Greater Manchester - where would you buy?

[willkie]

DP and I have both lived in Manchester for about 5 years - neither originally from the area (I'm not even originally from the UK) but we really like it here and want to buy a house together.

Trouble is, where?! We both work at the university so it's important that we live within a bus/tram commute from Oxford Road. Car is just too much of a faff with parking permits, no guaranteed parking, etc. And trains seem to be a bit of a PITA...

We've been looking at areas for what seems like forever, but there's just always something! Part of the problem is that because neither of us have roots here, there's not an easy area we can decide on to be close to family or whatnot. We could live anywhere. We just want to live somewhere nice with an eye on starting a family in the near future, so good schools, safe area etc. is a big plus.

Areas we like:

• Didsbury (obviously - but so expensive, tiny housing bubble, seems impossible to even get viewings and I'm not willing to put an offer on a house as soon as I step through the door to be able to buy it...)
  
• Heaton Moor (so pretty, lovely community, yet expensive)
  

Areas we've crossed off:

• Ramsbottom (lovely but the commute seems impossible)
  
• Dobcross (so nice but too isolated)
  
• Wilmslow/Alderley Edge/etc (not for us)
  
• Chorlton/Whalley Range (ridiculously expensive for the area and hipstery)
  
• Withington/Fallowfield/Victoria Park (too studenty)
  
• Altrincham/Sale - (just not a fan.)
  

Areas we're just not sure about but could def be a possibility:

• Worsley/Roe Green - we just don't know too much about! They seem nice, how are they for families? Does anyone know?
  
• Burnage - proximity to Didsbury, more house for your money, very nice bits to it, well-connected, I assume there's good schools nearby?
  
• Levenshulme - not so expensive but has a very nice community feel to it; well-connected, can get a lot of house for your money, but not sure about schools?
  

Sorry, I know this is a small novel - hope that there's anyone that could give advice!!!! Where do you live in Manchester, and do you like it?

[JeanSeberg]

Stretford?

[MuttonCadet]

I would have suggested Lymm / Alty / Hale.

[JeanSeberg]

I would have suggested Altrincham or Chorlton but you've said no to those, hence me suggesting Stretford.

[missmagnum]

Out of your possibles I would personally avoid Levenshulme, not got a very good reputation.

Nice parts of burnage, close to metrolink, didsbury and some great primary schools.

Don't know much about worsley, but colleagues live there and like it.

Other places to consider, hazel grove, bramhall, Marple, heaton chapel - all good transport links. Can you tell I live south Manchester .

[Mandy21]

I am also south manchester but lived quite closed to Worsley for a while. I always drove, so not sure how good public transport is. Thought of as a 'nice' area. There is a v good (well thought of) private school, but the area as a whole comes under Salford for schooling which doesnt perform quite as well as Trafford (south manc).

I haven't been to Burnage or Levenshulme for years so cant really comment, but Levenshulme in particular didnt have a great reputation when I was growing up in Manchester. Could have changed completely but Worsley , Burnage & levenshulme seem like 3 completely different areas.

[BellaOfTheBalls]

Prestwich?

My friend lives in Hulme & actually I was quite impressed. Very studenty mind you.

[morethanpotatoprints]

Worsley and Astley, but may be too far out for you. No trams here.
Prestwich is nice too.
To be fair all areas with easy commute are going to be student havens.

[willkie]

Thanks all - I know the areas we're looking at are all quite different but we've just got such little sense of where we would like to live! Am going to look into your suggestions :)

[Clawdy]

Heaton Chapel and Heaton Norris are cheaper than Heaton Moor, and have some lovely houses and good schools too.

[willkie]

JeanSeberg I don't actually know Stretford that well other than driving through it sometimes when I still worked in Wilmslow and was going back to Salford... Is it nice?

[willkie]

Clawdy interesting - I only know Heaton Moor from the markets, always impressed by how pretty it is :)

[evelynj]

Urmston is fab, check it out!

[willkie]

I think I'm not necessarily against 'studenty', just against possible noise it might bring... Friends lived in Withington and had loads of noise at night from drunk students walking home... Would hate that!

[willkie]

evelynj thanks, I will!

[willkie]

missmagnum Do you think levenshulme might change a bit though? I've been to the Levenshulme market a few times and it always feel like it has a nice little community there, people all seem very nice...!

Burnage has some lovely bits doesn't it? I do think we should look there :)

[superlambanana]

Cheadle hulme - I used to commute to oxford road from there. Nice area, not as expensive as many, easy access to pretty much everywhere.

[MrsJoeHart]

What's your budget?

If you want good schools you'd be best looking in Trafford.

[EnlightenedOwl]

Try areas around Greenfield and Mossley/Uppermill - good fast train links to Manchester not as isolated as Dobcross.

[SwedishEdith]

Do you mean East Didsbury rather than Burnage? That's quite nice and has a tram and a train station.

I'd go on the X57 bus route and see what you like from there (obviously, excluding the studenty bits) But it's a fast direct bus to the universities

[ReindeerBollocks]

Personally I'd avoid Levenshulne/Burnage if you want children soon.

Trafford schools are good and areas like Sale/Timperley/Altrincham are nice. Not sure why you've discounted them.

Didsbury is lovely but they have a serious issue with shortages in primary school places and secondary schools are an issue.

Stretford/Urmston are nice areas, less pricey than some above.

Cheadle has good schools but the areas are a but the areas can be a bit hit and miss. Same goes for Stockport.

All the Heatons are nice generally.

Good luck!

[willkie]

MrsJoeHart budget is probably up to 350 but would rather stay modest and not overextend ourselves. Thanks for the Trafford tip.

EnlightenedOwl thanks - didn't know about the fast train links!

SwedishEdith not sure! :) this is just mostly from driving around, and I think DP previously almost bought himself a house in Burnage, really liked it there. Bus route,not a bad idea :)

[willkie]

ReindeerBollocks thanks, that's a helpful message! I just wouldn't know re: the shortages in primary school places, that's helpful info.
Sale/Timperley/Altrincham are just not areas we've tended to like, same goes for Prestwich... I couldn't tell you why! We even had a few viewings in Prestwich but just really didn't feel the areas we looked at.

[SwedishEdith]

Estate agents tend to call parts of Burnage East Didsbury.

Are you looking for a particular "feel" to the place?

[willkie]

SwedishEdith not necessarily - we're a bit all over the place with what we want I guess but mostly we'd like somewhere that's good for families, close to some amenities, well-connected. Rather than living rurally, if you see what I mean.

[Impatientismymiddlename]

Avoid Heaton Norris, Levenshulme and most parts of Burnage, the houses are cheap there for a reason.
Consider Heaton moor and Heaton Mersey if you want to live South of Manchester.
Consider sale if you want to access the great schools that Trafford has.
Consider Prestwich if you want to live in North Manchester.