Future house move to Lancaster and surrounding!

[miracle0812]

Hey!
Anyone on here who lives in Lancaster and/or within 20 mile radius? Wether you have moved there or lived there all your life.. we are considering moving there in the future! There’s a number of places that we are considering but this place does seem to keep sticking out in my mind!
We have three children aged 12,7 and 1 we currently live in Kent and pay ridiculous house prices compared to further north places obviously due to the fact we are closer to London but we don’t need to be near London.
We really want to be able to enjoy life a bit more without the financial burden of over priced rent!
If anyone has any info that might help then I would really appreciate it 😊
My job is in social care so I’m confident I will manage to find work! Any areas in particular to stay away from would be great!
Thank you 😊

A lot of votes for Lancaster it seems! It’s great to hear people’s views. The only negative thing I’ve heard about Lancaster that put me off is crime rate?

I'm NW and love Lancaster and wish we lived there. Friends of who we visit a lot and it just feels lovely

Thank you @Polkadotpjs where do you live? Do you think you’ll move in the future?

The only problem with the schools is they're oversubscribed, it's not impossible but definitely worth considering schools before making a commitment to an area. It's hard to see what rental prices are like round here at the moment as not a lot on but you can certainly get some lovely Georgian properties at a much better price than down south to buy.

My long term dream was to live in Lancaster . I currently live south of Lancaster about 8 miles down the coast in a small village and I've always loved Lancaster. My partner has a beautiful house in Fulwood so I'm gradually finding out all the benefits of living in Preston when I'm with him. I like Fulwood as it's so close to the city centre but also there are beautiful pockets of parkland and woods right on our doorstep. I love that I can walk into the centre and get on a train to Manchester for a night out.

If I was starting out with a young family, I would probably choose Lancaster for the schools and small city feeling. As a mid 40's mum of older children who aren't with me all the time, I'm enjoying Preston.

I grew up in Lancaster. To get into the Grammar I believe you take an entrance exam, similar to the 11+ I guess. Both the boys and girls grammar are very, very good. Ripley is also a good school, you need a vicar to confirm you attend church to have a decent chance of getting in though. Our Lady’s is also a good school nowadays.
Lancaster is one of the smallest cities in the UK, so even when you’re very close to the centre you don’t feel like your in a city at all. I grew up in 3 houses to age 22 that were all within 5-15 mins walk of the centre, 2 of them were detached with very large gardens so it honestly wasn’t like living in the centre at all. There are lots of nice houses in the very centre, Bowerham, Greaves, near the Cathedral. Also places like Garstang, Galgate, Glasson Dock, Caton, Capenwray, Carnforth, Slyne are all worth considering too.
Lancasters main employers are the Uni’s and the Hospital. It’s got loads of live music etc happening all year round. A few nice enough restaurants and it’s a very safe place to bring kids up. Really easy to get the train to Manchester, London or Edinburgh.
I would steer clear of Morecambe, although Heysham, Torrisholme and Bare are nice enough.
Feel free to ask anything.

I like Kirby Lonsdale too!

And have a look at Milnthorpe and Arnside on the railway line op.

Personally I find Lancaster rather depressing. I don't like the feel of it at all. Many of those stone buildings are built on the wealth of the slave trade.

Lancaster is OK. There’s not a lot going on though. You’ll struggle to get your oldest into a grammar school as they’ve missed the 11+ and the other schools are oversubscribed too. Heysham is fine, Halton is lovely and has a fantastic primary school. Hest Bank and Bolton Le Sands are nice villages too. Avoid Ryelands, the Ridge, Skerton and the Marsh areas of Lancaster.

Garstang is close to Lancaster, although it’s a Preston Post Code and it has a good high school or the villages of Pilling, Preesall, Hambleton and others in the Wyre area. These are all pretty rural really.

If you actually want things to do, I’d go towards Preston though eg Penwortham or Longton.

@MustDust where are the schools oversubscribed?

When I looked more so in Preston than Lancaster but nothing like where we moved from in the South East...

Yes @MustDust schools/area is our main priority but we have to look at primary secondary and higher education due to the age gaps of our children so it’s a tough one! Thanks for the info 😊 I love a Georgian house! There’s quite a lot more property on rightmove than down here!

Have you looked at Garstang? That's a lovely town. It isn't all that cheap around here though OP. We have lots of areas of natural beauty and outstanding schools that massively inflate the price of housing. To be honest, I'd be surprised if your rent for a comparable place in a good area was all that different to what you're paying now.

@RandomMess where in the south east did you live?

@BirdieDance yes Garstang has been mentioned a lot on threads I’ve seen on here 😊
The houses that have caught our eye in the “nicer areas” are around £900-£1000 which is cheaper than where we are but it’s not just about house prices that makes leaving Kent appealing 😊

NW Surrey - so Woking/Staines on the M24/M3 - not a "naice" area!!! Rent more expensive than where you are in Kent tbh.

4 bed houses to rent aren't in huge supply in Lancaster, we rented an ex student rental not in the best of areas but it was £600 per month but it was only whilst our house purchase went through.

Look at the Quayside area on rightmove, houses are probably comparable to what you live in to give you an idea of price to buy and rent.

@CoronaIsComing Thanks for the info! We didn’t miss the 11+ as such she took the equivalent of it 6 months after starting secondary due to her having a sickness bug on the day of the 11+ so she can go to a grammar school thanks for all the areas you’ve mentioned will look into those 😊

Oh and high schools to avoid are Bay Leadership Academy (used to be Heysham High School), I think it’s now called Morecambe Bay Academy (formally Morecambe High), Our Lady’s, and Central. The only school we’re happy with for DS is the boys Grammar, which he’ll luckily stat in September (corona virus willing!). Otherwise we’d have applied to QES in Kirkby Lonsdale and Garstang Academy.

@RandomMess yes not cheap there either! My dad lived there for a while!
Are you glad you moved?
We don’t need a 4 bed as our children are all girls we have a 4 bed now that’s all. We searched 3+ beds on rightmove and saw many 3 a few 4 and some 5! I’m more than happy with 3 bedrooms like I said earlier our 4 bed is more like a 2 😂

The problem is, there’s unlikely to be a place for her. They’re very popular schools with children coming from as far as Preston. I’m not sure the test is transferable either, she’d probably have to take another test, which is an option but it just depends on spaces.

Thank you @CoronaIsComing and well done to your son 😊

Yes @CoronaIsComing it’s a national test but she isn’t in grammar at the moment due to where we live. Most secondaries in the country have a grammar stream and if it’s a good enough school then it doesn’t need to be grammar majority of my family were straight A students and went to rough schools. Her school is far away but whatever makes her happy will be fine with me 😊

Thanks, it was a bit of a surprise really 😂 but living in Heysham, our nearest high school was not an option for us. My recommendation for your requirements would be Halton with the view to send your little ones to St Wilfrid’s Primary School and your oldest to QES.

@Smartcasual thank you 😊 will look at those areas too

PS if you avoid the estates I mention above, you won’t see much in the way of crime! And certainly nothing like the big cities anywhere, you don’t hear of stabbing a or anything like that!

@BornOnThe4thJuly Great info thank you 😊 lots to take in 😁

The Kellets (Over and Nether) are nice villages, both with outstanding' primary schools and QES as an option for secondary. Very little rental property though I would imagine.