Places to live around Chester

waspy88 · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:39

Hello Chaps..

Lived in Manchester all my life pretty much with some brief spells in the big smoke for a year or so. I might have to move to Chester with a new work opportunity.

On the off chance that any of you live around there; where is the best place to live?

I'd ideally like to be near the center if possible with schools etc for my daughter. But limited to around £900PCM for a 3bed.

One negative is I don't drive so would be looking for somewhere near bus routes into Chester business park.

Any ideas welcome

mrmoose · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:46

Hoole and Handbridge

doofer · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:49

Blacon.

peterwalkley · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:51

doofer said:
Blacon.

Ignore this.

You want to learn to drive though. Chester public transport isn't comparable to what you have in Manc.

UTmaniac · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:58

Maybe try to find a place to live in Wirral instead if the girls are around secondary school age, in the catchment area for West Kirby Grammar School? There is reasonable train access to Chester from the peninsula, some direct and some with a single change at Hooton, if I recall correctly.

My folks settled down in Wirral just as I finished my first year of secondary in the mid 80s, I passed the 12+ to get into Calday Grange Grammar and a few years later, my sister passed her 11+ to qualify for West Kirby. Did us both the world of good.

Andy90 · 26 Jun 2015 at 20:06

Chester Business Park on Wrexham Road, Chester is on the main bus route between Chester and Wrexham and has regular services running in both directions from early morning to late evening. Buses normally terminate in Princess Street Chester which is smack bang in the middle of the City Centre.

Wrexham Road has a good cycle pathway separated from traffic that takes you straight into the Business Park.

Handbridge is well within Cycling and walking distance of the Business Park.

Hoole is on the opposite side of the City Centre and River Dee from the Business Park.

Chester is an odd town. It has some very expensive areas and some quite socially deprived areas and due to the fact that it really is nothing more than a big town, they're unusually close to each other. As an example in Curzon Park which overlooks the River Dee and the Racecourse, there are houses selling for £1,000,000+, whilst less than half a mile away in the Lache, you have some of the most deprived areas in the County of Cheshire.

Handbridge is a nice area, the majority of the properties there are Terraced Houses with a large area of Council Houses which have mostly been purchased over the years. Alongside Handbridge is Queens Park, which has a mixture of large Victorian Villas overlooking the River which are mega expensive and 1970's detatched houses.

Handbridge has two main Schools situated within it, Queens Park High and Catholic High. There are a number of Infants Schools in that area too.

Upton is a Nice area along with Huntington, but as they're some of the nicer areas rents tend to be higher.

Blacon and Lache - although there are some comparatively quiet areas, they're the problem estates in Chester.

As things go though, Chester I suspect will be a pleasant change from Manchester.

waspy88 · 26 Jun 2015 at 21:35

Thanks for your help guys

Given me to lot to the short-list this weekend.