Where to live near Crewe, Macclesfield or Wilmslow station?

[northsouthmaybe]

DH and I work in different cities (me Manchester, him London). Both mostly WFH but need to get into the office 1/week. 2 primary age DC. Currently live in period semi in South Manchester- keen for a bigger garden, detached and more rural feel but anywhere leafier/detached near us goes for upwards of £1m whereas our budget is around £800k.

Hoping for advice or suggestions of good places to look - needs to be within easy-ish drive of a mainline station to London (Crewe/Macclesfield/Wilmslow) for DH commute and ideally no more than 1h by car/train from Manchester for mine.

Other criteria: good schools, large village or small town, decent enough public transport (even if that's buses rather than trains) for when DC are older, easy access to countryside walks/woodland, sense of community. Oh and if it can be incredibly picturesque there that would be a bonus!

Would love to hear any thoughts. Thanks in advance.

I grew up in North Staffs and always thought I'd end up living in Macclesfield and commuting into Manchester (spoiler - I never did!)

Sandbach is also worth a look. Lovely little town centre with a Waitrose and an Aldi! Good schools though their secondary are single sex which may or not be a positive depending on your view. I think you'd need to change at Crewe or Stoke for the London train though.

You could also be just over the border into Staffordshire and still be quite near Congleton station and probably get a bit more for your money. Parking at Congleton station used to be a pain though - it might have improved. It was my station for shopping trips into Manchester as a teen - changing at Macc for the fast train!

Alsager is quite nice too - great schools but typical charity shop/food places town centre. Nice community feel tho.

I'd steer clear of Crewe but there are a few new developments on the edges that might be ok and Leighton near the hospital is ok.

Nantwich is another lovely town but I'm not sure how regular the trains or where they go!

Love the name 👏🏼 You've just made me think of Nashville and now I have to listen to some country music 😁

Back on topic...thanks for all the insight. Sandbach I wasn't sure about proximity to M6 - do you know if it's a big problem?

Will also look into Staff borders and Congleton. I'm sure I've read on here before that Leek is great but previously discounted it due to lack on transport links.

Alsager sounds interesting too, love a good charity shop and community feel is so important.

We're in Goostrey and we love it. The village is very sweet, but 5 mins from Holmes Chapel and not far at all from Wilmslow, Crewe or Macclesfield for mainline trains.

They have parades through the village and plenty going on for such a small place. 2 nice pubs as well.

We both often go to Manchester and London for work and it's doable, even to be in London just for the day.

Lots of green, lovely walks and good schools both state and private.

You'd get something great for £800k. There's a newish build estate full of families at one end of the village.

A few of the places mentioned get busy if there's problems on the M6 - Holmes Chapel, Sandbach etc . The station is the opposite side to the M6 in Sandbach though but I don't really know what it's like at busy times.

Knutsford's another nice place too although I don't know it well

Parades, pubs and schools- sounds like it ticks lots of boxes! Will definitely look into Goostrey. Are most people from there or is it quite accessible for incomers to settle into the community, with it being smaller?

@northsouthmaybe we moved here from Macclesfield to be nearer the kid's school 2 years ago. Everyone is lovely. There are active Facebook pages etc. so you always know what's going on and can get involved.

@ThisIsNotMyUser12345 sounds ideal!

How about Poynton?

When I was a kid in the 70s we lived in the worst house on the best road in Macclesfield: Prestbury Road.
I have wonderful memories of a large garden, safe roads and good neighbours. I went to Bollinbrook CofE primary and would have gone to Fallibroome Comprehensive. Brother went on a scholarship to King’s which I believe is closed now.

My grandma lived on Prestbury Road, my other in Langley on the other side of Macclesfield. My cousins went to Bollinbrook and Fallibroome and my mother to what was the grammar school and my dad to Kings. Small world.

I've always lived near London but I love Macclesfield. Easy train ride to London, beautiful countryside (esp Teggs Nose and the Hollins) and I like the brooding mills. Ah happy memories, I'd love to live there if my circumstances were different.

I've lived in Macclesfield, Congleton and Wilmslow for nearly twenty five years, having moved here from a big city. My experience is public transport is very poor, buses are infrequent and often require changes to get anywhere useful so I wouldn't rely on them to get around. If you live in a village be prepared to drive everywhere until your children can drive themselves! Trains are better, but I'd recommend living in a town with a mainline station rather than having to change trains if possible for a regular commute, so Macc or Wilmslow. I wouldn't live in Crewe, especially now HS2 is dead.
The trains service from Congleton are more infrequent and slow so we hardly ever used it, we did like living in Congleton although it felt like it was somewhere we were based and always seemed to be going to other places to do anything. It was good when the kids were little but I think as teenagers they'd have been bored. DH used to drive to Crewe to get train to London, parking a nightmare unless you are early. Mossley or West Heath areas are best (Mossley closest to station) although lots of new builds in the Lower Heath area. You will get a very decent house for £800k
Macc is bigger than Wilmslow with more high school options, easy access to the Peaks if you like walking and cycling. Lots of housing options for your budget.
Less housing choices for your budget in Wilmslow, but absolutely possible. And it's my favourite of the three. DH loves that he can leave the house and walk to the station and get a train to London in 2 hours total.
If you are happy to get a connecting train, what about Poynton or Bramhall?

Heaton Moor, Heaton Chapel station, Stockport is lovely and you’d be 20 minutes to Manchester and 1 stop away from the Stockport to London line. Look at houses around Heaton Moor Park. Good shops and schools.

We live in Bollington, on the edge of Peak District. Love it here, brill for families.

Work in London so cycle to Macc Station in 20 mins then 1 hr 40 to Euston. Only once a week.

Schools here are great, lots of choice.

Lots of nice restaurants, pubs and great walks.

Hmm me too! But in the late eighties/ early nineties 😂 We were actually in a close just off Prestbury Road, towards the Prestbury end. There were some amazing Victorian semis opposite West Park at the other end, my friend lived in one.

@Sgtmajormummy oh and I see you've posted a link to one! I went to St Albans and All Hallows, not sure if either still exist.

Thank you! Very useful compare and contrast 👌🏼 What is it about Wilmslow that you like the best? Just the general vibe or is it prettier/does it have better amenities etc?

I've heard Bollington's nice (think it was rated by the Times best places to live guide a few years ago?) - will keep an eye out there too! Not sure I have it in me to cycle to the station but presumably it's an ok drive if it only takes you 20 mins to cycle?

Leek tends to get bad weather in the winter.

Being able to walk to a station is a big plus.

We moved to Marple from Didsbury 15 years ago, as it was the furthest out from Manchester we felt we could go without too horrendous a commute for me (working in the city). I now WFH but go to London once a month, and it is great to be a short drive/taxi from Stockport station as all the London trains stop there.

The trains into Manchester are ballsed up at the moment by a land slip in strines, but when they’re running normally it is a decent service.

Lymm.

@northsouthmaybe we like Wilmslow because it's easy to get into Manchester, close to the airport for business trips and holidays, good road links etc but also surrounded by countryside so not too urban. There are loads of lovely bars and restaurants (people will complain on Facebook whenever a new food place opens up in what was a shop, but I think it's great). The Rex cinema is great, the Carrs is lovely (can get busy on bank holidays).
There are lots of lovely villages about but I think you need to be clear about what it is you want, especially if you're used to living in the city. Are you happy with a longer commute once a week for the village life? Potentially having to get school buses and taxi the kids everywhere for years? But I'm a townie...

There are several lovely areas in Macclesfield. The far end of Buxton Road reaches into the peaks, as does Rainow. Then Langley is a lovely village on the edge of Teggs Nose Country Park; Sutton next door to that is also beautiful.

All those places are a 5-10 minute drive from the station, but also in the quiet and countryside. There are also parts of Bollington, a village a 10-15 minute drive away from Macclesfield, that are very nice.

As others have said, places like Congleton or Holmes Chapel are close by. But Holmes Chapel has no train station, and the Congleton trains are slow ones that go to local places. So you’d have a decent drive and/or change of train on your hands. On the other hand, the houses there are much cheaper - Macclesfield prices reflect how well connected it is by having the London line that gets you to Mcr/London so quickly.

Holmes Chapel does have a train station - I drive past it most days

My apologies, you’re right! I’ve mentally discounted some of the little ones not on the main London/Bham lines!

I love Leek but public transport there is rubbish. It’s rubbish in Biddulph too but Congleton station is very close to Biddulph (both Biddulph & Leek have the middle school system by the way)

I nearly moved to Alsager but didn’t in the end. Alsager High is sought after and is very over subscribed.

Macclesfield sounds perfect for you to be honest.

In Congleton, West Heath is nice for families.

Biddulph road near the train station is also nice.