to ask you all for positive (or at least realistic) stories about Manchester/University Of Manchester?

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I’m panicking a bit about DD starting Uni in September. We’re from down south and the vibe feels so different up there. Not in a bad way at all, just very different. I know I’m seeing it through my middle-aged eyes, but I keep reading about the crime rates and the constant rain, and it’s making me anxious! Please help me see it in a more positive light. (I’m being upbeat with DD, but I’d like to actually feel that positivity myself.)

OP I think you need to calm down a bit and just let your DD get on with it. It seems a bit premature to be worrying about part time jobs. It's a big city there are lots of part time jobs in different sectors,many of which will be filled by students. I'm sure your DD will find something that works for her if she needs a job.

DS is a student in Manchester and is having a great time. He grew up in the Lakes and was not used to city life at all but has adapted just fine. He and his housemates have been doing day trips to the Peak District by train over the summer. There's amazing countryside within easy reach if DD needs a change of scene as well as other great cities like Liverpool and Leeds.

Lots of students struggle to get a pt job (with min wage and NI changes employers are recruiting less pt staff) I’ve seen suggestions for them to go to uni city now and apply and get a jump on others.

I went there, and had the time of my life! I still live not too far from Manchester and have a lot of friends who still live in Manchester in and around the student areas, they are all still happy there with no problems. It's a great city and a great university, try not to worry too much, I'm sure your daughter will love it 💐

You might find friendly support from other mums of DC starting university imminently on the HE bit of MN.

I went to university in Bristol, and the tour guide on the open day gleefully told us that it rains 217 days a year there. I haven't noticed Manchester being any wetter since I moved here (apart from the usual climate change related differences) 13 years ago.

My issue with Manchester is the air pollution/traffic. Which needs addressing everywhere, not just here.

I've never experienced crime here (other than from my ex, who doesn't live here anyway). And I've walked over two thousand miles around Greater Manchester in the last year, so I have been everywhere.

Oh for goodness sake, it's well known for being one of the best student cities in the country! Lots of graduates stay on for work because they love it so much.
Lots to do, loads of activity, proper student culture - it sounds exactly what your daughter needs.
"The North" is a really nice place, you know.....
And, yes, it may rain a bit more, but so what? I assume she'll have a waterproof room!

I don’t need assuring. It wasn’t me saying it.

Of course it rains more in Manchester and the surrounding areas than it does in the South East - the climate was one of the key factors in it becoming "Cottonopolis" in the 19th century after all. But it doesn't rain every day and nor is it particularly cold. It's a large, cosmopolitan city with plenty going on, lots of history and great transport links. The Peak District, Lakes and North Wales are within easy reach if your DD wants to get out into the countryside and there's plenty of green spaces in and around the city too. I lived in or close to Manchester for most of my youth. I moved away for work 25 years ago and much as I love where I live now, Manchester will always be "home" for me and I feel very comfortable there. Yes, there are some parts that aren't very nice, but every town and city has those don't they?
I think much of the anxiety comes from unfamiliarity. I have never felt scared in Manchester but I am always a bit on edge in London. I know it's not particularly logical but Manchester is "my" city, whereas London is somewhere where I'm a stranger, not always entirely sure where I'm going etc and that makes me nervy. Possibly being unsure does genuinely put you at a bit more risk. If you're walking confidently and clearly know where you're going you maybe appear less vulnerable than someone who is staring at a map on their phone or studying the public transport information intently. But mainly I think it's a matter of perception. Being a student in any new city can seem daunting at first but your DD just needs to take sensible precautions as she would anywhere and once she settles in she'll have a great time.

Went to Manchester uni, ended up staying for 27 years! Great city, she will have the time of her life.

If anything it’s a bit cleaner than comparable cities because the rain rinses everything off regularly.
It’s not dusty like other, drier cities.
Manchester is known for being very inclusive and easygoing, especially the studenty bits.
The Northern Quarter has a really young vibe and Media City is really lovely too.
I’m another “came for the university and never left”, my DCs are just past student age and have flats near the city centre. They’ve never really had any issue with crime or anything, and they’re regularly walking around Manchester/Salford in the early hours of the morning.

Another comparison (I grew up in London until university and raised my family in Manchester) is public transport behaviour.
In London it’s weird to acknowledge your fellow passengers, but in Manchester people generally nod/talk to each other. They’ll help a struggling visitor work out which tram they want, and everyone thanks the bus driver as they get off the bus. That sort of thing says a lot about the nature of Manchester residents.

Admittedly it’s a long time since I was a student at Manchester (pre mobile phones, so had to use a public pay phone to keep in touch with my parents) but I had a fantastic time as a student there. I stayed on for 4 years and returned to my home city (admittedly London so another big city) for job opportunities. I live in the south east now and my eldest is off to Edinburgh in a couple of weeks which seems very far from home!

Manchester is a vibrant, culturally diverse city with a proud history of progressive open mindedness. I don’t think you would like it here.

Treat her to a good folding umbrella she can keep in her bag at all times, a waterproof coat and some decent boots. She’ll have a fabulous time and the soft water after South East hard water will give her lovely bouncy hair.

it’s a long way if you’re just outside London, which is probably adding to your angst, but as a city really geared up for students without being completely campus, it’s a good choice.

If your DC worried about these things (eg the rain) or just you? Sure she will have a great time. It’s a hard time when your DC go to uni, but sure all will be fine. And the holidays are long!

DD is at unit there and is having a ball.

We're in London so she wanted a big city with good nightlife, and a non campus uni with a big sports scene.

The first year accommodation in Fallowfield was great too.

It does rain all the time until exam revision time! When I was a student there (eons ago) we automatically put up a brolly on exiting the house then took it down if it was not raining.
You can mitigate the risk of crime a bit where she lives- I only got assaulted in Moss side and Longsight. I guess she will be in halls to start with so Fallowfield?
If she works in the student union they used to provide a minibus home. Sounds a bit grim but an excellent university- an quite honestly I think you come out of the university experience a little more independent than if it is a campus university.

It’s probably just the unfamiliarity of it all making you focus on the bad bits, rather than the city itself. I hope she has an amazing time and isn’t too afraid to get stuck into everything. (I didn’t go to Manchester uni but I’m local)

I wasn't assuring you. I was assuring the OP, who had specifically asked for positive/realistic stories about Manchester.

You quoted me and said, ‘I can assure you’. So I took it as you saying to me, ‘I can assure you’ ;-)

We're from the South West, DS is now 33, still loving Manchester after 3 years at uni. No interest in coming home south!

I'm from London and went to Manchester Uni in the late 90s when it had a very bad rep and it was great

I had an LEA grant and no parental.support so on my first day went down to the Union, asked for a bar job and they let me work there between lectures. As my friends all hung out there anyway it never really felt like work and it paid my way through.

I live about half an hour away from Manchester. It's a great and proper city! Lots to do, well connected across the north (and south). She will have an amazing time.
My DD is off to Uni this year too (not MCR) but some of her friends are going there as they love the city and it's an amazing place to study.
Do pack waterproofs though 😂

I've always struggled a bit with Manchester. I loved living in Sheffield and Leeds as a student and have spent a lot of time in Liverpool more recently and loved it.

Tbh Manchester feels a bit more shady, particularly in the centre.

However I was there for three days this summer and spent most fo the time in the Wythenshawe / Rushholme area to the south of the city and it was lovely.

Dd is very happy there and generally feels very safe as everywhere is busy at all times of the day and night.