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Original poster

We’ve had the london one so…what do non-Mancunians think of Manchester?

218 replies

RishisPA · 11/04/2022 06:52

Interested to see how it compares? Any insights into Manchester? I hate how so many visitors end up getting off at Piccadilly and going straight to Piccadilly gardens when (imo) that’s the worst bit of the city centre!!

OP posts:
Allaboutyou222 · 11/04/2022 06:57

Piccadilly is a shit hole. I’m not a Mancunian but I live near Manchester. I think it’s obviously the ‘second city’ but has a high opinion of itself. Too many large blocks of apartments, a bit scruffy, people have a sarcastic humour but not especially’warm’, the city does have a good buzz about it though, it’s damp.

Mamamovingnorth · 11/04/2022 07:05

Manchester is fully depressing. Satellite towns near Manchester are the most depressing places in the uk. I’m from one. It’s a place utterly devoid of any culture of community other than football and a string of terrible bands.

Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds are all infinity better in every way.

Flapjacker48 · 11/04/2022 07:13

Rough.

Original poster
RishisPA · 11/04/2022 07:24

Wow these are brutal! I love Manchester!

OP posts:
OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 11/04/2022 07:27

Big. Lots of cool stuff. Some scary bits.

My sister went to uni there and lived there for several years afterwards and my BIL lives there.

Comedycook · 11/04/2022 07:29

I went once....I like it. I was very shocked by the levels of homelessness

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 11/04/2022 07:32

Ha! I got lost in the snail shell / circular maze of roads round the Jarvis Picadilly. I must have gone round it twice - about 25 years ago when many roads had the Games hoardings up.

I was stopped in traffic when an enormous black guy tapped on my window and asked me if I was lost. He stood in the middle of traffic pointing at the right road, describing the turns, waving politely at drivers passing us. Nobody beeped, nobody seemed to bat an eye lid. When he finished he held his hand up to the cars between him and the pavement, they all stopped and let him walk back.

I followed his instructions and got straight to the door.

So many bloody stereotypes blown out of the water with one kind gesture.

I've met the same friendliness each time I go. But it's still a busy, noisy, smelly city. And I am always glad to come back home.

SilkenBunny · 11/04/2022 07:32

I was at Uni in Manchester. I was one of those softy southern students that you all seem to hate. Grin My impressions? First three years - loved it. Gritty, brilliant night life, great shopping, actually quite pretty in the sunshine. By my fourth year I had grown tired of it. The non-stop rain and the chippy aggression from many of the locals. After being spat on (funnily enough while walking through Piccadilly Gardens), jumped on by a 12 year old kid while walking home from lectures, assaulted in a club and broken into, my time there was done. Quite happy to scuttle back down to the softy south and stay here.

I have been back since and it's wonderful to visit. The majority of locals are very friendly and the city has developed so much it's almost unrecognisable.

MissCrowley · 11/04/2022 07:34

I'm from a Manchester town and was raised there too. Moving around from North to south Manchester.
Manchester City centre is a shit hole. I hate it with every fibre of my being and I'm happy I never have to go there ever again.

ProfYaffle · 11/04/2022 07:34

Used to love it in the 80's/90's but it's a very different city since the arrival of Harvey Nicks and super cars razzing up and down Deansgate.

Mustardmusings · 11/04/2022 07:37

I’ve never really understood the appeal of manchester and really don’t like the city centre. Thought it was grim.

TheHuntingoftheSnark · 11/04/2022 07:38

It always rains.
Very concretey but funky city with lots of independent life. Cheap but not as cheap as Liverpool.
Too concretey for me but a proud outwards looking city with lots of excellent history and culture.

savedbyanalien · 11/04/2022 07:39

Oh, that was my London thread Grin

I've never been to Manchester and have no desire to visit. What would I even see there? Or do?

CurbsideProphet · 11/04/2022 07:40

Pre covid I had to travel there regularly for work meetings (from 40 ish miles away). I used to walk passed so many people homeless, drunk, or on spice it has coloured my opinion. I'm hoping that work don't restart the Manchester meetings as I'm not keen to go back regularly.

ThePoetsWife · 11/04/2022 07:40

I love it. The city centre is great - esp Northern Quarter. So many places to eat and shop, lots of nice architecture and even Salford Quays was a hit when we visited. Getting around on foot is so easy - and I think it's great that so many people live in the city in those blocks as this adds to the city vibe.

I'm with you re Piccadilly Gardens and the smaller towns in and around Greater Manchester.

GeneLovesJezebel · 11/04/2022 07:40

DD went there for Uni. It’s the pits, and London is worse.

LubaLuca · 11/04/2022 07:43

I don't like being in Manchester. I find it quite dirty with lots of pissy doorways, litter, and graffiti on every shutter. I don't find it a relaxing place to be, even on sunny days the general atmosphere is not pleasant. My husband often works in Manchester though, and he is quite fond of it.

I prefer Liverpool.

PeggyGa · 11/04/2022 07:43

I came to uni here and love it.

MissDollyMix · 11/04/2022 07:48

Manchester is gritty and dirty. I was absolutely horrified by the homelessness and drugs last time we visited. (I say that although I’m actually currently sitting in a hotel at Manchester airport!) That said, I do like it. It’s got a fab Christmas market, loads of interesting amentities, shops. The best china town in England. I actually really like some of the suburbs and having the stunning moors and Lake District right on your doorstep - I could definitely live here.

Original poster
RishisPA · 11/04/2022 07:49

@SilkenBunny fellow southerner now back in london but went to uni there! My favourites:

  • northern quarter
  • Christmas markets
  • nights out
  • beautiful buildings
  • medicity

I have lots of friends who settled in the nice suburbs (heatons, Chorlton, didsbury) and the houses they get for the money are amazing!

OP posts:
RodiganReed · 11/04/2022 07:51

I've never been to Manchester and have no desire to visit. What would I even see there? Or do?

Whatever you would do in any contemporary European city I guess. It has great little vintage shops, bars, coffee shops, the Whitworth, the Lowry, hop on a tram, walk along the canal etc etc.

I haven't been for years but when I do it's normally for a gig, my last one was at the Ritz and before that Refuge.

It has a different vibe to London, as its smaller for starters, I would say its more masculine somehow with brooding redbrick architecture rather than pretty Georgian/ Edwardian streets like London.

I kind of pity people who can't find joy in big noisy cities.

AngelicaElizaAndPeggy · 11/04/2022 07:52

Terrifying! The Chicago of the north west. But v friendly people too. And massive skyscrapers.

Snoken · 11/04/2022 07:53

I live about 20 miles out of Manchester, but I am not from the area. I don't love Manchester personally. It's very grey, and completely devoid of any green spaces. Traffic is horrendous most of the time, and the air quality very poor. I do like strolling around the Northern Quarter, eat in Ancoats and sit by the water in New Islington. The rest I can leave.

Hoppinggreen · 11/04/2022 07:55

I really love Manchester. We live about 40 minutes away and both me and DH have worked in the city centre at various points in our careers.
It’s busy but generally very friendly and I really enjoy visiting

Hoppinggreen · 11/04/2022 07:56

@savedbyanalien

Oh, that was my London thread Grin

I've never been to Manchester and have no desire to visit. What would I even see there? Or do?

Imagine a smaller London with nicer people