Moving to Manc - what is commuting like?

[Nifferrea101]

Hi. First time poster here. We're probably moving to Manchester before Xmas and are looking at areas. I've seen lots of threads on here about where to live so we have lots of ideas. Maybe on the tram line around Altrincham, Timperley, Didsbury if we can afford the latter. Or on the train line and further out such as Marple, New Mills, Stockport way. Or maybe north Manchester but we've never been up there! I'd love some opinions on what it is like to commute into central Manchester. I've heard the trains are slow and so over crowded. Is it really this bad?! Also what are the trams like? Partner's job will be right near Piccadilly station. Mine is tbc but I hope to be in central Manchester. We're not sure where to start so hope looking at best commuting options will help. As background we've got a 14 month old and will have less than £300k to buy a house with. Thanks all.

If you were in Didsbury I'd get the train. Manchester Airport to Didsbury line isn't too bad, not that crowded either.

With regards to Fallowfield, the further you get from Wilmslow Road and Owens Park, the fewer students, but also public transport trails off.

I work at a college that has a lot of students who get the Glossop train into town and then the bus back out. About twice a term all of them are late due to train cancellations.

I have friends who lived in Gatley and Cheadle when growing up. The train into town was fairly regular, but if they were going anywhere else or travelling after 11pm they had to be driven.

Take a lok at the four Heatons - you might get a place in your budget in three of them - Heaton Mersey, heaton Chapel and Heaton Norris. Perfect green location near Didsbury and the fantastic heart of Heaton Moor. Train from Heatin Chapel gets to Piccadilly in 8 mins or tram from East Didsbury into Manchester in 23 mins. Good schools too.

Trafford and south Stockport (Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme) are very good for schools but your budget won’t go that far there. Some bits of Cheadle Hulme are cheaper the bits not next to Bramhall but then the schools are more variable whereas the Bramhall schools and the CH schools that end are superb. Cheadle Hulme also has a top secondary school that people are falling over themselves to get into. The train into Manchester from Cheadle Hulme is regular and fast. When we lived there, DH used it every day as did hundreds of others so not sure why the pp thinks nobody travels into town via train. Cheadle is a bit cheaper but you need to check your school catchment plus you’re under the flight path which would drive me nuts.

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The house above is a bit over budget but you’d be on a highly sought after estate in catchment for one of the highest achieving infant school and one of the highest achieving senior schools in south Manchester.

If you want to be between Manchester and Warrington, Lymm would be a good choice. It's a very sought after and pretty town with very good schools.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?searchType=SALE&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E884&insId=1&radius=0.0&minPrice=&maxPrice=325000&minBedrooms=&maxBedrooms=&displayPropertyType=&maxDaysSinceAdded=&_includeSSTC=on&sortByPriceDescending=&primaryDisplayPropertyType=&secondaryDisplayPropertyType=&oldDisplayPropertyType=&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=&newHome=&auction=false

Thanks. We might look at Lymm though keen to have a train station nearby.

Urmston would be a good place then. It's on the train line you need and has great primaries, Urmston Grammar and other good High Schools.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50973159.html

i can see 38 3 bed detached houses within 5 miles of Marple within your budget. Try not to get too caught up in the whole estate agent hype and alleged lifestyle of places like Didsbury etc as they are just another suburb of the big city and there are plenty of areas in and around Manchester that are perfectly fine places to live.

THanks. Unfortunately marple won’t work as my partner will be working in Warrington! We did consider it though before we got the Warrington job.

Knutsford? Train goes to Chester or Manchester. Near the M6 and not far to Warrington either

The inner city suburns of Manchester ,places like Chorlton, didsbury etc are, IMHO well over rated. They style themselves as villages when they are nothing of the kind. £300k will get you a decent house in one of the non ramped up areas of Manchester. Someone mentioned Glossop. Now i kinda like Glossop but it is hell on earth to get in or out of on the morning commute. It truly is hell,,i cannot overstate it. I passed that way at around 6am the other morning and there were already massive queues up the dreaded one lane "back Moor" road consisting of transpennine traffic and feeder traffic trying to get out of glossop and all heading for the M67>M60

Stockport? Think South Reddish and similar.
North Manchester ? why not,,its as good as any and has good transport links.