Moving to Lancaster

[lifeunlimited]

Hi everyone,

We currently live in Teeside area in north east and are planning to move to Lancaster in May 2021. Me and my husband will be working in main city of lancaster if everything goes to plan and i have DD in year 3. We have been looking at buying a house to move straight in for last few months, but can't seem to find a proper house of our liking within our budget. Coming from North East houses seems very pricey (we currently live in decent sized 4 double bed house with an extra family room downstairs, open kitchen, detached with big garden- costed 250K) We are happy to stretch unto 400- 450K for a decent house in decent location, but seems there are no nice houses at all in Lancaster/ Carnforth or Halton, don't want to be in Morecambe.
There are some decent houses in Garstang, Forton, but they don't seem to be in catchment for Lancaster grammar schools (hoping to get my DD in) I have heard children from preston coming to grammar school, but because they are not in catchment area- she will be last priority after all lancaster children have been offered place. Getting a bit worried as no other good secondary apart from the Ripley's, might be difficult to get into.

We don't want to live too far away in Holme/ kirby Lonsdale or clitheroe or preston as too far to drive into lancaster city centre for work, shift work, getting childcare out of hours etc will be difficult- as no friends or family yet.

I would really appreciate your thoughts and advice from anyone living in the area and has better knowledge than me. We are happy to rent for few months in a flat and then buy a house if we can find good ones.
Thank you.

But the 2 grammars produce some of the top results in the country - so fee-paying schools not really needed for bright kids anyway (that's what we found ...)

Yes quite but if your DC don't get in them you are left with a dilemma!!

I think there needs to be a push to leave Teesside as well as a pull towards Lancaster.

I like Garstang but with teens and actually for visiting friends far afield the lack of train station is a negative. Friends that live there are always moaning about the volume of new builds going up.

On that note certainly much of the recent planning permission in Lancaster and new builds in Garstang are all built on flood plains 🤦🏼‍♀️

Definitely look to the north of the city. Both my children attended LRGS and LGGS easy commute by train or bus.

Surprised you haven't seen anything nice in Heysham!

There are so many lovely places especially if you work shifts and don't have to travel through the city centre at rush hour.

I'd love this Heysham property!

So close to lovely beach and prom walks, feature in the next series of "The Bay"

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/81004594#/

feature in the next series of "The Bay"

Although the children's comments about a picnic at Heysham weren't exactly complimentary in the programme!

I'm puzzled as to why people recommend north of the Lune. But then I've always lived south of the river & in the central bit of town. It was great for the DC who were able to wander into the town centre to meet friends independently of me from their early teens (Oh dear I expect they were part of the teenage emo scene which congregated by the Museum back in the day ...)

I don't think it's possible to sit 11+ for more than one Grammar in the area either. Or at least it wasn't when my dc did 11 +.

That house has been up for sale since 2019.
It's near the power station.

Yeah I know where it is as I walk my dog there as often as possible- weather and tide dependent!!

The gateway opening as opened up living north of the river for sure also some people prefer a more rural setting or don't want the city centre as close.

Hi, I live in Lancaster and have recently moved house to the sort of place you are describing. It took months of looking/waiting and being usurped with properties etc until we were lucky enough to be first through the door to view for our new place and offered an hour after the viewing! It really is that competitive! Lancaster is an amazing place to live, and for us it was worth waiting. We had to complete our sale and live with family until our purchase completed.

Not sure what you mean about Ripley school being for Indians. As far as I know it is a ‘standard’very well regarded high school. There is an Islamic school just down the road from it, not sure if you are mixing those up.

Good point Re the eleven plus. Clitheroe and LGGS sit the same exam on the same day.

The op is Indian hence thinking it's not for them.

They do admit from other faiths (again on evidence that you attended and are involved in that faith). However it is a Christian school that teaches the Christian ethos. There are a significant number of children who get in church points either from attending one of the several CofE primary schools - again not just the ones in Lancaster or because the parents deliberately attended church to gain church points so their DC would get offered a place at Ripley.

So it's not full of practicing believing Christians by any means.

Not sure if the estate agents have improved in the last 6/7 years (at least now they all seem to have floor plans) but we found them very lacking compared to the ones in the SE.

We were moving long distance and had a decent mortgage free budget (only one bothered to ask about the size of our deposit!) yet we had to phone up and hassle them for viewings (don't do them on Sundays). They basically seemed clueless and some of the descriptions of "modern" kitchen/decor

@RandomMess ah sorry that serves me right for skimming through this morning!

"David I live right at the carnforth slip road and I have gotten to bulk road in 8 minutes."

I don't doubt it. The OP won't be working on Bulk Road though (unless she's got a job at Pizza Hut) and that's where the traffic starts isn't it.

Bit misleading to try and make her think she could live in Carnforth and commute to work in 8 minutes when that's so not true.

That said, traffic is much better since the Bay Gateway. The only places I've encountered traffic since are in Lancaster itself and south of the city.

I'd seriously look at Morecambe and Heysham. Prices are rising but still very reasonable

yet we had to phone up and hassle them for viewings

I've had to do that every time I've moved towns or cities - it's not just a Lancastrian thing! I sometimes wonder how estate agents make their money, frankly, given some of the daffy ones I've encountered - in large cities too!

We lived in NW Surrey which is pretty much the edge of Suburban London rather than leafy countryside.

EA are all hard sell there viewings arranged morning, evening, weekends... different world!

@RandomMess

LGGS is all on 11+ results not catchment.

Why are you moving to Lancaster?

Stay where you are and go private rather than increase your mortgage?

There are really lovely houses in your price range but Lancaster has many stunning historic terraces - where are you comparing to in Teesside? It's a very large area!

That’s not true at all! There is a catchment and everyone who passes the 11+ from the catchment gets a place, then the remaining places go to the highest scoring children from the “wider catchment”, which you can find on their website.

From Garstang etc, it would all depend on the other children who take the test on that day so there are no guarantees.

I think you’re going to have to make some compromises here unfortunately. There are houses within your budget, there are lovely 4 bed new builds and there are houses within the catchment but you can’t find one that satisfies all your criteria. Personally, I’d prioritise catchment area for LGGS. DS is at LRGS and it was the best decision ever! I’d be looking at Bolton-Le-Sands or Hest Bank or just biting the bullet and buying g one of the new houses in Halton which are very overpriced IMHO. St Wilfrid’s Primary School in Halton is excellent and you of course need to think about primary school as well as secondary. Mind you Hest Bank and Bolton-Le-Sands have excellent primary schools too.

If you prefer Garstang, which is lovely, Garstang Academy is a good school.

You’d be likely to get into QES from Hest Bank, Bolton-le-Sands or Halton. This is not a grammar school, so she would not take a test.

There are children who are Indian at Ripley but it is very religious and if a Church of England school. You would need to go to church to get in though.

@QueenoftheAir

feature in the next series of "The Bay"

Although the children's comments about a picnic at Heysham weren't exactly complimentary in the programme!

I'm puzzled as to why people recommend north of the Lune. But then I've always lived south of the river & in the central bit of town. It was great for the DC who were able to wander into the town centre to meet friends independently of me from their early teens (Oh dear I expect they were part of the teenage emo scene which congregated by the Museum back in the day ...)

I’d have been there with them if they were 😂

"Mind you Hest Bank and Bolton-Le-Sands have excellent primary schools too"

St Luke's is a massively over subscribed church school with people from the village not even guaranteed a place, and an OFSTED rating of "good". I wouldn't describe it as excellent tbh.

What's wrong with Morecambe? I reckon it's somewhere where there is going to be a huge property boom shortly. Some bits are a bit rough but there's plenty that isn't, and Heysham is full of money.

Morecambe may well have a property boom in the future? It's going to have to go some to lose its reputation and I think that's going to take some time.

There's a lot of Heysham /Hest Bank property not selling.

I worry about what will happen to Heysham once the power stations close. Where will the money come from then?

Heysham 3

Increased use of the port.

They didn't build the gateway to improve the lives of Morecambe's commuters!