Anyone know Ulverston?

Life has gone a bit awry of late, and we are in the process of selling our house nestled at the edge of the Highlands, splitting the profit 50/50 and I am going to be moving south on my own (well, with my dog!).

Most of my work happens to be in the Lake District, so it makes sense to get as close to there as possible, but funds are going to be a bit on the tight side to be looking within the National Park.  Ulverston is rapidly emerging as the best choice, but my memories from spending some of my formative years there are out of date (being late 70's to early 80's)... so I was looking for anyone that may be able to shed some light on the place!

What I need to know is: 

Is it an old town like most of Cumbria where young folk have all fled for the bright lights, or is there still some life about the place?

Any parts of the town that need to be avoided for buying in?

Which pubs should I try

If I ignore the circumstances behind the move, and the fact that we are selling up less than a year after moving into the present house, I think I am kind of looking forward to a change of scenery, and a whole raft of opportunities that this move will open up in terms of work and play.  Not commuting 200 miles each way before starting work is an obvious attraction for starters - but I also plan to take over an arm of the family business as my own once I am down there, so that gives me something to get stuck into, along with developing some photography ambitions....

Cheers!

Rob 

Yep, Kendal was my first choice with Penrith and Ulverston as runners up.  Price wise though Ulverston is just that bit lower than the other two, so I can get the kind of house that I need (ie somewhere with either a garage or space to build one/put a big shed with off street parking). 

Wasn't really in my master plan to move to Cumbria - I always planned to move further north, up to around Inverness was my plan for the next house, then perhaps Orkney to finish off... buggered that one up really

Still - least I will have a reasonable income again, and can start getting on with life - and enacting a few projects that have been on the back burner for a while now.

I suspect that the benefit of not crippling yourself with a house that's more expensive than you can afford would make living in Ulverston more pleasant anyway - IYSWIM.

It's a b*stard when your master plan gets diverted like that but I guess there are worse places to be diverted to.  Hope it all works out OK for you.  There's a meet in Langdale in April (19/20th) if you're around by then - there was a thread buried somewhere in 'meets and partners', which probably needs bumping.  

Not sure about Langdale - I am off to Switzerland for a week, then it will be hopefully solid viewings of our house so that I can get some cash to buy MY house.  Shame though - cos I will probably need a bit of cheering up in April!!!  Guess there is always next time though (and gives me a chance to start getting fit again!!!)

Cheers Jamie - sounds like it will work out fine then!

Glad you mentioned Devonshire Rd - was looking at a place there, but wasn't sure so will avoid it now!!!  What is the Croftlands area like as there is a fair bit down that way, and Priory Road, that is fitting the bill... would rather be the other side of the A590... but that seems to get expensive if you want a garage!!!!

We've just (well last october) moved up to the lakes ish area. We started Looking at ulverston, seamed like a nice place but you'll be lucky to get a garden just a small yard and off road parking is less common than hens teeth!

Looked around alot (50+ houses) and ended up in a village called holme near milnthorpe, cheaper than Kendal and far enough away from the lakes to be away from the tourists! 25 minutes to windermere, 5 minutes to the motorway, has a canal (convenient dog walking), Farleton Fell open access land 5 minutes away. oh and the yorkshire dales are 15 miles away as well.

not a happening place but does have a good pub!

I know it well Rob - my parents live in Storth

There are some places in the Croftlands area of Ulverston that kind of fit the bill, so long as I am happy to modernise them, and a newish spot on Priory St that would also work out.  I did consider the quieter villages, but really want to be somewhere that there is at least a bit of life... could get a bit lonely otherwise!

Dont write off some of the other west coast towns & Villages like Whitehaven (where i live ),cheaper (but rising) house prices & the lakes are just as handy,Ennerdale 10/15mins by car,Borrowdale 30 mins etc.

To be honest - the main problem with the far west coast is that it takes an age to get to quite a lot of my jobs from!  Ulverston isn't exactly ideal, but is better - Penrith would probably be about ideal... but too expensive!  

If something interesting comes up that way though....

The more that I am looking into it though, the more that Ulverston is looking good - seems to be a fair bit going on there, which is nice.  The railway station is a bonus too for my mates to come down and visit (those that don't drive).

Just had the first viewing of our house, so once we start getting offers in, and I have sorted out the details of my ongoing employment/business opportunities I should be in a position to actually start sorting things out... like mortgages... and then go looking for a home!

Oh aye - may need a solicitor from south of the border too - the law is different down that way!

Sorry to be the voice of dissent but my Ulverston impressions, based on numerous visits, is that the town has some of the regular problems more normaly associated with  cities rather than peaceful LD places.

Seems to me the town appears rather too regularly in www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/ due to night/fight reports - a rarity really compared to the majority of the paper's coverage area.

(Not a patch on the problems further south I hasten to add!)

Got the feeling of a place where the money dried up along with the jobs, and sort of lost its way?

Apolgies to any Ulverstonians(?) reading this - but  if I had to pick I'd go for Keswick or somewhere to the east of the LD if there's a suitable price fit.

Right, I'll get down off my soapbox now ..and start running

Hi Cath,

 The trouble with Keswick is that (in my opinion) it's very expensive, and the community spirit isn't there any more, when the tourists go home, there's hardly anyone left,

everywhere has it's problems, but Ulverston has no more than any small market town, I've lived in or near several similar towns in the past near the Staffordshire/Shropshire borders, and they were far worse, Ulverston has a bit of a problem with kids at times, but that's pretty normal anywhere, in our first year here, I've heard of one fight in the town outside a pub, some small towns would see that as a quiet night, the local people are a really friendly, fairly close knit bunch.

    The main employer in the town has down-sized a lot in recent years, but others are expanding to take up the shortfall in employment, I'd been visiting Ulverston for a few years prior to moving, and it's improved in that time. 

Keswick is waaay too expensive, alas - would have been a pretty useful location for me if I could have worked it out!

Swarthmoor has popped onto my radar from time to time for much the same reasons as you seem to have gone for it Dave.   I just worry that moving to a village location as a 32 y/o bloke on his own could be a suicidal move on the building a social circle side of things (if things were different and I was moving down not on my own then I would probably go for one of the small villages somewhere in south cumbria - life just isn't playing that game though so I am going for a complete fresh start approach!)

Fantastic - I, too, need a garage for work purposes... and probably 3 bedrooms so that I can have a spare room and an office (which may have to be large enough for a large format printer if things go to plan!).  I shall keep an eye on Swarthmoor as well now, cheers! 

Once this house sells, and I renegotiate my salary, I should be in a good position to know what I can actually afford - then there is just the small matter of sorting a new mortgage (not going to be easy in the current climate perhaps) and see what house prices are doing too!  The way things are headed I can see some cheeky offers in the future (and some of the houses that I have been watching in Ulverston seem to be hanging around for quite some time... which could work in my favour!)

Debating either renting for a while, or sticking everything in storeage and staying with my parents for a bit to enhance my buyer status - cash ready, mortgage sorted and no chain... makes for even more cheeky offers!!!