Brigette

Hey everyone,

Can someone share their thoughts about greater Manchester. Everything I read online paints a rosy picture of Manchester, but I wanted to get an opinion of what life is like in Manchester in terms of places to live: affordability, safe environment etc.

The following is a synopsis of what I have been reading online about Manchester:

Manchester has the largest UK office market outside London. Greater Manchester represents over £42 billion of the UK GVA, the third largest of any English county and more than Wales or North East England.

It is the fifth-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom outside London, has one of the largest shopping center's in the UK (Trafford center), 4th busiest airport in UK, 3rd most visited city in UK by foreign visitors after London and Edinburgh and most visited in England outside London.

I am aware of how badly the riots were last year in Manchester so I would love to get opinions of whether or not you think Manchester would be a good place to live. Very curious. Thanks

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Pick your area VERY carefully. While there are some great places to live in and around Manchester there are some exceptionally dodgy ones as well. Some of the satellite towns, such as Oldham and Rochdale are pretty awful.

gillyd65

Fabulous city, missing it like crazy. Of course every major city around the world has its problems and 'dodgy' areas. Greater Manchester covers a huge area, we lived on the Bolton/Bury border, excellent place to live, fantastic schools, lovely people and great hill walking country. Loads to see and do with excellent access into Manchester via rail/tram/bus (or car) 1.5 hours by car from the Lake District, 1hr from Yorkshire Dales, 1 hour to the coast. So much culture, history and friendly people. Don't read too much into the 'chav' 'hoodie' problems in the North West of England, find the right area and there is no better place to live and bring up children. That's why we are going back!

Dingle76

Great city. Easy to get to from lots of the suburbs and only small so easy to work around. Friendly people.

Depends what you are looking for. What are you requirements/preferences then I could make some suggestions as to where you should look to live.

Victor Meldrew

Like other people have said the important factor is location, location, location.

Do your homework very carefully, research crime rates for areas, age profiles etc. Go visit and walk around (if its safe) rather than drive around - you will get a much better picture.

Sign up with Estate Agents and go look at a few houses (tell them you are thinking of moving there).

It will be a fairly major life decision so it is worth investing time doing your research.

Brigette

To give a bit of a background of my situation. I will be moving sometime this year I do have family to stay with but prefer not to. My sister is planning on moving the end of 2013.

Me: somewhere safe, close enough to shopping, theater, museums, etc near suburbs. I will be graduating from uni May 12, YAY so I'll be renting

my sister: suburbs, minimum of 3 bedroom house, 2 bath relatively spacious, garden, good school for my nephew, safe neighborhood (they live in a great suburb here and want to continue that). She plans on buying as soon as she moves.

I am not familiar with the area. I did look on a map http://www.mapcrow.info/Distance_bet...hester_UK.html

and noticed that it was near the Midlands but not sure how close, so I really couldn't tell you my area preferences etc

ETA:
gillyd65, thanks so much for the info.
iamthecreaturefromuranus, I took a look on youtube and did see some of the dodgy areas. Very very sad.
Victor Meldrew, I plan on doing that when I visit. I have a list of neighborhoods to visit

iamthecreaturefromuranus

It's "near the Midlands" if you are judging distances in US terms, but nobody in Manchester would consider themselves near the Midlands.

Brigette

Hmmmm I'm going to have to google the distance and see just how far away it is. very interesting

gillyd65

Manchester to Birmingham (Midlands) about 90 miles (2 hour drive in good traffic conditions. However the 'Midlands' covers a large area so could be closer or further afield depending on whereabouts in the 'Midlands' you are situated.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

In terms of milage its not far at all... in terms of how the people view themselves it's a million miles.

Manchester is 'The North'. The Midlands, by definition isn't. It's in the middle.

Keep in mind that, England in particular, is a small place with lots of people. It has massive diversity, in a very small space, as a result. Should you finally get to move to the UK you will hear the term "North South divide" bandied about pretty frequently. People in different parts of the UK really do see themselves as very different from those in other parts of the country.

killerhales

I'm also going to be working in Manchester from the end of February onwards (relocating from Sydney).
I have a brother in Altrincham so I've been to the city and surrounding areas plenty of times and my wife used to live in the North West.
The Eastern side looks interesting as you are heading towards the Peak District, I think. Anyone else out there with views and/or experience of the area?

Dingle76

Okay, I have lived in Manchester and the Midlands...........

You: Assuming you are no older than about 35 I would suggest you look around:-
Chorlton - Cheap houseshares available, coffee shops etc but could be seen as a bit scruffy looking to some, very convenient for the city
Didsbury - An upmarket version of Chorlton, more expensive but lovely town centre, convenient for the city
Whitefield - Cheaper, not really a town centre but good for getting in to the city
Manchester City Centre - There are lots of flats to rent, you are probably looking at around £550-£700 per month for a 1 bed

Your Sister - It really depends on what she wants to spend. There are some okay schools in Whitefield and Bury and she could get a 3/4 bed house for about £800 per month. It is only really the newer houses which have more than 1 bathroom. There are better suburbs though but in reality it would depend on her budget.

Did you want to live in the Midlands though ?? Manchester to the Midlands is not really commutable.

Dingle76

Also don't worry about the riots, it was a one off rarity.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

South and East of Manchester is probably the best bit of the area, generally speaking. There's obviously other 'good' bits, but that's the area to aim for, overall. Downside is you will pay for the privilege.

Somewhere different to consider would perhaps be the area in the Pennine Hills around Diggle/Dobcross/Uppermill. It has a VERY different feel to it than the area around Altrincham.... and it gets damn cold in the Winter.

Brigette

No am not looking to live in the Midlands, was just curious because of how it looks on the map.

Regarding my sister I'd say her maximum budget is between 150 -175,000.00 pounds. Any ideas of where would be good to live for her? She likes quite suburban or quaint villages etc.

Manchester city Center sounds about right for me. Near enough to everything although I do not want to be around noise at night so if I have look outside of the city center then that's fine as well. I'll look at Didsbury as well.

What is the difference between Manchester City Center and Greater Manchester?