Hey guys, The other half and i are planning to move to Manchester later on this year and have started the process of looking for houses. We are running into a couple of problems working out which areas to look at and which to avoid like the plague. Do any of you lot know Manchester enough to suggest any particularly good or bad spots. Cheers FF
well although some of this might come off a bit racist to some people this is how it was when i lived in Salford (greater Manchester) however this was about 5 years ago so could have changed considrably unless you are black keep away from moss side (which is close to the University of Manchester) if you are Jewish, Prestwich would be good (top side Manc) Salford itself is a bit rough around the edges but had a few nicer places (around Salford Quey) Oldham was as dodgy as a 40" plasma screen purchased for a white van for £20 then most other areas around Manchester are the same as any other city, in that you will always have a few dodgy people but most of them will keep themselves to themselves and you will usually find a couple of gem's of people
It all depends on your budget really. as the other guy said Salford Quey is nice but some of the two bedroom flat goes for about 500k
Didsbury is a nice enough place to live. It has a decent little high street with your usual eateries (Pizza Express etc) and is quite leafy. I'd avoid Rusholme, Moss Side and Longsight oon that side of town. Levenshulme isn't that nice either.
Some good suggestions so far, but we need to know a budget, and what kind of place you'd like to live in. Having the biggest Uni in europe here means there's plenty of student-type areas, if that's your thing, and plenty of other nice spots too. minimad: You don't need to be black to go into moss side, you just have to be careful. I lived around there for a year, and as long as you don't do stupid things (like wandering through parks alone) late at night, it's really no trouble at all. It just has a bad rep because of the various gangs - they're mostly interested in each other tbh.
still not the best place in the world to be moving to but i did say i havent lived around manc for about 5 years now and things could have changed considrably, its just i lived around manc when there was some 'white no go zones' and there was actually a couple of stabbings because someone had decided to ignor the warnings, dont get me wrong by the time i had left the area all the trouble which sparked the 'zones' had finished however something like that does stay in your mind still loved living in manc and one day would like to move back, on a side note and a bit of thread highjacking is Aflec's Palace (damn wish i could remember how it was spelt, actually i wish i could spell normally let alone just one name... anyways) still open? as i am thinking i might take my step daughter their next time we are in the area as i am sure she would love that place.
This is all based on experience from five years ago, but might still hold some truth. I lived in Manchester centre, Hulme, Mosside, and Longsight during my six years there and most of my friends lived in Fallowfield. Honestly, unless you're looking dead cheap, I'd avoid Mosside, Longsight, and Fallowfield. The first two as already mentioned suffer from a bad reputation and whilst you can live in either perfectly safely (I did) they're just not that nice. Fallowfield is the other end of the scale and is just crawling with pissed noisy students so unless that's you're thing, I'd also avoid it. That said it does have a vibrant social scene with some alright bars and plenty of facilities. I lived both in and on the skirts of Longsight (Beeton Grove, Birch Lane) and actually really liked it down there. A decent length walk in to town (45 mins) but a regular (10 min) bus service. It was great for food down there as you have a big Asda but also lots of the independent ethnic shops and market stalls which offer great ingredients. As long as you find a nice place in a decent street, preferably in the upper reaches towards town, you can live in an alright area pretty cheaply. I will admit that we were burgled twice whilst in Beeton Grove but that was in no thanks to my flatmate not locking the mortice-lock. In my last two years I lived in the upper side of Hulme (Jackson Crescent), just off the Mancunian Way (basically a stone's throw over the road from Castlefield and Deansgate Locks, and had all been completely redeveloped and we had a nice two-bed professional flat. South Hulme is where it meets Mosside (around Asda) and is (was) a bit rough. Similarly if you travel too far away from town towards Old Trafford it starts getting in to the undeveloped parts of Hulme and is (was) a bit hit and miss. I have to admit we were also burgled here thanks to a really crappy balcony door which was known to be a security risk but the landlord did nothing about it. In general though, this was a safe area right next to a huge park and a short walk to the canal/locks/cinema/shops/town. I too have been long considering moving back up that way. Good luck in the hunt.
I must say Manchester seems to have a totally undeserved reputation really. If you've not been for several years you'd be surprised how much of it has changed - I've noticed a big improvement around here since I've been at uni, it's great to see.
Cheers guys We're probably going to get something fairly cheap for now, most likely in need of some work , then move on in a year or two when we are settled in jobs up there and are more aware of the area. We're not to bothered about an area that is a little rough around the edges, we just don't want to be in a total pit. I'm a web developer so transport links into the center will probably be needed. Apart from that there aren't really any other requirements for the area. Cheers FF P.S. If anyone knows of any good PHP and standards based web companies up there i'd be interested to hear.
dont know about the web based companies in manc but there is Micro Direct in manchester with is a 'sales' company who might need some staff who know about computers
I'm pretty entrenched in the web side of things really, I've been coding in PHP for about 7 Years now. I've started getting a bit of a list together but there is always the off chance that someone knows a good company
The town where i live, Middleton is ok for the price. Just make sure your in the catchment area for middy tech if you plan on having kids anytime soon.
Some of the best transport links are up and down Oxford Road - intended for students. A bus every 2 minutes during the day and 5 minutes all night. Get within walking distance and you're laughing to get into the centre. Some pretty cheap places to live too.
That being said oxford road has one of the busiest bus lanes in europe apparently. Come 5 o'clock when the students kick out, you'll be going no where fast.
QFT (the busiest, I believe). If you live a little West of Oxford Road you're better off taking the 50 or 192 and walking the difference. That said, the buses in Manchester are rife so tbh anywhere you live will be well connected. Even further out there's the trams and decent local trains, as well as the buses.
The buses on Oxford road aren't particularly quick, but what buses are, really? The biggest benefit is that they're cheap, the 50 and 192 are all at least £1 to go more than a couple of feet, making them rather expensive compared to 80p from Piccadilly Gardens to the other end of Fallowfield.
Not lived there so can't give housing advise, but you'll love it! We go over the hill to Manchester/Trafford Centre when ever we fancy a change from Leeds, always seems a lively place to live. Plus they have Krispy Kreme Doughnuts stores, well worth the 1hr round trip over the Pennines!!
That's gone up! Was 40p in my day (1999 to 2003). You're right though, the 50/192 are Stagecoach only so more expensive.
