To ask anyone from Manchester...

[totaketheplunge]

Hi all,

Please can I have some advice? If you were a solo, 26yo old woman wanting to move to Manchester. Where would you look at moving to? Some things to consider:

• I'm a teacher so needs to be decent schools around

• I don't necessarily need to be in the middle of Manchester

• I like somewhere with plenty going on but also not keen on mega busy roads with loads of traffic

• somewhere I will feel safe

Thanks so much!

Ramsbottom IS lovely but the traffic getting in/out/around Manchester is absolutely horrendous and makes daily life a misery.

My daughter lives in Stalybridge and is very happy there. It's cheap and OK and a fast train connection to central Manchester. OTOH, if you want to be on the tram network, which is VERY convenient the nearest station from there is Ashton under Lyne - not such a good place to live but good for shops.

Thanks so much guys. No one has mentioned Salford which I looked at, and Salford Quays - what would you say about that area?

And I'm nervous to base the house I buy around the job, if that makes sense, because I'd rather ensure I love my home and then find the job that suits me I suppose. I'm not sure what the best way is to do it!

How does a teacher sell their property, hand their notice in, find a new job and buy a new property all in timing with school holidays etc!? I'm so overwhelmed by it.

What's your budget? Worsley/Monton area is nice.

You also might be better off renting a room somewhere up there to get a feel for the area before buying something?

Quite tricky timing everything. Possibly rent if yours is sold.

I did have teacher who camped for a few weeks, in a tent, at the start of the new school year, because her house sale wasn't complete. Now that is dedication.

No one has mentioned Salford

that’s because Salford is a different city, and north of the ship canal. I can hear my grandma sniffing in disdain from here a la hyacinth bucket.

@taketheplunge I live in Trafford, am originally from one of the less affluent northern parts of Manchester mentioned above and Trafford is lovely but expensive in parts. I lived in London for 10 years and we owned a house there so moving here was quite straightforward but housing is pricey in Altrincham, Hale, Sale and Bowden. Because of the grammar system it's highly sought after.

I love this part of the Borough but the roads are quite busy in the mornings. I'd recommend renting for 6 months to make sure it suits you. If you like being near the countryside you might like some of the villages but they tend to be expensive without many schools because the demographic is older. What do you like to do at weekends?

Salford is a different city. Next to Manchester and a Borough of Greater Manchester but with its own identity!

How does a teacher sell their property, hand their notice in, find a new job and buy a new property all in timing with school holidays etc!? I'm so overwhelmed by it.

Lots of teachers do it every year, you don't necessarily need to time it with school holidays but it helps if you have a job and then know where you want to be, you seem to be making it more difficult by looking for a house first! Find a job, rent for a couple of terms and use that time to look for a house in an area you like and is convenient, but not too convenient, for school.
Your first paragraph re Salford, there are good reasons no-one has mentioned it, even the Quays!

I worked in Manchester for many years. It's a long time since I left and things will have changed no doubt, but whilst virtually all my colleagues were mortgaging themselves to the hilt to buy in Sale or Didsbury we bought a house on the edge of Worsley and got a lot more for our money. We didn't have school aged children then so I don't know about schools but I liked living there and the transport links are good. The traffic was pretty terrible at rush hour but then it us everywhere in Manchester, and probably in every city in the country.
I had some friends who lived in Salford Quays. They had a nice flat which was good for a couple wanting to make the most of city life but they moved when they had children as they wanted a garden and somewhere a bit quieter.
Everyone will tell you that South Manchester is best and it does have a lot going for it, but there are lots of other nice places in and around Manchester where your money will go further.

Thanks to all of you who are being so helpful. I'm not totally thick but it is all new to me. If context is needed, my experience of my home county has been ruined by domestic violence hence the need for a fresh start. So thank you to those of you who aren't mocking me for not knowing everything about Manchester.

I totally see what everyone is saying with regards to renting, but would I not be at a disadvantage as I currently have a shared ownership property, so would it be foolish to sell that and step off the property ladder? My mum has always told me once you're on the "ladder" that you shouldn't come off it! But the thought of having to just sell my flat and buy another shared ownership property somewhere brand new is very scary.

Salford Quays is an odd place to live. I had a flat there and it was great in the day but I felt very unsafe walking at night. There are no main roads through so it's quiet, but the flip side is you need to walk on quiet quayside pavements which felt unsafe to me. Didsbury, Chorlton, Altrincham, Heaton Moor are great if you want leafy suburbs with lots of upper middle class neighbours but you will need a big budget. Walley Range, Fallowfield (studenty area), Levenshulme, Withington, Heaton Chapel are a bit more reasonable. I'd definitely rent before buying, Manchester is big and one person's ideal area is another's nightmare. For commuting, bear mind that you might as well live in another town on side near to your job (eg. Wilmslow, Preston, Liverpool, Warrington, Chester) as live on the opposite side of Manchester.

Have you seen which schools have jobs you can apply for? (Sorry if this so a dumb question)

well done for getting away from a domestically abusive relationship too 💐

Sit on a cactus.

😂

Personally I don't see the point in paying a premium to live in Salford Quays unless you need to be there.

I live in a northern borough. I'm surrounded by beautiful countryside and moorlands, a few minutes from a motorway and rail station that will have me in the city centre in less than 20 minutes. There's a load of nice bars and restaurants within walking distance of my house. I've never felt unsafe here either.

Urmston

The thing about Manchester (inside the M60) is you have very affluent areas right next to less affluent areas.
Tbh most of it feels safe to me except a few seedy areas in the city centre.
It's really about your personal preference as each area has its own personality.

The teacher I know who teaches in Manchester lives in Warrington and she says many of her colleagues similarly live a distance away from their schools. She said it’s not the done thing to teach in your own community any more, but that could be a reflection of her school (bit rough).

I’m not a teacher but whenever I’ve moved it’s always been get the job first then the housing follows, with a short intervening period of renting in the middle so there’s no chain and I was a more attractive buyer due to that.

For commuting, bear mind that you might as well live in another town on side near to your job (eg. Wilmslow, Preston, Liverpool, Warrington, Chester) as live on the opposite side of Manchester.
That's a really good point actually.
Do you definitely want to live in Manchester itself OP? Otherwise you could do worse than look at houses in Warrington. It's not a particularly exciting place in its own right but it is a great place to get to other places from. Not only do the M6 and M62 intersect there but the M56 is also very close and the West Coast main line and the Manchester- Liverpool railway both pass through the town centre too. So you'd have a lot of potential work places in a reasonable travel distance. My niece is a primary school teacher and she lives in Warrington but works on the outskirts of Manchester. Before she got a permanent job in the area she did supply and was never short of work as there were so many places she could get to quite easily.
There has been a huge amount of house building in the area in recent years too so you'd probably have more choice and find somewhere at a better price than in much of Manchester. Obviously no use if you really need to be in the city itself, but definitely worth exploring if not.

What happens if you buy a house in a nice area and then don't find a job though? Or the only jobs entail a massive commute? How will you pay your mortgage? Will you even get a mortgage if you don't have proof of income?
You need to find a job first. Then you rent or commute until you can find a house to buy.

Didsbury, Altrincham, Knutsford. All nice areas, vibrant towns

Honestly it all depends on your budget.. as a (presumably) young teacher buying solo I would say its likely all but the smallest of 1 beds in places like altrincham and chorlton will be out of reach financially. I'm mid 30s, single and I live in Baguley, about 300m from the border with Sale. Its not a posh area but very safe, I happily run alone at night. However 2 miles away more into Wythenshawe is pretty dire. So it's definitely worth renting/house sharing for a bit to get a feel for the areas. Eg the chorlton end of Whalley range is good, but the hulme end isn't so great. Same with Stretford, some bits are lovely and others are unsafe.

Friends of mine with single incomes have bought in urmston, cheadle, reddish, prestwich. Now HS2 is scrapped northenden could also be a good option. Altrincham, Sale, Didsbury, Chorlton would be the 'best' areas, but some of the most expensive in the NW I think.

Personally I would always want to be near a tram stop, the trains are a bit of a disaster at the moment and I probably go into Manchester once or twice a week for dinner/drinks.

Then depending how central to Manchester you want to be, other friends have bought in Staleybridge and New Mills, there's a fast train into manc, lovely countryside close by and very affordable.

For someone your age and someone who’s looking for nice, busy enough, safe I think it boils down to these three basically.

Please see my last post about not wanting to sell my house and come off the property ladder. Also it's fairly easy to get a job in teaching. The UK is desperate for teachers