdates&utm_campaign=emailupdatesinstant&utm_term=buying&onetime_FromEmail=true&sc_id=47147012&utm_content=v2-ealertspropertyimage&cid=20115437-f719-4225-885b-6c3cada84945&csg=dcdb141db2a1fa65d774befa9956fed2692d8071a73bf797667de83b482b3c2a#/map?channel=RES_BUY

Have you looked at secondary schools in that area, OP? They aren't good. I would look at South Liverpool and especially the schools before settling on anywhere.

Upholland is near the M58 and is reasonably priced but far enough out and has decent schools in the area. Otherwise look at Ormskirk or Southport. Also Skelmersdale or Burscough. All much nicer than Liverpool but within 15-30 minutes away by car, less by train.

Crosby and Waterloo are Sefton….not Liverpool….are you meaning Merseyside? Not just Liverpool…..because that changes what people will suggest to you

Thornton isn’t Crosby …..I personally wouldn’t live in Thornton

I think 15 minutes by car is ambitious from any of these places.

Ormskirk is a student town, skem is grim, as is southport bar some of the far north or far south parts of the town.

Burscough is nice but that a good 50 min minimum drive into Liverpool

It’s 35 mins to ormskirk and 45 to Southport on the train.
I wouldn’t say Skelmersdale is ‘much nicer ‘ than Liverpool….because it really isn’t 🙄

You’d be lucky to get anything decent for £200k in Waterloo and it’s definitely not going to get you anything in Crosby.

Where do you need to get to in Liverpool for work etc? I've just moved out of Liverpool to Widnes. It's about 25 minutes on the train into Lime Street and about the same in a car. Good schools, houses are reasonably priced and lots of parks etc.

Can I ask why not? I don’t know the area well but it’s always seemed quite nice.

I think we’d ideally want Liverpool but are realistic about what our budget would allow. We’d quite like to be near the beach but not the Wirral.

We currently live in Fazakerley, which we basically hate but has been very convenient. We spend about half of our time in west derby, where DH is from but know we wouldn’t really be able to buy there. It’s fair to say we’re more familiar with the north.

DH would need to get to Salford.

Unfortunately, I can’t drive.

We just moved from Old Swan. Salford is a 35 minute drive from Widnes according to Google maps. I would recommend looking these ways if you're not 100% certain on staying in Liverpool.

When I’ve looked there seems to be lots of outstanding primaries and good secondaries. First hand experience is much appreciated though. The DC would hopefully get into a catholic school, if that makes a difference.

Skem to me is just one roundabout after another. There's not much to do there, although if you don't mind crumbling facilities and holes in the ceiling, the swimming baths are alright.

It depends what you're after. Liverpool / Merseyside has some really lovely villages and towns, plenty of green space, countryside walks etc. Do you want village life or to live in a suburb? Are you happy with a long commute, or is it irrelevant (remote worker)?

I live in a village with a terrible commute to Liverpool or Manchester, but I work fully remote so it doesn't matter. I can't just nip to the supermarket as it's a 20 min drive and there's not a lot to do here, but everything is within walking distance - pubs, co-op, schools, sports clubs. I did live in a nearby town for a while and had a cinema, supermarkets, retail park, leisure centre etc within easy reach but it was a bit grim and didn't feel that safe.

Statistically most towns in Merseyside are pretty safe - see https://crimerate.co.uk if this is something that will influence your decision.

TBH we’ve got no real ties but do have some limited support in West Derby/ Fazakerley, so have gravitated towards staying near-ish.

I’m not from Liverpool but DH is and I think he has some old prejudices 😂.

What about someplace like Wigan? I don't know the area but commuting to Salford might be easier from there.

3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Jubilee Avenue, Orrell, Wigan, WN5 7BB, WN5 (rightmove.co.uk)

The Catholic secondaries are pretty bad in terms of children's behaviour day to day, despite Ofsted. My partner was a supply teacher so has seen a fair few inner workings of local secondaries.

I don’t know skem well but tbh it doesn’t appeal from what I do know. DH needs to get to Salford, I’m currently fully remote but am job hunting and open to work in Liverpool/ Manchester.

I don’t drive so would really like somewhere that has a bit of a local community, where I can walk to the shop/ baby groups/ parks etc. Not too villagey, me and DH are both from city suburbs (him from West Derby, me for South East London) and appreciated it growing up. I think he feels that there’s less identity in “wooly back land.” 🙄

Are others better? I belong to a few local facegroup groups and no one seems to have a positive word to say about any schools.

Unfortunately, DH stands to inherit half of a lovely house in the near future in the Croxteth Park area. We have considered living there but I’m concerned that it won’t feel like ours and could cause upset down the line if we were to decide to sell it.

I've been pretty disappointed tbh, OP. It's one of the reasons why we're moving away from North Liverpool. It just feels like a sinkhole of poor school opportunities, with teachers doing their best, but families not valuing education much, and it shows.

Have you considered Salford or areas closer to Manchester than Liverpool?

That’s rather sad. I know DH went to a school that was once considered very good but isn’t as highly regarded now (St Eddie’s).