Discussion
Hi all,
Looking for some advice / information from the collective.
My wife and I are looking at moving to Shropshire. We’ve visited the county on quite a few occasions, however have never lived there.
We currently live to the south of Manchester and fancy somewhere a bit more rural (less traffic, slower pace etc etc).
Does anyone here live in Shropshire now or previously? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the county; what’s good, what’s bad, where’s the best areas to live etc..
We’re after a detached house, ideally with some land (a paddock or two, circa 1 to 3 acres). Ideally we’d be on the edge of, or near a village with a few amenities.
We have a young son, so schools are a consideration.
Your feedback appreciated 😀
Looking for some advice / information from the collective.
My wife and I are looking at moving to Shropshire. We’ve visited the county on quite a few occasions, however have never lived there.
We currently live to the south of Manchester and fancy somewhere a bit more rural (less traffic, slower pace etc etc).
Does anyone here live in Shropshire now or previously? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the county; what’s good, what’s bad, where’s the best areas to live etc..
We’re after a detached house, ideally with some land (a paddock or two, circa 1 to 3 acres). Ideally we’d be on the edge of, or near a village with a few amenities.
We have a young son, so schools are a consideration.
Your feedback appreciated 😀
Hello there,
I live in Shropshire (when I’m back in the UK), and have lived there pretty much my whole life. There’s a lot going for it, I think. My house is in Shrewsbury, it’s a town of around 70,000, which makes it busy and big enough to get everything you need but also reasonably friendly. It’s a very picturesque place, being as it is in the loop of the River Severn, and the town has some great and varied architecture, some decent pubs and restaurants, and a good market with an excellent fishmonger.
Outside of the county town, the area I would suggest looking at is around Church Stretton. I have close family in Little Stretton, which is picture-postcard perfect, almost to the point of taking the mickey.
I’m not up with national property prices, but I think in Shropshire they are probably relatively sensible. We’re at the end of the M54 and not all that well-placed for London access, although it’s possible to get to Euston in about 3 hours by train.
I live in Shropshire (when I’m back in the UK), and have lived there pretty much my whole life. There’s a lot going for it, I think. My house is in Shrewsbury, it’s a town of around 70,000, which makes it busy and big enough to get everything you need but also reasonably friendly. It’s a very picturesque place, being as it is in the loop of the River Severn, and the town has some great and varied architecture, some decent pubs and restaurants, and a good market with an excellent fishmonger.
Outside of the county town, the area I would suggest looking at is around Church Stretton. I have close family in Little Stretton, which is picture-postcard perfect, almost to the point of taking the mickey.
I’m not up with national property prices, but I think in Shropshire they are probably relatively sensible. We’re at the end of the M54 and not all that well-placed for London access, although it’s possible to get to Euston in about 3 hours by train.
covmutley said:
There's a big thread on here about places to retire that has a lot of info about Shropshire.
I suppose some may not be relevant to your situation, but a good start I expect
That'll be this one - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...I suppose some may not be relevant to your situation, but a good start I expect
bookmarked for very distant future!
I moved from the Hampshire Surrey border to just outside Oswestry 9 years ago and love it up here. If you are used to living in a city the lack of nearby things may be a bit of a shock. The market towns have day to day stuff, but simple things like decent sized supermarkets or diy stores are a decent drive away. The sort of place you are looking for is going to be difficult to find, and if you do they are in big demand right now.
It's a very friendly place to live, and its never really busy anywhere.
It's a very friendly place to live, and its never really busy anywhere.
Much Wenlock here.
The market is mental at the moment, loads of hideously overpriced crap and anything half decent is only on the market for a few days.
I think prices here have risen very disproportionately as the county always offered very good value on larger country homes and that's what the whole country has been going mental for the last year and a bit.
Overall though the county is lovely, as are the surrounding areas in West Worcestershire, all of Herefordshire and over the Welsh border where it gets even quieter.
Schools can be hit and miss, the authority has closed many of the smaller village schools and, predictably, the better ones that remain are sought after and can be hard to get into. My stepdaughter (secondary) moved here 3 years ago from overseas and we had to appeal to get her in anything remotely local. There are some excellent independent options which are good value compared to busier areas, if you may be considering that option.
The market is mental at the moment, loads of hideously overpriced crap and anything half decent is only on the market for a few days.
I think prices here have risen very disproportionately as the county always offered very good value on larger country homes and that's what the whole country has been going mental for the last year and a bit.
Overall though the county is lovely, as are the surrounding areas in West Worcestershire, all of Herefordshire and over the Welsh border where it gets even quieter.
Schools can be hit and miss, the authority has closed many of the smaller village schools and, predictably, the better ones that remain are sought after and can be hard to get into. My stepdaughter (secondary) moved here 3 years ago from overseas and we had to appeal to get her in anything remotely local. There are some excellent independent options which are good value compared to busier areas, if you may be considering that option.
Edited by theboss on Tuesday 5th October 17:57
Oswestry here.
Where do you need to commute to and what's the budget?
Good schools in the Overton on Dee/Whitchurch/Malpas triangle if not quite all in Shropshire.
Penley and Malpas for secondary especially.
Some excellent independent schools locally in N Shropshire varying in price range. If commute is not an issue would look at Powys as you'll find something with land a little easier at the right money.
Where do you need to commute to and what's the budget?
Good schools in the Overton on Dee/Whitchurch/Malpas triangle if not quite all in Shropshire.
Penley and Malpas for secondary especially.
Some excellent independent schools locally in N Shropshire varying in price range. If commute is not an issue would look at Powys as you'll find something with land a little easier at the right money.
Another Oswestry resident here.
It's a nice friendly town with most of the basic shops.
I can imagine if you are a teenager it seems pretty dull no cinema etc although plenty of sports.
Road commute anywhere I can imagine is pretty tedious traffic levels have risen hugely in recent years and the single carriageway A5 and multiple roundabouts make it slow going.
Decent properties especially semi rural have shot up in price and get snapped up quickly.
Lots of surrounding villages have expanded with facilities not keeping up so places like Knockin and Baschurch have doctors surgeries but they are not big enough to cope with the influx of newcomers.
Still slightly cheaper over the border in Powys but difference is getting less.
It's a nice friendly town with most of the basic shops.
I can imagine if you are a teenager it seems pretty dull no cinema etc although plenty of sports.
Road commute anywhere I can imagine is pretty tedious traffic levels have risen hugely in recent years and the single carriageway A5 and multiple roundabouts make it slow going.
Decent properties especially semi rural have shot up in price and get snapped up quickly.
Lots of surrounding villages have expanded with facilities not keeping up so places like Knockin and Baschurch have doctors surgeries but they are not big enough to cope with the influx of newcomers.
Still slightly cheaper over the border in Powys but difference is getting less.
We are in east Shropshire, a small town called Shifnal. Good schools, M54 2 minutes away, railway station with connections to Telford, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Lots of nightlife - very good pubs and restaurants. Property prices are lower than west and south Shropshire, as Shifnal isn’t a tourist destination. Lots of rural / semi rural properties.
Very rural South-West Shropshire here. (15 miles to the nearest sensible railway station, 12-15 miles to the supermarket, 2/3 miles to the nearest pub, etc.)
Quite a move from down-town Tokyo, but the open space and rural quiet was what we were looking for, though my wife has found being quite this rural hard at times.
Like many rural areas you will likely be an in-comer for life ("from off", as they say around here), but there is a real sense of community here in a way I didn't notice when I lived in East Anglia.
Quite a move from down-town Tokyo, but the open space and rural quiet was what we were looking for, though my wife has found being quite this rural hard at times.
Like many rural areas you will likely be an in-comer for life ("from off", as they say around here), but there is a real sense of community here in a way I didn't notice when I lived in East Anglia.
Hi all,
Thanks so much for your replies. There certainly seems to be a lot of positive things said about Shropshire as a county, albeit there are obviously some negatives too.
What's attracted us, and the reason for considering it as a place to move to is the rural aspect, slower pace, less traffic, decent towns and villages, plus relatively easy access to larger conurbations, e.g. Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Chester etc...
After doing some research it appears educational standards across the county are in general pretty good.
Some of you have asked about budget and area - Budget wise, we'd be looking up to circa £500k, possibly £550k depending on the price we could sell our current house for. In terms of location, the area of the county north of Shrewsbury would be preferred.
Thanks all
Thanks so much for your replies. There certainly seems to be a lot of positive things said about Shropshire as a county, albeit there are obviously some negatives too.
What's attracted us, and the reason for considering it as a place to move to is the rural aspect, slower pace, less traffic, decent towns and villages, plus relatively easy access to larger conurbations, e.g. Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Chester etc...
After doing some research it appears educational standards across the county are in general pretty good.
Some of you have asked about budget and area - Budget wise, we'd be looking up to circa £500k, possibly £550k depending on the price we could sell our current house for. In terms of location, the area of the county north of Shrewsbury would be preferred.
Thanks all
KenJ said:
Hi all,
Thanks so much for your replies. There certainly seems to be a lot of positive things said about Shropshire as a county, albeit there are obviously some negatives too.
What's attracted us, and the reason for considering it as a place to move to is the rural aspect, slower pace, less traffic, decent towns and villages, plus relatively easy access to larger conurbations, e.g. Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Chester etc...
After doing some research it appears educational standards across the county are in general pretty good.
Some of you have asked about budget and area - Budget wise, we'd be looking up to circa £500k, possibly £550k depending on the price we could sell our current house for. In terms of location, the area of the county north of Shrewsbury would be preferred.
Thanks all
Oswestry is therefore the largest town to consider and has the best road connections North and South; although the A483/A5 really needs to be dual carriageway.Thanks so much for your replies. There certainly seems to be a lot of positive things said about Shropshire as a county, albeit there are obviously some negatives too.
What's attracted us, and the reason for considering it as a place to move to is the rural aspect, slower pace, less traffic, decent towns and villages, plus relatively easy access to larger conurbations, e.g. Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Chester etc...
After doing some research it appears educational standards across the county are in general pretty good.
Some of you have asked about budget and area - Budget wise, we'd be looking up to circa £500k, possibly £550k depending on the price we could sell our current house for. In terms of location, the area of the county north of Shrewsbury would be preferred.
Thanks all
Whitchurch gets you on the line to Manchester if that is important.
Ellesmere, Baschurch, Market Drayton are all other towns to consider.
As you will have seen from the responses, a few of us around this area. Some of us are native and others have migrated in so many different perspectives. If you have any questions am happy to help.
For your budget, I doubt you'll get anything with a paddock but it is strong enough for a nice 4 bed detached with a reasonably large garden; either in a rural village or a desirable area of town.
Why the need or want for 2 or 3 acres? That is a lot to look after if you don't have animals on it. And it will make you search far more difficult. Right now there are not many rural places for sale, you might if your lucky find a village property if your lucky and don't have the land.
The county has loads to offer.
I used to live in Bridgnorth which was brilliant.
Shifnal is worth a shout, some great places to eat.
Telford is, ahem, Telford, but serves a purpose.
Shrewsbury is great (Tanners!!) and places to eat.
I know a few people who still live there. Over the border can be a lot cheaper, so definitely worth a shout - but of course then everything else is even further away...! Rural is good, but you will be quite some way away from a lot of places (obviously!).
It might be helpful to give a budget indication..! What about jobs etc? Schooling wise I don't know - but Shrewsbury itself seemed to have good schooling options. I can ask friends about primary school and secondary school options if it helps.
I used to live in Bridgnorth which was brilliant.
Shifnal is worth a shout, some great places to eat.
Telford is, ahem, Telford, but serves a purpose.
Shrewsbury is great (Tanners!!) and places to eat.
I know a few people who still live there. Over the border can be a lot cheaper, so definitely worth a shout - but of course then everything else is even further away...! Rural is good, but you will be quite some way away from a lot of places (obviously!).
It might be helpful to give a budget indication..! What about jobs etc? Schooling wise I don't know - but Shrewsbury itself seemed to have good schooling options. I can ask friends about primary school and secondary school options if it helps.
DavidY said:
Don't preclude going over the border (into Wales), we initially looked at Shropshire but in the end went just over the border and bought rural outside Welshpool (Welshpool is pretty much the same distance from Shrewsbury as Oswestry is) - we felt you got a bit more for your money
Another vote for Welshpool. Got everything you'd expect of a little town from the small independent pubs, butchers' etc.. to the big supermarket chains. It's a little limited for eating out and clothes shopping but what it does have it does very well, especially if you like Italian. An excellent builders merchants and a huge Garden center/Country store which is very popular.Oh and a regular train service which will see you in Shrewsbury in under 30 minutes for work or should you fancy doing the whole shopping, eating out and having a few bevies stuff.
Most importantly it's in a beautiful area.
I bought here recently having lived in the surrounding areas for over 35 years, It's got all the character without the huge price tag. I've got land and no neighbors yet I can be in a swanky bar knee deep in espresso Martini's at a whim.
A good pal of mine and his wife and kids have made this move, her being a Shropshire native. They are in Shrewsbury, making the move up from London. He is in IT, works remotely, his wife in PR.
Their life is rather idyllic, have obviously got a lot more property for their money, the schools are great, kids love it etc, living the rural dream.
Only problem they had was his wife's work. She kinda expected to take a modest cut in her London salary, but found it was more of a slashing in earnings.
In fact (pre-pandemic) she was having to commute to Birmingham to get a job that paid anywhere near expected wages, which kind of defeated the rural dream a little, but I gather that enforced WFH has smoothed that out for them. You would have thought that she may have squared that before they moved but I think it was more a case of getting out of London quickly before kids started school etc.
The only occasional grumble I hear is that 'dad's taxi' has to do a lot more miles as everything is that more spaced out than in the city, but that's not specific to Shropshire.
Their life is rather idyllic, have obviously got a lot more property for their money, the schools are great, kids love it etc, living the rural dream.
Only problem they had was his wife's work. She kinda expected to take a modest cut in her London salary, but found it was more of a slashing in earnings.
In fact (pre-pandemic) she was having to commute to Birmingham to get a job that paid anywhere near expected wages, which kind of defeated the rural dream a little, but I gather that enforced WFH has smoothed that out for them. You would have thought that she may have squared that before they moved but I think it was more a case of getting out of London quickly before kids started school etc.
The only occasional grumble I hear is that 'dad's taxi' has to do a lot more miles as everything is that more spaced out than in the city, but that's not specific to Shropshire.
Another S. Manchester resident here and I was looking not that long ago, largely out of curiosity as my parents are looking at options for moving back further north.
I only looked at Chruch Stretton as it's always struck me as a prime spot when passing through. What you can get for your money compared to here in S. Manchester is utterly staggering.
I only looked at Chruch Stretton as it's always struck me as a prime spot when passing through. What you can get for your money compared to here in S. Manchester is utterly staggering.
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