'We left south Manchester and found a more affordable first home in a pretty chocolate-box village in Cheshire'

When comparing house prices across the north west region, you'd be forgiven for thinking any first-time buyer couldn't afford to live in Cheshire. With an overall average price of £317,300 compared to £260,500 in Greater Manchester, property costs in the affluent county have climbed 14 percent in the last few years.

But one couple looking to get on the property ladder managed to find an affordable house in a quaint village nestled in the Cheshire countryside, which proved to be much cheaper than properties in their hometown of Altrincham, south Manchester.

Lottie Bown, 28, and her boyfriend Ant bought their first home in Mobberley, a pretty chocolate-box village that sits between Knutsford and Wilmslow. Despite houses in the area selling for average price of £496,100 over the last year, the pair managed to snap up a three-bed home for £275,000.

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Lottie spoke to the Manchester Evening News as part of our Where I Live series, where each week we chat to a different homeowner from across the north west about their buying and renovating journey; and take a look at how they've made their home their own.

Lottie and Ant both lived with their parents and then rented before deciding it was time to get on the property ladder.

“After finishing university, me and my boyfriend rented an apartment together in Altrincham. We rented there for a year and then decided that we wanted to get on the property ladder as soon as possible," Lottie told the Manchester Evening News.

"Prior to that we had both been really fortunate that we could live at home. We had a bit of a deposit ready to go and we just didn't want to keep spending dead money on rent."

Lottie said: "We