What part of Lancashire?

[Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrringles]

We are planning on relocating to Lancashire, but don’t know which part.
We were swaying towards Preston, but after visiting we felt unsure because I didn’t like the city centre layout - it felt too easy to be run over, and it seemed a bit too lively on a Saturday!
We have heard only negative things about Burnley and Blackburn (can anyone confirm or deny?). We considered Chorley, but unsure. Lancaster looks lovely, but the grammar school system there has put us off as our eldest will already be Y7.
Obviously actually living in these places would be very different to visiting though anyway, so it would be good to hear opinions.
Also, if anyone could suggest other places that might be suitable that would be appreciated.

Our criteria is:

budget: 190k max

We need good public transport

somewhere that has a train station.

amenities - hospital vital, things for the DC to do, cinema, parks, supermarkets nearby

WFH so jobs not a problem.

DC in primary and secondary school.

Somewhere friendly - community feel, if that still exists.

Can anyone give me some advice?

Thanks!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149903102#/?channel=RES_BUY
Here’s an example of an older semi. Chorley has good transport links to M61 and M6 (they tried to stop people getting on at charnock services but someone started a fb group that shares the code !!), there’s a bus and train station opposite each other. From Chorley it’s the Blackpool to Manchester line, you can get the train to Liverpool from Euxton, The countryside around Chorley is stunning, lots of walks to Healey nab or rivington, and along the canal. There are 5 high schools, St Michaels is CofE and you need church attendance to get in, Holy cross is Catholic and the other 3 are secular, my children went to Parklands. There’s a cinema, mini golf and bowling place which is fairly new. Shopping isn’t great but it’s a market town, we do have a Booths though and an M&S food ! Like any town there are rougher areas, Chorley does have an Inspire youth zone for young people.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145319276#/media?id=media0&ref=photoCollage&channel=RES_BUY

Could you not get your DC into the Lancaster grammar schools as an in year admission. this does happen although they may have to prove academic ability to a certain extent. My experience is that if you live in the Lancaster area it's not as hard to get in as some people think. If you have any questions just ask.

Agree that Preston town centre is dire. The retail parks are better and the Trafford centre is inly 40 mins away if you like to shop the traditional way.

In North Preston there are some really good faith based schools and also Broughton high school which is none faith although you would need to live quite close to get in.

Garstang is lovely but traffic is a nightmare if there is a problem on the M6 which is often.

There are some lovely rural villages North of Preston and in the Ribble Valley if you prefer to be away from city centres. eg Longridge, Clitheroe, Whalley, Ribchester etc

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149718125#/?channel=RES_BUY

Doable.

@Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrringles re Preston - I worked in city centre for a while, traffic is really heavy to get in and out but there’s not much of note in city centre shop wise. I think the area down by the docks is better these days for socialising etc. I just remember a lot of quite deprived inner city neighbourhoods. Having said that I never felt unsafe walking to and from work. It just doesn’t have much to recommend it and I think there are much nicer towns and villages nearby. Avenham Park is lovely though if I’m trying to think of good points! Also I know a lot of folk very happily living in outer new build estates and commuting out to other places, easy access to M6 and M55. Fulwood to the North is a nicer neighbourhood, some little restaurants, schools look nice and there is a big hospital. Quick onto the motorways but not sure about house prices.

My sister lives in St Anne’s and loves it. She’s got a school age daughter and is happy with the schools. I don’t know about budgets though.

Agree Healey nab and Rivington are stunning, I go swimming towards Bolton and it's beautiful

Avoid Fulwood. It's been totally hemmed in by hundreds and hundreds of new builds eating their way into the rural areas. Like a giant rabbit run.

I would avoid Burnley and a lot of Blackburn - Pleasington is nice.
Clitheroe is lovely but probably too pricey
Whalley is nice but I hear it has a lively weekend nightlife which some residents hate.
Darwen is worth a look.
Preston is the best connected for trains, the centre is a bit rubbish but is good for amenities as it is Lancashire's administrative centre.
Lancaster is nice - quite a bit further north. Not sure what you would get for your money.
Nearer Bolton - Turton and Bromley Cross are worth a look

Another vote for Chorley here! Been here nearly 4 years now.
It isn't chocolate box beautiful, but lots of amenities, good schools, easy access to coast and countryside. We live on the rural edge and can be in town in 5 mins, countryside in 5 mins, coast in 30 mins, Manchester in 30 mins (plus there's the train line which goes to Manchester Airport and Preston/further north. M61/m6/m65 all on the doorstep.

I used to live in a village between Garstang and Blackpool- not a lot to do there Poulton-le-Fylde is a nice town, and has a train line, but not sure how expensive it is these days. Schools were OK round there from memory.

Pleasington/Feniscowles are nice, not sure about train links though.

But come to Chorley! We have a Booths!

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134756558

Doable budget

Burscough is nice.

Standish and Leyland both bad for traffic.

Chorley is ok and has more of a town centre than most other towns seem to have!

Thanks so much everyone for all of your advice and help, I really appreciate it.

I wouldn't choose to live in Preston considering we did nearly move there and decided not to.

Lancaster, Central Lancaster High is a good school if you can't get into Ripley/Grammer. People are snobby about it because they don't realise how good all the schools are and as there are no private secondary schools that effectively is what that grammar is - pay for 2/3 years of tuition to get in.

Your budget is tight for a 3 bed in the more desirable areas though.

What size place do you need for £190k? You are probably priced out of most of the Forest of Bowland places, including maybe Clitheroe, if you want a "family home". Barrowford might be worth a look though.

Some parts surrounding Burnley are ok too, but you'd need to be careful and you'd probs end up pretty rural.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147984965

Fence is nice, if you fancy a doer-upper?

@RandomMess what made you change your mind about moving to Preston?

@Butterflyfern 3 bedrooms and a garden are the basic criteria. It would be nice to have a seperate downstairs toilet or 2 bathrooms, but I don’t think we can realistically have that.

@Butterflyfern That is a nice size house. What’s Fence like? I haven’t heard of it.

My sister lives in Blackrod and likes it. It has a train station and is near Middlebrook shopping centre.

I’d echo what other posters have said. I’ve lived in Burnley and Blackburn for 5yrs each and honestly you couldn’t pay me to go near them again.

Burnley is beyond horrible - and I lived just outside the town centre in a village that is honestly 5 mins from the Center. It’s gross.

Blackburn is like a ghetto. It’s hugely racially divided - more so even than Burnley. It’s got zero redeeming features.

I would steer clear of all of east Lancs unless you absolutely have to live there. In which case I’d consider Fence (boring), Higham (boring), Clitheroe (pretty, but boring) and Barrowford (expensive and basically a long - boring - street). Longridge and Whaley are nice, again, not much happening. Ramsbottom is okay. I just cannot imagine being a teen up there again. It was just deathly.

Colne is also horrible, and so is Preston. St Anne’s is nice - but what’s drawing you to Lancashire? West Yorkshire just over the border is loads nicer.

It’s got a couple of pubs. That’s it. It’s off a massive busy road. There is honestly nothing to do there except get in the car to Crow Wood spa or Boundary Mill to go shopping. It’s pretty but the road is awful.

Fence is nice. It's a pretty small village in itself, but with good motorway links. There's 2 (nice) pubs in the village, a little village store and a Michelin star restaurant.

You're 5mins drive from Barrowford with a few more shops, a few small supermarkets and a lovely park. Bigger supermarkets/better shops would be 15mins away in Burnley

I grew up in Preston and my mum still lives there so I go back a lot.

The town centre is a mess and nobody seems to shop there anymore - they drive out to the retail parks (which are pretty good).

Lots of uni students in the centre and the uni is very tied in with the city.

It's ok but it's not a great place to live. There is stuff - there's leisure centres (Fulwood, West View etc) and all the usual stuff like scouts and guides etc but for a city it's very car centric. Even thirty years ago my parents drove me everywhere - gymnastics club, scouts, orchestra etc and the sprawl has got worse.

I hear from my mum that there are problems with getting spaces in schools because so many new estates have been built but no new schools, so people are having to drive their kids a long way.

That's harsh imo. It's a nice safe village and the house I linked is about as far as you can get from the bypass whilst being in the village. You're a short car drive from Barrowford with the park for kids (and don't need to use the bypass to do so)

OP has a small budget a 3 bed house: there's going to be compromises and I'd rather live in Fence than many other places in the area.

With regards to West Yorkshire being better... Really for £190k?! You're looking at places like Earby or Barnoldswick, which aren't particularly nice. The closer you get to Skipton the price rockets.

I thought Preston city centre was in the middle of a transformation and investment for the better? I’d heard good things about it, my mum grew up round there and says it’s much nicer now than it was. https://www.investprestoncity.com/article/3627/Preston-City-Centre-Public-Realm-Improvement-Projects