Moving to South Manchester - advice please!

[katiecat19]

Hi there - we're going to be moving to South Manchester in the next couple of months from the North East (my job will be in Altrincham and other half is likely to be city centre, so thought South Manchester best bet)

We are looking for somewhere nice to rent for now - close to tram/ train links, family friendly (not wanting to be near student areas) with stuff going on, nice restaurants, cinema - not too quiet. Can anyone advise on where to try/ avoid? So far we've been recommended Didsbury, Chorlton, Sale and been told Altrincham lovely, but pricey and possibly a bit quiet. Been told to avoid Salford.

Any advice much appreciated :-)

I would recommend chorlton or west didsbury for restaurants etc. I have just moved to chorlton and I love it (im from the NE too actually) You can't beat Altrincham for schools but its a bit bland for me.
Do you have kids? The schools in manchester are very oversubscribed so that could really effect things.

Thank you! Not yet - in the next couple of years hopefully! We've got some viewings set up for Sale and Withington at the moment (couldn't find anything for less than £800 a month rent wise in Chorlton or West Didsbury) Is Withington OK? I saw it was below Moss Side (but hard to judge distance from a map) :-)

IMO withington and sale are both nice, but withington is very student, and sale has more of a family feel.

Thanks - this is all massively helpful to me as don't know the areas well at all. Going to have a mooch about at the weekend. Please feel free to keep commenting, it's all really helpful xx

Withington is definitely student ridden in some places. Nice though. There is a train on mauldeth rd that takes 7 mins to get to Piccadilly. Can't beat that for location, and buses that go to west didsbury and chorlton.

don't forget, if you're having a look this weekend, that the students won't be back until late Jan, so you might want to pop back later during term time

Within Didsbury, you have 3 different areas:

• West Didsbury - young people (& young families), loads of bars and restaurants - very sociable
• Didsbury village - restaurants and shops like M&S Food, but limited housing so very expensive
• East Didsbury - much quieter, older people and families - no bars/restaurants but only 10-15mins walk from the village and much cheaper than the village

East Didsbury could actually be good as there's a train direct into the city centre and also the tram starts there (for Altrincham). Places will be cheaper on the Stockport/east side of the A34 even though you might still only be a short walk from the station/ village. There's also a big cinema/ gym complex near the station

Sale is definitely up and coming and very handy for Altrincham but personally I find it a bit lifeless. I'd say it's more somewhere you move to when buying your first family home as it's massively cheaper than Didsbury.

Have you ruled out the city centre? I lived there when I first moved to Manc and living in the city is a great way to get to know the place, especially if you're 'pre-family'! Trams run from there to Altrincham. You could always rent in the city for 6-12mths while you get to know Manchester, then look for something more long term in south Manchester once you're settled...

Good luck!

Didsbury has it all, but pricey as a result - schools all excellent and over subscribed etc.

Thanks all - we went for Sale in the end, bit cheaper than Didsbury and Chorlton and easy to get to work.Renting for a little while to find our way around and will look to buy from there! Thanks for your help :-) xx

There are a few mners in Sale. Good for meet ups.

We're a friendly bunch in Sale, love to see you at a meet- up!

Im in sale and it really is a nice place to bring children up in. We have great schools too. Good bus and metrolink routes fab shopping close to Trafford centre and only 20 mins by tram into Manchester city centre. All in all a great place to live. X

Don't avoid Salford. Worsley, Roe Green and Monton are lovely. Check right move. Monton commute is a lot better than from South Manchester.