Beedubya

Any locals who can give me an insight into either of these two places please? I have no children of school age nor I am (quite ) a golden oldie, but just something in general along the lines of is it a nice place to live and would you live there?

Mummy in the foothills

We went there for a week in the summer when I was over visiting, we stayed in Heysham in a caravan by the sea. I quite liked it, they were doing up the front still in Morecambe
Heres the front. We found the further north we went on the coast the nicer it seemed. There was a nice big Asda in some new development and we went shopping in Lancaster one day I liked the town centre shopping, all pedestrianized. We even went to Lancaster infirmary A&E very friendly.
Not as nice a North Wales though

stargazelilly1

Hi Beedbudya

I am very familiar with the area...

Morecambe - I would never recommend anyone to live there. The area is getting more and more run down each time I have had to go there.


Heysham - pleasant is the word that comes to mind. Good place to retire!

If you want more info feel free to Pm me.

SGL

sallysimmons

I'm going to Carnforth and Milnthorpe to check them out in a couple of weeks so I'll let you know. Carnforth has good rail connections so it's easy to get anywhere from there - especially up to your beloved Lake District!

Beedubya

Yes I was thinking that Sally, I had a little google today.

I just saw 2 jobs advertised in these places but I don't know the areas at all, well except me and the ex husband went with the kids to Pontins in Morecambe for a week back in about 1977!!!

Mummy in the foothills

Have you had a walk about in Carnforth with google, it looks like a small quiet town, with some new homes on the outskirts.
Have a walk down the prom in Morcambe, not as nice as Carnforth.

sallysimmons

One of my closest friends has relatives who live in Morecambe and he says it's a dump. Sad because it has a beautiful location.

Bee, I've done a lot of Google Streetviewing around Carnforth and there are some wonderful villages if you like quiet settings. I can't wait to go check them out for myself.

sallysimmons

Ooh direct trains from Kendal ... so you could work there and live in Kendal

fulwood

I used to visit Morecambe as a child alot. I visited it a few years back on trip back to UK. It was like a ghost town. I would not recommend it for place to move or get a job. Carnforth is lovely but don't much about it as place to work. All those places around there like Arnside, Silverdale etc are lovely lovely places. This is my 2 cents' worth..

Morecambe Mindy

I'm in Morecambe at the moment visiting family (live in the Middle East now) and I enjoy it here as I have family and friends and went to school here so have quite a good social life.

I think there are certainly worse areas you can live ... Carnforth being one! Seriously, there is sod all there!

There are some lovely areas in Morecambe and it is a great base, with the Lakes only an hour's drive away. Have a look at Bare and Torrisholme... great bus routes and also the train from Bare gets you into Lancaster in 6 minutes, so great if you work in Lancaster (into Morecambe Station in about 7 or 8 minutes).

Have to say though, its supposed to be summer and its bloody freezing here

sallysimmons

These two posts pretty much sum up why we can never go on what other people say and have to decide for ourselves. One person's boring is another person's lovely, and one person's fun is another person's nightmare.

We have friends in Manchester and Leeds who think we're nuts for wanting to be in Kendal where 'nothing ever happens.' But for my social life I need a pub, a decent kitchen and my friends. My passion is painting and there's nowhere better than Kendal for that. Put me down in Manchester or London and I'd cry myself to sleep every night. (Don't ask me why I'm in NY - long story!)

But for others, those big cities are the be all and end all. And I truly think Carnforth and Morecambe are probably both great for the right people. So Bee, I think the truth is you're going to have to go and see for yourself. Sounds like a nice day out next weekend!

PS: C'mon .... you don't really want to go darn sarf do you?

albert_ed

Sallysimons is right about Kendal - great place!

There are a few other places worth considering....depends on budget and how much you want to travel to the larger cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh or London. London from Oxenholme-the-Lake District is achievable in 2.5hrs direct depending on the time of day.

Take a look at Grange-over-Sands, Silverdale areas which are coastal, but maybe a bit too quiet for you! Alternatively inland take a look at Kirkby Lonsdale (quaint, but pricey), Ingleton, Galgate, Hornby, Kendal, Bowness-on-Windermere.

Take a look at Rightmove for property prices, then get the postcode from the area and put it in Houseprices.co.uk to see what similar properties in the area sold for and deduct 25-30% from the asking price for starters!

Good luck!

ES1943

Bee, Morecambe is an area I'm considering. My mum preferred Blackpool so we rarely went to Morecambe when I was a child.

I was there for three days in July and the weather - for me! - was perfect! I like the cooler temps. I visited friends in Bolton back in February and we had a day there and it was grey and some shops were shuttered but in July I don't recall seeing any boarded up shops - probably just boarded for the season - and there were loads of people, families on the sand, etc.

I love that the tide really comes in - practically to the street! Compared to Southport where, even when the tide is in, it's still way out.

I must admit I prefer the village of Bare to central Morecambe but that's where all the shops seem to be clustered. There's a small Arndale (compared to Manchester's Arndale) which has a Tesco, Iceland, Boots, etc. Bare made me think "butcher, baker, candlestick maker". You have to go to Lancaster for a M&S and Lancaster has some nice shops.

I just happened to walk to Happy Mount Park on Sunday and a brass band was playing and folks had their fold up chairs, etc. And I loved having that nice new flat promenade for walking - with a view of the hills over the bay. There's bus service to Kendal/Keswick without going thru Lancaster - I think.

I did visit Heysham a couple of years ago but I need to return for a better look around.

It may not be my final stop, but it's definitely getting my attention for an intermediate stop.

Elaine

fatcat65

Hi Bee...if you want send me an e-mail of when you're coming to Morecambe and i'd be happy to meet up with you and show you around. We eventually settled here when we came back from Canada and although it was a culture shock at first we have settled in and love it here now. We live in a small village about 2 miles out of Morecambe called Slyne but is within easy reach of the Lancaster, Morecambe, and the Lakes. Carnforth is nice but the traffic is horrendous and there are nicer places around there.
Anyway if you would like a guide I'm only to happy to help.

robin1234

I don't know Morcambe but there was a really interesting, two-part BBC Radio 4 documentary about contemporary Morecambe a few months ago. (I heard it at the time, do not know if it is still available somehow.. as you may know, the iPlayer only makes programmes available for one week after broadcast.) The programme was broadly optimistic, but talked about the attempts to rejuvenate/revitalise the town and business folks who have opened restaurants, B&Bs and other businesses, but sometimes face failure because the town in general is not "improving" quickly enough.

Another reference is "Notes from a small island" by Bill Bryson. If I remember correctly, he has a whole chapter or part of a chapter rhapsodising about Morecambe.

Further.. I think that the Guardian property weekly feature "Let's Move To.." featured Morecambe a few moths ago. Yes, here it is.