Manchester, Longsight or Victoria Park area

[MillicentMartha]

My 21 yo DS is just in the process of looking for a flat/house share in Manchester. He’s just about to start his first job in September and will be moving to Manchester very shortly. He’s been up there for a week looking at properties and has decided on one in this area. I’m a bit dubious about it, it’s above a shop in this area. I’m guessing from street view it’s a 1950s or 60s council estate with solid looking red brick houses and privet hedges. It might be lovely for all I know.

Has anyone any knowledge about the area? He’ll be working in the centre of Manchester so has pretty much no restrictions on where he lives.

Manchester uni students tend to live in Fallowfield and move to Withington when they get their grad jobs, Didsbury or if they get very well paid grad jobs.

However £450 is a very good budget for somewhere nice in Withington. DD was paying £350 for a room in a perfectly decent flat there earlier this year.

Didsbury , Chorlton or Northern Quarter if they get well paid grad jobs.

If you asked people who dont live in manchester they would say avoid it as it use to have a big rep for gun crime. It just that stereo typical view point people have. The media use to call manchester Gunchester because of high gun crime during the gang wars before 2001. But manchester has above the national average crime rate which is expected of any large cities. Just use commonsense to stay safe like dont wonder through dark alleyways in the night on your phone. :)

Northern Quarter is nice but i would not wonder to far off in to salford especially with the gang crime going on with the A Team gang.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/three-attacks-24-hours-targeted-16777309

thats from 4 days ago.

a little background on salford gang.
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/team-gang-who-dominated-salford-16004438

It seems like a well paid grad job to me, but DS is still in frugal student mode. He got the maximum loan and a bursary but doesn’t get any financial help from me, unfortunately, so alway chose the cheapest accommodation at uni.

But there’s also this from today.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/arson-attack-longsight-police-scene-16803640

Its just manchester there is crime everywhere... even in posh areas like Haeld Green

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/yousef-makki-murder-trial-live-16456166

Alot of these attacks are not random they are targeted like being involved with drugs ect...

All of manchester has crime like this but some areas a much worse your best source is police data

I used to live 5 mins away from the crescent. Great area, lived there for 15 years. There’s an area called Trinity Way about a 5 min walk from the houses in the picture that might be a bit cheaper. Walking distance into town too.

Thank you all. He’s going to see if the house on the Crescent is still free. If not he’ll think again. It’s really only a temporary first house share. Once he’s settled in his job and knows the area better, he can explore other areas.

I have really appreciated everyone’s opinions, thank you for your help. We’ll come back to this thread in a few months, I’m sure.

Have to say that it seemed like every one of DD’s male friends, including her boyfriend, were mugged in the three years she was a student in Manchester. She also got burgled in Withington.

OP, Manchester can be pretty rough, I’d advise your boy to live in the best area he can afford.

I would say no to Longsight, not much there and it’s not the safest of areas. Victoria Park isn’t quite as bad. Withington and Fallowfield are both ok -l prefer Withington. Heatons are ok but a lot more suburban. I haven’t been to Firswood for years but it’s ok as far as lm aware and stroll to Chorlton. Chorlton is great and where l would live if l moved back to Manchester but is expensive!!!

No offence taken, Jaquetta W!
Didsbury is within walking distance of the city centre MillicentMartin( if you're a bit squiffy and can't be ars**d waiting for the next night bus) and just 6 miles down the Parkway.
if his budget is £450 a month he could get this in shared house on trendy Burton Road, West Didsbury via spareroom.co.uk
Shared kitchen with dishwasher, cooker, washing machine, microwave, 2 fridge freezers, separate lounge, 2 bathrooms with showers and bath, rear garden.
5 minute walk to West Didsbury Metro station, 5 minute walk to 42 and 43 bus stops.
Current tenants are friendly, tidy, young professionals, 2 of which are from Italy.
Bills included: council tax, water broadband. Bills not included: gas and electricity.

YMS234 Heald Green isn't Manchester - too far out- and not especially 'posh'! Yousef Makki was attacked in Hale Barns (also not Manchester but Trafford/Cheshire) and the jury shamefully failed to convict his murderer.

The Heatons aren’t all suburban; they vary quite a bit. Definitely have a look at Heaton Moor. Nice bars and delis and an old retro cinema. Good frequent trains into Manchester. Quite a young area compared to Didsbury and Stockport is close for basic shopping, gyms etc.

I've lived in Victoria Park for 3 years and Moss Side the last 12 months and had no issues other than late night boy racers around the hospital/Curry Mile. Usual caveat of if you wave a macbook and £50 notes around you might get mugged but you're more likely to get a mouthful off one of the old boys who cycles round with a speaker on their bike or accosted by the Weatherspoons drunks who want to share their poetry. I'm moving back to my home town in South Manchester in an area regularly touted on mumsnet as a great place to live and am far more worried about getting jumped in broad daylight on the way to Tesco than I ever was about walking to Wilmslow Road Nisa at 1am.

I grew up in Longsight. Haven't been back there for 15 years so may have changed but it was a grim place to live. My brother got mugged twice in Birchfield Pk. We had to leave our crappy car unlocked otherwise someone would break the window to see what was in there. Our house was broken into at least 5 times . May be better now though.

Manchester born and bred and live very close to these areas. Deffo not Longsite! Didsbury isn’t far out at all, transport links are great in Manchester and takes 10 mins on the train with loads of mets/busses frequently also. If I was him I would look at Withington/didsbury Levenshulme/possibly Hulme

Chorlton, Didsbury and the Heatons are ridiculously expensive for rental or buying. I would look at Reddish, definitely up and coming as next to the Heatons and the effect is moving out. South Reddish ideally.

I grew up on Meldon Rd. Went to Birchfields Primary school. I love my hometown but that part (aka The Anson estate) is rough as toast. Not one of the families I grew up with are still there. Also never heard Longsight referred to as Gunsight. Manchester was nicknamed Gunchester in the 90s though.
I'm living in Stretford at the moment but looking to move eventually.

@highlandcoo l grew up in the Heatons. In my personal opinion they are suburban and it’s possible other people may agree with me.....

How about the area near the Etihad stadium/national cycling centre. Some nice flats there, big Asda, good transport links into town or walking distance.

That spot on the Crescent (in Salford) will do him nicely. Right on Manchester city border, not far from Salford Uni so lots of younger people around.

EL8888 it’s just a matter of opinion isn’t it?
My son and his mates (late 20s) live in Heaton Moor and they like it. They’d probably rather be in the city centre but it’s a question of affordability.

DS went to Uni in M/CR, stayed there & has recently moved into his first non student house in Withington. It's shared, lovely & £550 incl all bills. Really big rooms. I went to Uni in M/CR back in the day & Longsight was rough even then.

Meldon Road is smack bang in the middle of council estate.
It’s not the nicest of area’s by far, years back it was very rough.
I’m presuming it’s cheap? If it helps I wouldn’t let my 30 yr old live there.

What’s his budget??? That would be a great help. Then we can give a better insight