Living in Chester

From Chester Wiki

Contents 1 Living in Chester 1.1 Finding a home 1.2 Work 1.3 Going out 1.4 Shops 1.5 Why choose Chester? 1.6 Useful websites

[edit] Living in Chester

Chester is becoming an increasingly expensive city in which to live. House prices have rocketed, but it's not a playground for the rich - Chester is still, in many ways, a very working-class place. There's lots to do here, even if you're not a teenage clubber (although that's changing for the worse) and Chester has low unemployment. Around half the population are from elsewhere, having moved here for work or other reasons.

[edit] Finding a home

Despite the vast amount of construction of new blocks of flats, it can be hard to find somewhere to live. The new apartments springing up around town often sell for upwards of £200k, as they are aimed at high earners. Houses outside the centre can be pricey too. In neighbourhoods such as Hoole, a three-bedroomed house can sell for upwards of £300k. That said, it's still possible to find relatively inexpensive properties to purchase, although for a one-bed flat, you're unlikely to see much change from £100k. Renting is also dear - bedsits can cost upwards of £400 a month. There's a good range of estate agents and accommodation agencies to help you find a roof over your head.

Chester City Council has a housing page.

[edit] Work

Chester has high employment. There are plenty of jobs going in retail, financial services and the field of social care. It's not difficult to find a job, but if you work in a specialist field, expect to have to commute to Liverpool or Manchester for a job. Chester also has a thriving small-business community - there are almost a dozen regular business networking events for business owners (the Chester Chronicle lists them in its business section). The unemployment rate in 2007 in Chester remains at a steady 1.7%.

Chester City Council has a jobs page

[edit] Going out

Chester has plenty of nightlife, but the choice is limited. The city centre is awash with clubs for the younger generation who like loud music, drinking and dancing. For those who've grown out of that sort of thing, the options are limited - there are plenty of restaurants and pubs, but the Gateway Theatre is earmarked for closure and won't reopen until around 2012 in its new location. We may also lose the only city-centre cinema - the Odeon - in 2008, although the council is currently looking at options to buy the building and retain it as a cinema and multi-arts centre.

If you belong to the younger generation, try the Knowhere Guide (but bear in mind that much of this might be opinionated nonsense or years out of date!)

[edit] Shops

Despite its compactness, Chester has an excellent choice of shops. In the city centre, we have the world-famous Rows - a two-storied shopping experience, currently sadly neglected by the council, with lots of nice little specialist shops. Most of the major national chains can be found along Eastgate Street and Northgate Street. Going very slightly out of the centre, Boughton has a number of excellent antique and bric-a-brac outlets. A mile out of the centre, Faulkner Street in Hoole is full of delis, proper butchers and fishmongers and other quality shops.

[edit] Why choose Chester?

Because, despite the high cost of living here, Chester is small and friendly. There is still a sense of community in Chester, although it's not always apparent. You can walk from one side to the other in little more than an hour. It's quirky, with lots of interesting architecture and tucked-away places to enjoy. It has a nice river front for Sunday walks. You can feed the tame squirrels in the very attractive Grosvenor Park. There are Roman remains dotted around (although some, criminally, have been built over recently, blocking access for viewing). We have a great selection of shops (although there are issues around this too at present). It's not far from the bigger metropolises of Manchester and Liverpool, but it's also right next to the fantastic countryside of North Wales.

Here's why Chester City Council reckons you should move here!

[edit] Useful websites

Chester has a huge number of local websites, although a lot of them are pretty poor quality. We've seen several local forums come and go over the last couple of years, with only a couple of robust ones surviving and growing. Here are some of the better ones (more can be found at Chester online).

Official websites:

• Chester City Council A good first stop for all the official stuff.
• Cheshire County Council Also useful for finding information.
• Visit Chester The official tourism site - lots of info, but the search function is poor. Expect to get frustrated.

Unofficial websites:

• Chester: A Virtual Stroll A top-class site to read up on local history. Simply hundreds of pages, packed with photographs. A great place to find out lots of interesting things. It also has a vibrant forum here.
• Chester At Large Chester's No. 1 site for food and drink - go here for comprehensive restaurant and pub reviews. And its very popular and busy forum can be found here.
• Chester Film Society The only alternative to the Odeon, and likely to become even more important once the Odeon shuts it doors.
• Food and Drink Festival Chester's annual event for food lovers - well worth visiting the various events when it's on.
• Chester weather Local site from West Cheshire College.
• Chester Scenic Photos - images of Chester by Night and Day

Other websites are listed on the Chester_online and Media pages, these include:

• www.chesterchronicle.co.uk a good online source for Chester news and features, while its companion entertainment site www.thecheshireguide.co.uk has an extensive round-up of what's going on both in Chester and the North West.