aliceinoz

Hi all, new member looking for some advice on areas around Manchester.
After quite a few years in Oz, we have decided to return to the uk.
We were originally from the Brooklands/Sale area, but are looking at other areas. We are not able to afford the areas we really want ( Hale, Bramhall,etc.).
So does anyone know of areas not too far away, with good high schools (very important) with a maximum budget of 200,000 (pounds).We looked at sale/ sale moor, and houses were ok, but the high school has a bad report.
We found Eccles within budget, and it looked ok ,but dont know anything about the area or schools.Can anyone tell me about Eccles ?
Any info/advice greatly appreciated. Cheers

manchesterjen

Boy are you in for a shock coming back to Manchester from Brisbane. I'm in Manchester visiting family and can't wait to get on a plane out of here. Desperate place.

johnh009

Depending on what you like, have a look at places such as the spa town of Buxton which is actually in North-West Derbyshire. Buxton (and surrounding area) is an easy commute to Manchester with a direct rail link.

Grayling

Brisbane must be one of the most soulless, boring and mundane places on the planet....desperate place

Moving to Manchester would be a real step up

johnh009

Having recently moved back to the UK, I find many of the areas that were once regarded as "dumps" have now been cleaned up and many have become "trendy" places to live. Anyone returning to Birmingham would be in for a pleasant surprise. They have done a really good job on the city centre with restaurants, bars, etc. by the canals. Ditto for many of the other cities.

b2b

Rightmove.co.uk has a feature which allows you to locate schools near a specific property and view OFSTED reports for that school. I heard that proximity is no guarantee of eligibility for the nearest school though, and in fact the whole process is a nightmare. Just relaying what a friend told me.

We have been checking out schools in Cheshire and they are generally very good, which is in fact the thing steering us to Cheshire. OFSTED look at factors other than academic performance which is admirable, and their simple 1-4 rating scale give a quick impression of the school, which is what a house buyer wants. Be careful though. In one area we were looking, the nearest school came up tops which we were delighted over. Yet on further research found all other schools in the area sucked. Then when we investigated the area itself it was rated by people as a dire place to live with the disclaimer that this one school was its only redeeming feature. So do look beyond school ratings into things such as crime. Sites like 'upmystreet.co.uk' would be good for that.

Brigette

Hi Aliceinoz,

You might find this thread helpful. A few months ago I asked the same question about Manchester. Got tons of information (10 pages worth). Here ya go: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=743566

b2b

Hi aliceinoz,

I concur with advice regarding driving around areas to get a feel for what they are like. But one further bit of advice I would give is to go back and see what they are like on Friday and/or Saturday nights particularly at pub chuck out time. A seemingly nice neighbourhood can be transformed albeit for a couple nights a week. I got a friend to ask around a neighbourhood I was considering and they quickly reached the conclusion that the area, a seemingly pleasant estate of semis and detached homes, has become a drug den thanks to its proximity to masses of social housing. Those not involved in the crime are selling out cheap to get out of the area. This is particularly a problem with newer estates where mixed social housing is forced upon people.

aliceinoz

I dont remember asking for opinions on wether Manchester is the place for me to live,or wether Brisbane is preferable.
To all the other responses, thankyou.This forum is a great source of info.
We have looked at Glossop, and surrounding areas, also Winsford,Northwich,etc.
But people with first hand knowledge can be a great help. Cheeers

b2b

If it helps I used to live in Cheshire before emigrating and I am now 90% certain I'm moving back there. I have no knowledge of Central Manchester but there's some very pleasant areas to the south around the M6 route like Nantwich, Middlewich, Sandbach. Also consider Warrington and Northwich for lower priced housing and good rail connections to Manchester if you need them. If you prefer the country with connections, check Chapel-en-le-frith or even Buxton which seems to have everything, or Leek if rail connections are not as important.

I am sure other areas around Manchester are also very pleasant. I'm just passing on my own experience. Glossop is very nice by the way. I used to go to the pubs there while studying at University of Sheffield in 90s.

sallysimmons

I don't know the area personally but for what it's worth, we had a homefinder helping us look for a rental and she wasn't keen on Glossop. It had been on my list but she said it wasn't as nice as it once was. Don't know how right she is, but she is local to that area.

I became quite interested in Bollington - seemed like a lovely country village without being snobby, and with good transport links. We ended up somewhere else because we lost out on the property we wanted, but I liked the look of it a lot.

Good luck!

aliceinoz

Thankyou for that. We have done a google tour of Glossop and like what we see. I remember someone mentioned Bollington as " happy valley" a while back (ive been a sideline watcher for ages ).
We do like the look of it.
Our situation is such that we will be buying whilst we still work over here ( a BTL ) and once the mortgage (small one hopefully) is in place ,we can move over. We are basically buying sight unseen Aaaaaaargh. But its the only way it can happen for us, circumstances dont allow any other options.
Thats where you all come in, first hand knowledge of crime, schools, council estates ( the bad ones ) etc. Cheers

aliceinoz

Thats brilliant........thanks. I will read it all properly asap.

sallysimmons

Yes, I liked Glossop on Streetview too. I'll ask our homefinder what she meant about it and get back to you - she may have just been trying to talk us out of it because she wanted us to take another house

Editha

I like Manchester, but I've never lived there and can't recommend areas to live. However, I do know some of the satellite towns fairly well. Buxton is a bit pricey and more than an hour away by rail. But, I'd suggest looking at Congleton, Macclesfield and New Mills.

In the last few years I was living in North Staffordshire (up to 06) we had a lot of people moving into the area, who were commuting to Manchester, because property prices had become so high. However prices have come down since then.