London or Manchester

[Sonrien]

We currently live in a small town outside london. I've been offered a job for the same salary in Manchester (senior role, high-ish salary). 2 kids, one in secondary, one on primary.

I think the quality of life/ lifestyle must be better further north, but don't really have anything to base that on. Looks like selling a house right now is a nightmare.

Would you uproot your family and relocate?

What year is the oldest ?

Depends on how old the eldest is and where my extended family are. How old is the eldest?

Where abouts in manchester? What's your and the kids quality of life like at the moment?

I’ve lived in both and prefer London and I’m in zone 4. Didsbury is lovely in Manchester but expensive. I wouldn’t move my kids though.

Eldest starts secondary in September. So terrible timing for getting a place. Would have to move in year, or look at private schools. Youngest is in year 3.

Family are in the north, but wouldn't expect to see much of them.

Have no real idea of where to live. Was thinking lancs/ Yorkshire villages.

Would you be mostly wfh? Because a commute from most of Yorkshire to Manchester City centre wouldn’t be the greatest plan.

It depends rather. If your current life offered everything you and your family need and want then there’d be no reason to move - but it sounds as if it doesn’t?

If you like an outdoor life then you’d probably have easier access to the countryside from Manchester. For somewhere that’s not a capital city Manchester is pretty well served for art and culture - galleries, museums, concert halls and theatres are plentiful. (With back up from Liverpool and Birmingham which are near enough for day trips.) And you’d be as close to Edinburgh as to London - a huge bonus, imvho.

But the cutbacks in council spending have been savage over the last few years. Loads of building going on and lots of new parts of the city opening up - but the centre is less appealing than it was maybe ten years ago.

Can’t really comment on schools, though several of the independent schools have strong reputations.

Obviously the cost of living is less than in London so you may find you have more choices open to you if you move.

I live in Manchester, and I used to live in London. That’s a really tricky choice. I love Manchester, I live in didsbury and it is a fabulous place to live, but expensive. Happy to answer any questions about south Manchester living that you have

I would only move if my children at that age were happy to.

Other considerations …

If one or both of your children are black or mixed race boys then you’d be doing them a kindness to move out of London quick sharp, particularly as they progress into their teens.

You’ve said you won’t see much of your northern based family? What about your wider support network? What about the new job - would you find yourself amongst like-minded people? I think you’d need to know much more than you’ve outlined here in order to make an informed decision.

South Manchester/North & East Cheshire is probably the best area to look at in terms of schools and ease of access to the city. Round here near the Cheshire border you’d get a decent 4 bed house for £500-600k. Places like Didsbury/Chorlton are much more expensive.

Lancashire ok, getting to Manchester from most of Yorkshire is awkward due to crap trains.

I’d consider it yeah but you may have to pay for private school for the eldest. There are grammar schools in trafford but extremely competitive. Def quite a few good state secondary schools around but of course depends very much where you live.

I’ve previously lived in London and have far more disposable income than when I lived in London though am paid less. Quality of life probably not quite as good aside from a bigger house, because just not as much (expensive) stuff to do. But we are lucky to be able to save a lot. Easy access to the Peak District is a big plus for us.

Ps I’d recommend coming up for a weekend and having a look at the city and the south Manchester/Cheshire suburbs.

London it ain’t, but still lots to recommend.

I would not. Manchester is a lovely place with lots to do, but for me the earlier winter darkness is not something I would want. Don't mind the rain and wind but like to leave work in daylight for as much of the time as possible.

Interesting reason not to move. I looked up sunset time in Manchester on 21st December and it is earlier than London. I can totally see your reasoning there.

In Manchester it's 15:51 and London is coming in at a much later 15:53!

Thanks all - lots of good insight. I'm front the north-west and have only recently started thinking about returning as my parents get older.

I love the sunshine of the south, but I'm exhausted with travelling into London and taking the tube etc.

Our quality of life is good, house is a squeeze but we couldn't afford to upsize here. I thought you'd get a lot more house for your money up north. But Manchester is a lot more expensive than I expected.

Yes don't go looking at the "Cheshire Triangle" if you're thinking of getting more for your money!

as @SiouxsieSiouxStiletto explains the difference is negligible. Plus we get a bit of extra light in the summer which makes up for it anyway IMO.

It is definitely more precipitous up here, though not as rainy as you might expect. South East drier and usually 2 or 3 degrees warmer.

Yes, London is a little warmer and sunnier - and there’s not much that’s worse than working through July and August, stuck on endless tube platforms because they dig up the underground every Summer!

I'm from Manchester and have worked there, but now live and work in London and have for about 20 years. I'd start by looking at transport, as Manchester's travel system isn't (yet) a patch on the Tube, especially if you're not near a tramline. The train services into Piccadilly and Victoria are shambolic at the moment with no sign of improvement.