You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My wife and I both grew up in Rossendale, but neither of us have lived there since we went to uni (10 years ago). We're currently living in a small town in Oxfordshire which we really like and we've never considered returning, however where we are we're unlikely to ever be able to afford much more than our current small 2bed house, but for the same value there are currently 50 4bed houses advertised on rightmove!
If we did move I could just swap to a different region and carry on with my current job, but my wife would need to find something (although there are plenty of hospitals in the area). We've still got some good friends oop-north, both Mums are still there, there are proper hills and the MTBing is much better, but it's the 'grim north' and we both left without hesitation!
So to the question, what is Rossendale actually like to live in these days and would we regret the move (other than being closer to the Mother-in-law!)? All opinions are greatly received, Thanks.
Well if its good riding you're after then you can't go far wrong. You're surrounded by it! Including Lee Quarry
[img] 
[/img]
Its like any place, some of its grim, some of its absolutely lovely. I moved out of Manchester to Ramsbottom about 18 months ago, and I'm loving it. I love being able to head out on the bike without driving anywhere. My kids love being able to walk out of the back of the house and just go playing in the woods.
We've got great pubs, including a micro-brewery at the bottom of the road, handy shops, oh and did I mention the convenient countryside for riding, right on your doorstep.....
[img] 
[/img]
This is my commute home later. Traffic's murder 😉
Which bit? Lived in Whitworth for a while on and off.
Positives
No Drought
car washs itself
Biking close if you can avoid the bogs
Internet was reasonably fast
quite friendly
Negatives
Traffic
Commuting anywhere is crap
Pubs were a bit scary
Did I say it rained
Parking is hell
Traffic
Want to buy a 2 bed terrace?
It's still cold and wet - you won't appreciate this until you actually come back to live there. My experience is that on average it's 2-3C colder than South Manchester, and something to do with the topography encourages rain. I'm not joking; you really need to be prepared for this if you're coming from Oxfordshire.
Excellent value for money on house prices, even in the "nicer areas". Good MTBing - whether it's trails or trail centres - and decent LBS. Some good schools. Rawtenstall is no longer the dump it was though still no Caffe Nero.
If you want a swap for countryside, riding and a great place to live have a look further, North Lakes (Penrith or Cockermouth), much better riding, very little traffic.
and better transport links (M62 is not a road it's a car park)
I live in Prestwich. 4 miles North of Manchester centre, 10 minutes to Ramsbottom on the M60, 15 minutes to Helmshore, Rawtenstall etc. Reasonable house prices, good transport links etc. Wouldn’t live anywhere else TBH.
We looked at Ramsbottom but the commute to my wife’s work was too long. If it wasn’t for that I’d be living in a big white farm house house half way up The Rake and about 100m away from Binners. 😯
I appreciate the rain thing - during my A levels a Geography teacher recorded 300 days of rain in one year 😯 , but that's why I learnt to drive!
If we were to move up we'd probably look at Rawtenstall or Haslingden (possibly Ramsbottom) so traffic wouldn't be too bad.
Rawtenstall or Haslingden
All depends where you are going, Don't want to be going towards Manchester