Moving to Chester............

[E24man]

Can anyone with any local knowledge recommend any good areas to live within 15-20 mins drive of Chester or Deeside/Queensferry.

We are relocating to the area from Yorkshire and know very little/nothing about any nice places to live or good schools for our little girl.

My wife doesn't want to be more than 15-20 mins from work (Deeside/Queensferry) and a good school for our daughter who is 4 next Birthday. We are after a big-ish 4 or 5 bed detached house with off road parking/garaging for at least four cars and have a 6-800k budget. I have looked on rightmove and there seems to be some nice houses at Neston, Broughton, in and around Chester and just into Wales as well.

Two nice schools have been mentioned; Queens Girls school in Chester and Helsby School; and some people have mentioned Frodsham and Delamire Forest as nice places to live.

We would be very grateful for any advice at all.

Thanks in advance.

Sharkfan

[Scottish Exile]

I moved to Alltami, a small village between Buckley and Mold two years ago. Absolutely love it here and can't see me ever wanting to leave. I even gave up my job last year when my company wanted to relocate me.

I'm 3 miles to Queensferry, and a 20 minute drive to Chester. Do a search of Mold in Rightmove and see what comes up. You get a lot for your money in these parts and your budget will get you a very smart property.

I would save being in Wales (Flintshire) will give you a bigger property than if you went to Chester.

Feel free to ask any questions. Always difficult getting the low down on an area if you're moving from afar. I didn't know the area at all when I came here, but truly love it.

[prg1]

Are you looking for private schooling?

[mybrainhurts]

E24man said:

We would be very grateful for any advice at all.

Don't get too friendly with their sheep, they get jealous...

[E24man]

prg1 said:

Are you looking for private schooling?

Not quite sure on this - we can just about afford it so it's up for consideration as we only have one child and no others are on the cards. Why do you ask?

Scottish Exile - thank you for your advice.

mybrainhurts - never interfere in another man's relationship - no matter how strange it might appear...

[prg1]

Obviously Chester has a few private schools. Over the border they are further apart.
If you are looking for good state schools, it will limit teh towns and villages you are looking at more.

[TimmD]

Hi,
I moved to the area a few years ago with very similar requirements. We rented at first and would suggest this to any one moving to the area. I'm sure it applies to lots of areas but around Chester has lots of different areas (country / county / city) with lots of different "personalities" The area we first wanted to move too is now the last area we would buy in.

You asked about schools, this is worth spending some more time on, as is the private vs state thought process. The closer to Chester you are the more private choice, but some of the state schools get a bit more inner city and they vary a lot. (My wife is a state school teacher around Chester)

The paper you need to look for is the Chester Cronical, this has the best property section and is out on thursday. It has rentals as well as sales. There are also a few large estates that rent some lovely properties, eg the Grovesnor Estate. These are well worth renting off as the houses tend to be good value. Also Cholmondeley Estate rent nice houses, plus it hosts interesting events.

If you need more please contact me, and i'll try to break down the areas a bit more.

Good luck,

Tim

[E24man]

Thanks for all the replies - off to look at some rentals tomorrow - initially in the Frodsham/Tarporley/Chester triangle and then into Chester and the west-side of the Wirral and Wales next week. There is a wider selection and far more value for money in Wales but I really don't the area and travelling times to Deeside and Chester.

[RWA441]

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...

Beatiful area, lovely views, country park on your doorstep, friendly village pub, not far from the EVO triangle and only 20mins to Deeside, 25/30mins to Chester and you'll have some change to spend on cars!

[BEP]

RWA441 said:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...

Beatiful area, lovely views, country park on your doorstep, friendly village pub, not far from the EVO triangle and only 20mins to Deeside, 25/30mins to Chester and you'll have some change to spend on cars!

I look across the valley to Cilcain...seriously have a look around this area (I live in Rhosesmor and originally from Lixwm, have a look on rightmove), I work in Deeside and it's 10 minutes....
School wise (private that is) you've got Howells' in denbigh 20 mins away and Ruthin boys school...however Kings and Queens do get a much better write up I believe.

For what you'd get for your money (there's an 8 bed country house in Rhydymwyn for £850k) this area takes some beating....if you need any help or pointing in the right direction in the area let me know

Cheers
Bryn

[RWA441]

BEP said:

I look across the valley to Cilcain...seriously have a look around this area (I live in Rhosesmor and originally from Lixwm, have a look on rightmove), I work in Deeside and it's 10 minutes....
School wise (private that is) you've got Howells' in denbigh 20 mins away and Ruthin boys school...however Kings and Queens do get a much better write up I believe.

For what you'd get for your money (there's an 8 bed country house in Rhydymwyn for £850k) this area takes some beating....if you need any help or pointing in the right direction in the area let me know

Cheers
Bryn

I'm just 1/4mile from Cilcain in Pantymwyn! It really is a fantastic area to live, I've lived in the area for 32yrs and won't go much further than 1/2 mile radius of where I am at the min. Got my eye on a place in Rhydymwyn at the min funnily enough...........not the 850k one though!!

[E24man]

Given the above posts and their recommendations it was a bit weird that we ended up viewing properties in Rhydymwyn and Kinnerton today - both of which were fantastic and we might be on our way to. We also looked at some boxes in Boughton and Waverton, both just about meeting the minimum of requirements but one house was a spectacularly uninspiring 1970's creation.

We finally get up to the Wirral tomorrow but finding houses anywhere on the Wirral that will take cats and dogs is a needle in a haystack - are they all too posh up there?

We have counted up this evening how many houses we have enquired about (50+), how many we have viewed (16) and how many we really liked (2 !)

The hunt goes on and becomes a little complicated as we will need to shortlist by this September some schools for our daughter to start attending the following September (2012) - hopefully by then we will at least know where we might/have been/should be living!

[Richard C]

I live inside Wales in the hills above Caergwrle between Wrexham and Deeside wher I work. There are some really great places in this area and you get more for your money just a few miles west. The Chester private school setup is reportely good but the Welsh state sector did my 2 kids no harm at all ( both in leading unis ) and is or at least was better prioritised and funded than the equivalent across the border. Wife was a teacher in state school primary sector - your daughter probably should be able to attend school this September in Wales. Some rural schools get good results.

Edited by Richard C on Thursday 16th June 18:21

[Wales]

Hi. I currently live in Hawarden which is a lovely village and my daughter attends one of the three local Primary Schools. The Welsh curriculum is failing her. The learning through play is failing and all Welsh schools are a year behind academically compared to those in England, Scotland and Ireland. Wales also has the worst Gcse results year on year. A new method of teaching English has been introduced for this coming September in Wales Primary Schools as the current teaching methods are failing. My daughter has been successful in her entrance exam and subsequently offered a place at the Lower Queens School in Chester from September. She will not have to learn Welsh. It is compulsory in Wales and in my honest opinion a waste of a subject. I studied Welsh and I can no longer read or write Welsh as it is not a subject that I have required to use since leaving school. Tarporley is a beautiful village with excellent Primary and Secondary Schools. Bunbury is very close to Tarporley and Bunbury Primary School is very good. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind Regards.

[Evo141n]

E24man said:

We have counted up this evening how many houses we have enquired about (50+), how many we have viewed (16) and how many we really liked (2 !)

So how about getting your own built, the way you really like?

[BEP]

Wales said:

Hi. I currently live in Hawarden which is a lovely village and my daughter attends one of the three local Primary Schools. The Welsh curriculum is failing her. The learning through play is failing and all Welsh schools are a year behind academically compared to those in England, Scotland and Ireland. Wales also has the worst Gcse results year on year. A new method of teaching English has been introduced for this coming September in Wales Primary Schools as the current teaching methods are failing. My daughter has been successful in her entrance exam and subsequently offered a place at the Lower Queens School in Chester from September. She will not have to learn Welsh. It is compulsory in Wales and in my honest opinion a waste of a subject. I studied Welsh and I can no longer read or write Welsh as it is not a subject that I have required to use since leaving school. Tarporley is a beautiful village with excellent Primary and Secondary Schools. Bunbury is very close to Tarporley and Bunbury Primary School is very good. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind Regards.

Anything else you want to get off your chest about Wales??? The ability to read and write Welsh can come in very handy in a large number of jobs in later life, for yourself perhaps not but many people benefit from it....lets not have this thread turned into a 'Welsh is a waste of time' thread....anyway how's the house hunting going?

[Google [bot]]

BEP said:

The ability to read and write Welsh can come in very handy in a large number of jobs in later life

Steady on boyo!

Edited by Google [bot] on Wednesday 22 June 23:38

[BEP]

Google [bot] said:

Steady on boyo!

Edited by Google [bot] on Wednesday 22 June 23:38

It can and indeed is a pre-requisite in a number of Council/Police jobs in Wales...(certainly the understanding of the language)

[SAGRIFF]

Google [bot] said:

BEP said:

The ability to read and write Welsh can come in very handy in a large number of jobs in later life

Steady on boyo!

though he is right, I was turned down for a job in the North Wales fire service because I couldn't speak welsh, I was told by them that they were actively recruiting gay and lesbian ethnic minorities who could speak Welsh, I st you not.

[E24man]

Right.

Had a great day today and found suitable rental properties in Littleton and Mollington around Chester, and Rossett and Flint Mountain in Wales. Still have Neston on a back-burner so PLEASE !!!! Any opinions on any of these places; whether it be about the area, the schools, the traffic, ANYTHING.

Each house has a slight compromise so myself and my good Lady are just about to (after a 450 mile 11 hour driving day) fall into a bottle or two of red and try and figure out a pecking order - we're back to Chester tomorrow to see another potential in Laches Lane but it might not make the short-list.

Many thanks for everyone's input so far.

Cheers.