Moses2013

You probably need to ask yourself what you want???
Ok, you have family in Warrington but would it be tragic to be 1 or 2 hours away and certainly won't be as far as NZ? No longer in the UK myself but Wales seemed really nice when we drove through early this year.

brits1

Hi,


If your main reason to move is to be near family then the North West is where you will be returning to, I would not personally live in Warrington but there are still nice areas nearby, it does depend on budget. Stockton Heath has a nice feel to it, Appleton which is nearer to the M56, Lymm also has a small village feel about it, Birchwood is being "sold" on it being an up and coming area. Frodsham on the otherside of the M56 is nice and near to Chester. Stretton, Grappenhall and Culcheth are nice areas. You could always look on the Wirral and areas near to Chester. The NW does have tons to offer. Good luck

Jerseygirl

Every time I see this thread it makes me feel homesick.

holly_1948

And bear in mind that you will have more free time if you are ten minutes from your workplace and half an hour from family as contrasted with ten minutes from family and half an hour from the workplace.

scrubbedexpat094

I think Gemini M&S when I see it .
Mention of Grappenhall brought back memories of doing my ballet and tap exams in a cold church hall. Happy days!

Victor Meldrew

Hello JG - which school did your sister work in? I worked in Warrington '82 - '01

Victor Meldrew

I lived in Warrington '82 - '13

Easier to answer your question if we knew:
1) What kind of area you want - Urban, Suburban, semi-rural, rural
2) What kind of local area - modern housing, more established/older
3) What type/size house - 2 bed terrace or 5 bed mansion?
4) Million dollar question (almost literally) how much do you have to spend.

Happy to give advice if I know the above

Victor Meldrew

Birchwood - 'up and coming'? it was a vibrant growing new town in the early 80's but wouldn't say that now. Many areas are quite dire and depressingly 'grey'

It has a wide range of social housing from large modern detached for the business person (Gorse Covert) to crappy little estates with drugs problems (Oakwood). I wouldn't live there. The High School gets lots of plaudits but has big behaviour problems and revolves very much around trying to cater for the worst pupils - IMHO

Jerseygirl

It's in a K message.

Victor Meldrew

What's a K message? I have looked at my private messages and nothing there

Jerseygirl

Hit the My Profile tab at the top left hand side of this page. Scroll down and you will see Karma messages.

Victor Meldrew

Got it.

I lived in that area at one time, but worked in 2 other schools in Warrington.

I knew some of the staff at the school you mention.

brits1

Yes I know about Birchwood, to some people though it might be a "step" up, depends on where you are "coming from".

Droidling

Just avoid Warrington FFS. Most able minded people tend to do so.
It's a horrendous sh*thole.
There I've said it.

MattHK88

How do I put this? Warrington is where spend from birth until 2012... it's a bit of a dump when you've travelled or worked abroad. We've travelled Asia and Australia/NZ before working in HK, and Warrington is now a little underwhelming.

There are nicer areas are over the river,e.g. Stockton Heath, Appleton, etc., which are nicer than the rest of the town. However, parts of the town can aren't that nice to live or even drive through. When we head back to see family, it seems that the only difference is a new retail park or housing estate. Oh, and the weather is typical NW English weather, i.e. rainy.

That said, we might be returning due to kids and wanting them to be close to family. Thus, Warrington/Appleton is our choice.

It's not all bad though. Shopping is good for a town and commuting is easy because of the motorways. However, if a motorway has a severe crash, expect the whole town to stop moving. Schools in the nicer areas are also well-rated and there are plenty of pubs, especially if you venture into the Cheshire countryside.

Overall, if I didn't have family in the area would I move back? Well. Not a chance. Are there worse places to live? Yes. Surrounding towns to name a few.

If you can handle a longer drive to see family, then Cheshire or Lancashire might be better.

For your reading you look at the following links... mixed data... the first is an old story though.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/6761766/Warrington-is-ranked-at-bottom-of-Government-backed-quality-of-life-survey.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3246111/Fancy-bit-culture-Definitely-don-t-Warrington-NO-listed-parks-NO-areas-natural-beauty-NO-battlefields-historical-ships-not-nice-old-pubs.html

http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/11075009.Lymm_and_Warrington_among_top_10_best_pla ces_to_live_in_north_west_and_top_101_in_the_count ry/