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Chester: The Guardian thoughts on living here
The Guardian recently printed it’s opinion on our fine city, which you can check out below. It really does serve as a reminder as to why we are so lucky to live in and around Chester. Having said that, it just scratches the surface of the positives - the Walls, Roodee and the beautiful River Dee are just for starters.
What’s going for it? There’s so much past in Chester. It piles up on the streets. It accumulates. Roman amphitheatre, medieval cathedral, Ruskinian town hall, all those Tudor black-and-white, half-timbered buildings straight off a Quality Street tin, all those Victorian black-and-white, half-timbered buildings pretending to be Tudor black-and-white, half-timbered buildings straight off a Quality Street tin, cobbles, ye olde gatehouses, etc. Beautiful. Occasionally suffocating. (I speak as one raised on cathedral cities.) That’s not to say Chester isn’t with it. It’s long had a reputation for middlebrow poshness, all wine bars and pearls. Who knows what they’ve put in the water recently, though, as there’s a tiny bit of mojo in the place. Decent coffee has turned up. The lovely new Storyhouse arts complex has brought contemporary architecture and cutting-edge culture. It’s even a little bit woke: last year Chester was crowned the most accessible city in Europe for disabled people. In Europe! With those cobbles! Onwards and upwards, Chester.
The case against It’s pricey, from the property to the cost of living.
Well connected? Trains: to Manchester (a rather slow one hour at best), to Liverpool (48 minutes), to Wrexham (15), to Birkenhead (41) and to Crewe (20). Driving: an hour to Manchester, 40 minutes to Liverpool, half an hour to Warrington and the M6.
Schools Primaries: most of the city’s schools are at least “good”, Ofsted says, with Belgrave, Dee Point, St Martin’s academy and Acresfield “outstanding”. Secondaries: the Catholic High, the Bishops’ Blue Coat CofE, Blacon High and Upton-by-Chester High are “good”, with Christleton High, just outside, “outstanding”.
Hang out at… Chester’s having a food moment. For great coffee and cakes, check out Jaunty Goat and Moss. Find killer food at Joseph Benjamin, Porta and Sticky Walnut.
Where to buy There are some seriously fancy houses here, especially in Handbridge/Queen’s Park and Curzon Park/Hough Green overlooking the River Dee and the racecourse. Some nice late Victorians to 1930s in Upton to the north, or inner suburbs such as Hoole, handy for the station. Nice townhouses of all eras within the city walls. Plenty of plump modern suburbs such as Great Boughton. Large detached and townhouses, £450,000-£1m and occasionally up to £1.5m. Detached and smaller townhouses, £170,000-£450,000. Semis, £120,000-£650,000. Terraces and cottages, £115,000-£375,000. Flats, £100,000-£500,000. Rentals: a one-bedroom flat, £450-£850pcm; a three-bedroom house, £650-£1,300pcm.”
All positive and well yes Chester can be expensive when compared to other towns locally but just look at what it offers.
