Guide to best areas to live in Manchester for first job new to the area

[Pistachiomonster]

Best areas to live near Manchester for young graduates early 20’s and best places to look for somewhere to rent needed from July? One will be commuting to Birchwood business park three days a week the other will be commuting to Manchester three days a week.

Two Uni friends new to the area want to find a house or flat to rent. Need parking for two cars, access to good public transport, social life and reasonable rent. Chat GPT comes up with Monton, Didsbury, Altrincham, Urmston, Irlam
and Stretford.

Castlefield area of Manchester is brilliant. Try St George's Island Kelso Place, Vie Apartments that sort of area.

You're walking distance to all the bars and restaurants of Manchester but it's a more peaceful side of town to live.

Or Sale/Stretford/Chorlton is nice but more suburban. Depends what vibe they want really.

Monton is in Salford, Salford is a huge area and like everywhere it has parts that are better than others. Its lovely and great for commuting out to Birchwood but quite family oriented.

If they want Didsbury and parking, look at West Didsbury. There are lots of flats and houses on the Didsbury Point development and on the old hospital site (off Burton Road and Cavendish Road) with parking. Great access to the M56 and the motorway to Warrington and the tram.
West Didsbury is much better than Didsbury for young people in my opinion - lots of nice bars, places to eat and shops etc.

I agree that Castlefield and Salford / Salford Quays are the best bet given the need to get in / out of the city to Birchwood on that side (assuming they are driving rather than getting the train). Chorlton / Didsbury are good areas but would see them battling with commuters coming into the city which can be a nightmare at both ends of the day.

Stretford / Trafford also good bets potentially.

Urmston as mentioned by pp is on the rail route to Birchwood and Manchester. Didsbury and Chorlton are expensive professional areas. Easier to use trains/trams than cars and the parking can be terrible.

The issue I would have with the M56 is that they would need to cross on to the M6 to get to Birchwood and that can be a terrible route. If it were me I’d want to be heading straight out on the M62.

I agree with PP stating urmston, stretford, salford quays and even castlefield. For that location they want to be west side of the city just to make the commute as easy as possible!

I agree and was thinking the same as I was reading that post. The M56 is also awful at the end of the day going into Manchester and had been like that for over 20 years so isn't going to change.

All those roads are traffic heavy. M56, M602, M62,A380. The train is the easiest option for Birchwood.

Salford covers a large area and gets a bad rep mostly by people who haven’t been there.

Prestwich to Birchwood would be a little over 30 minutes drive for that commute. And the other would take the tram into Manchester. (15 minutes or so.)

It’s often cited as one of the best places to live in not just Manchester, but the whole country. Infinite number of coffee shops, cafes, restaurants. Plentiful supermarkets, etc. Green spaces. Trams and buses into the city centre. Great variety of accommodation, and cheaper than Didsbury.

Getting on to the motorway at Prestwich is dreadful from 6am to approx 9.30. Queued every day as there are a number of junctions before you get to the correct junction and everyone is getting off/on at them. Even worse in bad weather or when there is an accident

Cheetham Hill isn’t even in Salford.

How about parking at Salford Quays? I think neither of them were keen on high rise flats and wanted car parking when they visited two weeks ago but something might have to give.

There are flats at Salford Quays with parking

Prestwich sounded ideal until the traffic was mentioned.

Okay

I agree with @EscapadeVelocityre Prestwich and frankly the motorway M62/M60 is a nightmare during rush hour at any time no matter where you try to join it. I would avoid driving at all costs as at least once/twice a week some section is shut due to an accident. Prestwich has an excellent tram service and I would look at taking tram to Piccadilly then train to Birchwood which is about 20 mins. There is a load of money going into Prestwich and there’s loads going on.

Another vote for Urmston here.

It isn't unless you start in Manchester or live in/near Urmston, Flixton or Glazebrook. Plus it's either a bus journey or a walk from Birchwood station to Birchwood Business Park. Not an easy journey by public transport. Theoretically it could be quite quick. I wouldn't like to do it in practice in the rain or in winter.

Thank you I don’t know Manchester at all
or any of these roads to advise them sorry. But it sounds like if they choose to rent in the wrong area it could be dreadful if they get it wrong.

It's a nice area but not if you are trying to get to Birchwood for work

My daughter moved to Manchester straight from university (from a small Cambridge college and from a childhood spent on a farm) so a big city was very much a new experience!
She lived happily in a flat on the Northern Quarter - plenty of buzz there, before purchasing a flat at Salford Quays (although there are plenty to rent there) which did come with parking. She worked in the city centre and the trams were very efficient- they actually stopped outside of her block.
Now living in Eccles (definitely a town of two parts) she is the Ellesmere Park side of the main road into Manchester and has tram and train within a 10 minute walk and brilliant Monton High Street 10 minutes in the other direction.
Flats go quickly and you don’t have much time for deliberation, or someone else will have snapped it up. As a letting agent said to us “If you snooze - you loose!”
Goid luck!

Thanks its a minefield. Its likely one of them will have to try and book the accommodation without the other present as one is away on a secondment for two months before with work.

If they do all their research and pin point the area then it will be fine for one to view it and make the decision there and then. I had to make a call for my DD flat as her flatmate was at the viewing on a Monday morning and my DD couldn’t take calls from work - so I was on FT. Other viewers were lined up for the afternoon - so I had to give the go ahead there and then on behalf of my daughter otherwise she would lose out.

On her previous first flat viewing I was with her and again encouraged her to take it there and then as the next viewers were just walking up the road - the agent turned them away at the door!

With flats - always take note of the common areas - look out all of the windows and try to get a clue as to who else is living in the block - especially above you - baby waking at 6am everyday day is grim.