Where's a nice place to raise your family

[brumps]

We live in Rochdale about 20 mins from Manchester and we hate it. I'm starting to panick as our eldest stars high school in a few years and we'd like to be moved and settled first the only thing is we can't decide where to move to. Any suggestions for a nice family area where we could afford a house and still have a life.Any suggestions on how to go about figuring this out? Be really gratefull be really gratefull for any advice

[coco pops]

I think firstly you have to decide if you want to live near the area where you now live or make a complete break. All places have their downsides In a country area you have to travel a lot by car to out of hour doctors, activities for growing children etc.I've never been to Rochdale but i have been to Greenfield and Dobcross near Oldham they seem nice. Don't rush into moving .look on the internet at property prices.

[warpig3]

Dont rush into anything, do your homework first. I live in a beautiful little town which has everything you could ask for and no trouble that I can see, but I dont know anyone and have no family here which detracts from the enjoyment of it. Sometimes the things that you take for granted are the most important.

[showcatbenga]

I grew up in Rochdale (20+ years ago). We lived in Bamford - a 'nice' area & I have great memories but when I return I am shocked at how much it has changed. it is much more built up now & I suppose you need to think about what you need from the place that you live. Do you want to be more rural? Better transport links? Less densely populated? Better facilities for sport, leisure, socialising, education? How flexible are you with your job? Anywhere can be horrible if you have little or no income to enjoy it. You figure it out by answering as many questions as you can about as many aspects of your lives as possible. Be clear about what you will compromise on & whether youneed to be near your work or other family members. In 2000 I moved from North Cheshire to West Sussex with my 13yo daughter only to find that she was at least a year ahead in her school work & was well used to working to a much higher standard. I can only suggest that you start by looking at areas close to where you live - like Bury, Heywood, Castleton, Littleborough to see if they are much different. Let us know how you go on?

[happyjo]

I grew up in Saddlewoth, its lovely, especially for kids. Saddlewoth School is ( or was) excellent ( I went there so it has to be .. although it was 20 odd years ago)

Uppermill, is the busiest village more pubs, shops and the largest of the villages that make up Saddleworth.

Saddleworth generally is really expensive to buy houses, so you may want to look at the outskirts, Grotton, Springhead and Lydgate.

If you want to move away completely, then I suggest Southport.. Its excellent for kids, has hundreds of junior schools and plenty of high schools which, you can choose. There is no feeder school system and you can select the high school you prefer.

[brumps]

Hi thanks for your answers. I thinki the main problem we have is theres so many different things to consider as you've said. at first we decided to make a clean break and we did consider going abroad, if we didn't already have kids we'd of been gone. They are the reason we really want to move though.
The whole of rochdale is an awfull place to live now. Bamford is nice but we'd be really stretched to buy a house there and rochdale centre would still be our main town.
also the only decent high school in my opinion is a church school so we couldn't get a place.
We did look into southport but then I felt it may be too far away from family. The only thing is I don't know if we'll find anywhere we're happy with close by.
I do love the idea of a little village but I wouldnt like to be miles away from everything, don't think I could cope without my Tesco.
I don't think any of us would have a problem with employment, because of what we do.my husband at the moment runs his own bussiness so we did think we'd stay close enough for him to commute but with the way things are going at the moment with the credit crisis we're worried work will dry up anyway, he fits bathrooms and kitchens which people don't seem to be able to afford as much these days anyway.
Its just such a big dececion I'm really worried about moving and then hating it. it's driving me a little crazy to be honest

[brumps]

Sorry about the essay of a reply there ha. Really am gratefull for your advice thankyou

[raysparx1]

Well I was born and bred in London, but moved out years ago, we moved to North Wales and it was the best thing we ever did, love it here so peacefull and the local people are really lovely. would never go back to a big town. good luck in your search for happiness, Ray

[spudqueen]

Well, as has already been said, a lot depends on whether you want rural or town, how far you are prepared to move and whether you would be able to afford where you want to move to. Having said that - places you could consider are Clitheroe and Longridge (both in Lancashire) - both an hours drive at most from Rochdale, both are small towns with good countryside around and both have good schools. Or there is south Manchester - Altrincham, Timperley and Sale.

Have a day out in any place you think you may move to, taking into consideration the time it takes to get there, and have a good look round, looking at local facilities shops, transport, schools and estate agents.

Good luck.