Where's a good place to retire to in North west England or North Wales?

rlw

GuyR said:

rlw said:

North West 3 is rather nice.

Sagely observed, and North West one is tolerable in parts too. The weather in both tends towards agreeable.

Indeed, one could live a lifetime in one or the other with no need to venture further north than the edge of the Heath.

SteveRobinson

ToneControl said:

I had lunch in the pub in Thelwall a few times around 2000, very nice

The Little Manor? When I was a member of the TR Register it's where we used to meet up.

rawk100

Theres some quite nice villages on the furness peninsula (Urswick, Stainton, Bardsea, etc) but stay clear of Barrow...

ToneControl

Snap said:

I'm from Lancs, still have family there, and I go regularly. Moved cross pennines 30 years ago. The northwest is wet, that's just a fact. N Wales is worse. It's the main reason we never moved back despite the people being the best in the world and the landscape is lovely. If you want dry, head east, gets drier the further east you go, but the land is flat, and I'd miss hills.

So, places to think about.

The area north of Morecambe, but south of Cumbria is nice. Silverdale, Carnforth, Arnside etc.

Morecambe is depressing. Seriously so. There have long been rumours of the bridge across the bay, but tbh that would only connect two grim places together - Morecambe and Barrow. 

Ribble Valley is very nice. Not everywhere is daft money. Clitheroe is a nice town to base yourself near, or in, and the prices aren't daft. Villages like Whalley, Billington are v nice indeed. But Whalley is expensive.

Hurst Green is a pretty place, as is Mitton, Chaigley, Bashall Eaves. Longridge and Ribchester could be worth looking at. Big villages. 

Mellor and Mellor Brook are nice, right on the border of the Ribble Valley that edges on Blackburn (a dive btw).
Talking Blackburn, Pleasington is a well heeled place, but likely expensive.

The area between Blackburn & Bolton, the rural bit is not bad, and not pricey. But both towns are a bit grim, but then you don't have to go there.

There are some more affordable places on the edge of the Ribble Valley, towards Burnley and Padiham. Still rural, but the proximity to Burnley brings the prices down.

North Lancs that borders North & W Yorks and Cumbria is very nice too.

Rural areas towards W Lancs may be worth a look. 

All depends what you want really. For me, the Ribble Valley has it all though, and you don't necessarily have to pay through the nose to live there. I suppose it depends what you mean by expensive really. 

At the other end of the county, Ramsbottom is always rated highly. West Pennine Moors area has some nice villages, as does the area north of Rochdale - but it gets a bit remote in some parts.

Generally speaking, when it comes to Lancashire, the main towns are all a bit gritty, and some are very run down, but the rural areas and places in between then are very nice. 

Just thought, the area around Skipton, and Skipton is worth a look. Lovely round there.

And another thought - what about the northern end of the Peak District? Tideswell, Eyam? Or a bit further up, Whaley Bridge? Even Buxton perhaps? Not too far from where you are now really, but very cool to retire to. 

yep, I inherited my wife's attitude that Cheshire was posh and expensive, we liked Manchester, love the people around Bolton where we half-lived for a bit. We lived 5 miles north of Manchester for a long time. So we looked for years around Lancs, everywhere was rainy and damp looking, albeit verdant, and surprisingly expensive I thought other than places like Bacup

In the end I was lucky enough to work with some guys who told me that Cheshire was cheap once you get past Knutsford, they were right, it's as cheap as Lancs, and the weather is better.

I used to drive up the M6 every day, it was always raining around Preston, always dry once you got near to Blackpool
So I know that the flat west coast has far less rain, same in Ravenglass my mate told me, the first few miles get much better weather.

I'll price up those places, thanks for those, but I'm guessing they are still no cheaper than Cheshire

jonnyburgo

Whaley Bridge is a cracking spot, gateway to the Peaks, hills, canals, great walking/cycling on your doorstep. And still pretty affordable although a few city folk have moved there during lockdown so the prices are rising. My mate lives there and its on our radar.

Musicwolf

SteveRobinson said:

ToneControl said:

I had lunch in the pub in Thelwall a few times around 2000, very nice

The Little Manor? When I was a member of the TR Register it's where we used to meet up.

There are two.  The Little Manor (formerly the Cottage Hotel, but that was a very long time ago) and The Pickering Arms where we used to perform a couple of times each year (scene of our last gig, Christmas 2019, and set to be our first back at 'Pickfest' in August this year).

ToneControl

SteveRobinson said:

ToneControl said:

I had lunch in the pub in Thelwall a few times around 2000, very nice

The Little Manor? When I was a member of the TR Register it's where we used to meet up.

I'm starting to think that it was the Horseshoe in Croft that we went to for our Friday team lunches

it was more pricey than the Packhorse in Culcheth, which did large fish and chips for £5, that was the most popular!

ToneControl

jonnyburgo said:

Whaley Bridge is a cracking spot, gateway to the Peaks, hills, canals, great walking/cycling on your doorstep. And still pretty affordable although a few city folk have moved there during lockdown so the prices are rising. My mate lives there and its on our radar.

my mate lived there, lovely place

RustySpanner

Rawtenstall has become the new Ramsbottom, going up in the world, but still affordable. 
Bacup and Haslingden are appalling, small minded,  racism and class A fuelled shitholes. 
See also Accrington. 

Whalley, Clitheroe etc are lovely, but the Ribble Valley itself is flat, soulless and appears to populated entirely by self entitled NIMBIES who cannot drive a Range Rover Sport. 
Preston is likely to become the new Rochdale due to chronic under investment and apathy, although the market is nice. 

We moved to the edge of Burnley about 10 years ago, it's lovely. 
Burnley has had a crazy amount of investment. 
It's clean, friendly, is convenient for the Dales, North Wales and the Lakes. Good hospital, excellent health provision (in comparison to the rest of the area) and enough shopping to keep you happy. 
It also has proper hills, with more walking and cycling than you could explore in a lifetime. 
We have Towneley Park just behind us and the Pennine Bridleway just across the road. 
If you are at all outdoorsy, it's bliss. 

Blackburn, in contrast is a one way bombsite populated by Neanderthals, Cheshire is in the Midlands and should be ignored entirely and Blackpool should be towed out to the sea and bombed. 

The Calder Valley is OK, apart from the flooding and soul rotting sense of doom.
Hebden Bridge is full of violent alcoholic yoots and has a massive issue with mental health because no one has seen the sun since they all moved to the bottom of the valley 150 years ago. 
Todmorden is the same, but hasn't been rolled in glitter. 
Mytholmroyd is the pick of the bunch, but is still a bit odd. 

Skipton is nice though....

PudWud

RustySpanner said:

Rawtenstall has become the new Ramsbottom, going up in the world, but still affordable. 
Bacup and Haslingden are appalling, small minded,  racism and class A fuelled shitholes. 
See also Accrington. 

Agreed on all counts. I live in the Ramsbottom area, and really like Rawtenstall. 
The only time I ever go to Haslingden is to go to the tip. I always avoid Bacup and Accrington. 

Axe_meister

Why go North, I'd go South West myself. The weather is far warmer, house prices are reasonable and a bit closer to transport to the continent. 

Snap

RustySpanner said:

Rawtenstall has become the new Ramsbottom, going up in the world, but still affordable. 
Bacup and Haslingden are appalling, small minded,  racism and class A fuelled shitholes. 
See also Accrington. 

Whalley, Clitheroe etc are lovely, but the Ribble Valley itself is flat, soulless and appears to populated entirely by self entitled NIMBIES who cannot drive a Range Rover Sport. 
Preston is likely to become the new Rochdale due to chronic under investment and apathy, although the market is nice. 

We moved to the edge of Burnley about 10 years ago, it's lovely. 
Burnley has had a crazy amount of investment. 
It's clean, friendly, is convenient for the Dales, North Wales and the Lakes. Good hospital, excellent health provision (in comparison to the rest of the area) and enough shopping to keep you happy. 
It also has proper hills, with more walking and cycling than you could explore in a lifetime. 
We have Towneley Park just behind us and the Pennine Bridleway just across the road. 
If you are at all outdoorsy, it's bliss. 

Blackburn, in contrast is a one way bombsite populated by Neanderthals, Cheshire is in the Midlands and should be ignored entirely and Blackpool should be towed out to the sea and bombed. 

The Calder Valley is OK, apart from the flooding and soul rotting sense of doom.
Hebden Bridge is full of violent alcoholic yoots and has a massive issue with mental health because no one has seen the sun since they all moved to the bottom of the valley 150 years ago. 
Todmorden is the same, but hasn't been rolled in glitter. 
Mytholmroyd is the pick of the bunch, but is still a bit odd. 

Skipton is nice though....

How is the Ribble Valley flat? Exhibit A - Pendle Hill. Exhibit B - Whalley Nab. Exhibit C- Birdy Brow. Valleys have hills around them. It's flipping full of hills!

Accrington? Are you being serious? Accy has always been rough as a badger's chuff. It's a proper sinkhole and is often cited as a prime example of urban decay. Mind you, you will always get a good display of jogging kecks and tracksuits there. 

I think choosing between living in Burnley and Blackburn is like choosing between eating cat turd or dog turd. Both would upset you greatly, ha!

Areas round Beacon Fell are nice too. 

you're not wrong about Hebden - what a weird place. Full of pretentious home schooling types too. And yeah, it does feel oppressive, you are spot on there. I think it's cos it's in a valley, and it's always wet and miserable. Trades Club is good though.

RustySpanner

  

Trades Club is excellent. 

Blackburn and Burnley are examples of how different places can evolve. 
Investment brings pride in one's environment. Pride changes the way people behave. 
Burnley has very little litter. It's a clean town. Much less than most areas of Manchester for example. 
Blackburn is filthy. Litter everywhere. Crap dumped all over the place. 
I think it comes down to investment and planning. 
Burnley now has lots of world class tech moving in. 
Huge investment in places like the Victoria Mill UCLAN development, which have completely transformed the areas surrounding them. 
Burnley has an extraordinary amount of  clean, safe green spaces radiating from the centre - Thompson Park, Towneley Park, Rowley Lake etc. 
Blackburn is sadly lacking in these spaces. 
Much less industrial, semi derelict sprawl in Burnley. 


It all adds up and makes a noticeable difference. 

Stratavarious

Grange over sands on the Cumbrian Riviera.. nice little micro climate.   Lakes itself is wet.

Arnside on other side of estuary and Silverdale are better connected. Lancaster and Preston hospitals nearer.

Swathe from Clitheroe across through Skipton, Otley, Ilkley and on to Masham & Ripon is nice zone and Leeds and York are handy..

Richmond, Barnard Castle and the Durham environs further north are nice.   Weardale and Tynedale are good.  Alnwick is def. nice but starting to get remote... stay away from Northumbria.  

77ric

How wedded to the idea of the north west are you? Honestly if your wanting better weather (who doesn’t) I’d be looking to the east. 

If I was in your position I’d be seriously considering York and the surrounding towns/villages. Or Perth, just not the one in Scotland (lovely though it is). 

Either way good luck

ToneControl

77ric said:

How wedded to the idea of the north west are you? Honestly if your wanting better weather (who doesn’t) I’d be looking to the east. 

If I was in your position I’d be seriously considering York and the surrounding towns/villages. Or Perth, just not the one in Scotland (lovely though it is). 

Either way good luck

worth a look!

rlw

Can't beat York and Yorkshire generally.

Except maybe NW3 or SW7

Nitefly

Don't dismiss the Costa Geriatrica (Fylde coast south of Blackpool) too quickly. 

While it's true that Lytham is expensive, and Blackpool is a hole, there's a nice bit between St Annes and Lytham which is known as Ansdell and Fairhaven, in which property prices are much friendlier than in Lytham. 

It seems to have its own little micro-climate, in which it rarely rains and never freezes.  There's a rail link (once an hour) to Preston, pleasant walk along the front to Lytham for nice shops and pubs/eateries, sand dunes, golf courses...

My mum has a 2-bedroom ground floor flat about 50 yards from the Fairhaven pub, and I'm seriously thinking about selling up and moving into it when she hands in her dinner plate.

ToneControl

Nitefly said:

Don't dismiss the Costa Geriatrica (Fylde coast south of Blackpool) too quickly. 

While it's true that Lytham is expensive, and Blackpool is a hole, there's a nice bit between St Annes and Lytham which is known as Ansdell and Fairhaven, in which property prices are much friendlier than in Lytham. 

It seems to have its own little micro-climate, in which it rarely rains and never freezes.  There's a rail link (once an hour) to Preston, pleasant walk along the front to Lytham for nice shops and pubs/eateries, sand dunes, golf courses...

My mum has a 2-bedroom ground floor flat about 50 yards from the Fairhaven pub, and I'm seriously thinking about selling up and moving into it when she hands in her dinner plate.

Looked nice to me when I worked around there

ToneControl

ToneControl said:

Nitefly said:

Don't dismiss the Costa Geriatrica (Fylde coast south of Blackpool) too quickly. 

While it's true that Lytham is expensive, and Blackpool is a hole, there's a nice bit between St Annes and Lytham which is known as Ansdell and Fairhaven, in which property prices are much friendlier than in Lytham. 

It seems to have its own little micro-climate, in which it rarely rains and never freezes.  There's a rail link (once an hour) to Preston, pleasant walk along the front to Lytham for nice shops and pubs/eateries, sand dunes, golf courses...

My mum has a 2-bedroom ground floor flat about 50 yards from the Fairhaven pub, and I'm seriously thinking about selling up and moving into it when she hands in her dinner plate.

Looked nice to me when I worked around there

wow, very good prices