If you had the choice, would you live in York, Bath or South Manchester?

[GoldPaperStars]

We’re living in the SE at the moment and might have the option coming up to move to one of those places.

I know Bath well and it’s beautiful, but potentially a bit parochial? I don’t particularly want to live somewhere gritty, but I also want a bit of stimulation!

York and South Manchester I don’t know well at all, but I feel like they might be a bit more interesting to live in.

When we moved we’d probably have a 1/2 year old and I do worry about making friends, so we need to pick somewhere friendly with opportunities to meet people.

WWYD?

Bath

I'd choose Bristol over Bath - very commutable and lots more to do.

South Manchester - depends which bit. I have fond memories of my time there as a student, but you wouldn't want to live in Fallowfield or Withington (too many students), some areas are very ethically diverse (Moss Side, Rusholme, Longsight etc), Chorlton from memory has the nation's highest rates of burglary... Didsbury is nice though

Manchester
I used to love York but the city centre is looking a bit grotty in places and is full of hen/stag do’s at weekends
Don’t know Bath but I do love Manchester

Manchester. York and Bath are very much geared up for tourists, I've not lived in Bath but when I lived in York I felt very much like I was secondary to the tourists in the eyes of the council/city planners.

I live in Bristol. Bath is lovely and I visit often but if you want an 'edge' to a place with huge variety of things going on then I'd recommend Bristol.

I know lots of friends in Bath though with young children and they love it. The ones with older dcs, As they grow into tend they tend to migrate towards Bristol for more stuff going on but honestly, the travel time between Bath and Bristol is fairly small and you can have the best of both worlds really.

*grow into teens.

South Manchester for sure.
Someone mentioned Chorlton’s burglary rate, didsbury has a mad high rate too, more crime in didsbury than moss side.

I’d choose Bath.
York is lovely too and although Bath is more touristy, I’d choose it because I love the West Country and it’d only be a relatively short distance to some of my favourite seaside towns

I’ve lived in both York and Manchester. Although York is a gorgeous place to visit and I have very happy memories of my time there it’s very much a tourist city. South Manchester is a brilliant place to live.

I'd be very torn between Manchester and Bath. Or, rather, the nicest parts of Manchester and maybe a lovely village close to Bath.

Hmm ... Two hours train to London from Manchester (But horrendously long to drive.) An hour and twenty minutes (still?) to Lindon from Bath. Much closer, easier drive.

Astonishing difference in weather and sunlight. Surrounding countryside is wilder around Manchester - but the Wiltshire/Somerset area is really ... magical.

Manchester is cool, hip, buzzy - full of fabulous culture - galleries, museums, theatres, concert halls. And the abundant universities mean its an intellectually and creatively stimulating place to be if that matters to you. The city was also wonderfully well kept and clean - before austerity. Not so now. But with so much building work going on it changes every day. It's a really vibrant place to bring up a child.

Bath ... It's just so beautiful. It takes years to notice the things it lacks because your senses are overcome by golden stone and green vistas. It feels relaxed. When you're not being held up by tourists and traffic. Eventually you'll feel that anything happening - is happening elsewhere ...

I don't know York enough to comment.

Depends so much on what you want. Do you have other requirements aside from what you've mentioned?

If you'll need to find work locally, Manchester has the best general job market. There is also cheaper housing available there than there is in Bath. However, there aren't a lot of places in South Manchester that aren't at least neighbouring gritty. Unless you're also including the Altrincham area in South Manchester.

I lived in Bath for a while. Loved it there, beautiful place and loads of lovely walks etc. Never been to York but like Manchester for night life etc.

Manchester.

Bath is a nice town but the surrounding countryside is dull as fuck. In Manchester you're on the doorstep to the Lakes, the Pennines, the Dales, Forest of Bowland, North Wales. Far better.

York is overrun with tourists, which makes it not great to actually live in. And the traffic is particularly horrendous. Bath is not so bad on either front, the proximity to Bristol is handy and it’s warmer. People I know who live in Bath like it.

I don’t know much about Manchester, but that will also be noticeably colder if you are used to the south.

Depends how far south of Manchester you are talking about.

10-20 minutes walk south is definitely 'gritty'.

10-20 minutes on the train and you are in decent, 'safer' suburbs.

York but a few miles outside in one of the satellite towns/villages, there's some absolutely gorgeous places around North Yorkshire.

Manchester.

Bath with York second.

Anywhere but Bath! The pollution levels are horrific as it sits inside a bowl and it's such a boring place. Nice to visit as a tourist but that is about it.

I'm just a few miles outside the city and I'd rather brave the notorious Bristol traffic than go into Bath of an evening.

I have lived in Manchester and York. Grew up near Bath. Depends on your lifestyle. Have you got kids? What do you like to do at weekends? York wins for me with Young children with Bath second. But we love the countryside, the sea etc

This is all really helpful and interesting! Thank you!

To answer a couple of questions - we expect to have a young child when we move. We love spending time in the countryside and by the sea, but don’t want to live in a village. I suppose we want that cliche of nice places to shop and have brunch within walking distance!

By South Manchester I did mean Chorlton sort of area. No more than half an hour’s commute into the centre.

at the Manchester crime!

Any more opinions to confuse me further are more than welcome!

York is my kind of place. Manch 2nd & Bath fine.

I'm in a large village a few miles from
York city centre. It's a fantastic place to live. The traffic varies depending where you are going, (I commute north against the flow of people coming in) some areas are bad, but others not as congested.
York itself is lovely, yes a few empty shops, and piss heads at the weekend, but generally still very nice.

Bath then York, though it's a close tie. I wasn't really a fan of Manchester when I visited though it has so much to offer.

Definitely Bath, on weekends you want a change there's the Cotswolds, Oxford, Bristol, Malmsbury, Marlborough ... the list goes on... so close by. As someone who's moved to not far from Manchester, it's a short list of pretty places to see, though of course much more city life. Depends what you'll value the most.