Heaton Moor or Wilmslow

[naoshima]

Hi all, I moved to Manchester from London about a year ago for a new job at Salford University. I stayed near Salford as a temporary solution, but now my little one is nearly 4, she is going to school soon next year, and I need to move to a more family-friendly area soon. I work 3 days a week and the place will be just for the two of us. I have been looking at numerous places at Sale, Altrincham, old Trafford etc. But with the budget I have, they are not particularly nice. I recently saw two apartments, one near Wilmslow station(1 bed) and one at Heaton Moor(two bed but share ownership) near Heaton Chapel station. The places are both nice, but I would like to weigh a little bit more based on schools around the area. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.x

or anywhere else I should look into?

Yes, I actually looked into it, but it is over my budget....nothing came up on Rightmove when I put my max price, haha.....

Are you still working at the university? I wouldn't want to commute from either of those.

North (of Manchester) is cheaper than south so I'd look in that direction. Prestwich?

Stretford?

If you drive then look at Urmston

Both nice areas with good schools but expensive

cheadle worth a look, and Urmston

Prestwich to Salford Uni is a horrible commute, prices are also pretty high and will probably go higher in the very near future due to the arrival of Gail’s and Rudys

Heaton Chapel has some lovely primary schools. High schools are hit and miss, Priestnall used to be outstanding but has dipped in recent inspections, but probably still one of the better options. (Also a lot of high schools around that way are fine but not amazing, but that is probably true of anywhere unless you are in the grammar catchments like Trafford.) Heaton chapel is close to Heaton Moor which has nice parks, shops, pubs, bistros and bars, decent schools - and hefty property prices! I'd vote HC but that's only because I know the area and schools more than I know Wilmslow and Wilmslow schools. Also it may not matter to you, but Wilmslow doesn't have a community feel as much as the Heatons do, imo.

Wilmslow has some great state primary schools and a good high school. I'm not sure how long the commute is to Salford but I have friends who take the train from Wilmslow to Manchester every day and don't seem to have too much of an issue with it. As you've seen, the area is incredibly expensive.

I'd also recommend having a look at Cheadle. It's family friendly and there are some great primary schools in the area. The Laurus Trust are also worth googling for schools. You may get into the catchment of one of their high outstanding high schools if you consider Cheadle.

Yes, thank you, definitely worth to have a look around that area.

Yes, I also had a look at Heald Green. It has direct train to Salford crescent. Don't know much about the schools around there, all primary school looks good, not too sure about secondary ones. Also don't know how bad the plane noise will be... So tricky....

Yeah! I did view some places there and Whaley Range as well, nothing really suitable at the moment, would be great to not move too far out, but maybe it is just luck, I haven't found anything near that feels right after months of searching...Now I am very close to the deadline in Jan to apply for school, very stressful. Thank you for all the warm recommendations!x

Yes! haha, I looked into that area as well, nothing within my budget or need on rightmove, there is one shared ownership is on my list from gecko, keeping a close eye on it when it is ready at the moment. Obviously share ownership is not ideal, but if that is what it will take...

Thank you! both of the areas are on my radar!

Thank you, that's so helpful!

Thanks. So true, everything you have said is what I experienced. I bumped into the owner today at the apartment in Heaton Moor, and he invited us to community gathering at a cafe just in case we have any questions after the viewing. There is a sense of community there, I felt so welcomed. Same for the schools, I had a little dig and exactly what you said, maybe I don't have to worry to much about secondary school as my kid only go to primary reception next year. How about William Hulme's Grammar school, they have a primary school as well, wondering whether it is worth it. I did book a tour in the near future to have a look.

Both are nice but I would prefer H Moor. Also worth looking at Hazel Grove which has the train link and some nice parks and schools.

Thanks a lot. Yes, the place I looked into is just by the train and make it easy for me to go to Manchester and London. I know both the places are expensive, Wilmslow in particular, but surprisingly, with the all the places I have looked so far in south Manchester, those two are the ones I can afford and seems in a very good condition. So weird for me...

The Laurus Trust, first time to hear about it, sounds amazing! I just had a look, a few schools on my list are there. X

Super! I will have a look at Hazel Grove.x

Have you considered how you will commute to work, Salford is a long way from most of the places you are looking at. If you drive, it’s still cross country and communities into Manchester is tiresome as there are few road crossings over the River Mersey and the two main roads get very busy. You might need to look at good train or tram links.

I currently live in Bramhall, near Cheadle and my sister lives in Heaten Mersey so know the area well. I was born and grew up in Chorlton and taught at the High Schoo, there until recently so also know that area of Manchester as well which includes Urmston and Stretford. I’m surprised that you can afford to look at Cheadle and The Heatons yet find Urmston too expensive - maybe you are unlucky with what’s available at the moment.

I don’t know what the admissions policy is at William Hulme nowadays as it used to be a Private, fee paying school that then formed a partnership with Manchester Education Dept to become a comprehensive so I don’t know if there is a catchment area. If so, I suspect it will be very small as the school is in demand based on its previous history as a Private School.

Avoid Heald Green, it is very noisy with planes as it’s very close to the airport.

There are few Primary Schools in Manchester that I would be concerned about, maybe just those in areas of particular deprivation but Secondary Schools do vary a lot. Those with the best reputations are in the most expensive areas to live which might be out of your reach for now so I suggest you focus on looking at Primary Schools in areas accessible to the University with housing you can afford.

You will definitely get more for your money N of Salford, I don’t know the area too well but I’d stick to the NE rather than the West side.

Have you considered how you will commute to work, Salford is a long way from most of the places you are looking at.

Yes, yes and yes again.

Contrary to PP's assertion the commute from Prestwich to Salford Uni is fine (there will be a temporary issue soon whilst Frederick Road near the uni is closed for the construction of the new garden bridge).

Prestwich can be v expensive but there are cheaper parts too. I'd look on the border with Salford, where M25 meets M7.

I live just outside of Wilmslow and I wouldn't want to commute to Salford from there. Particularly if I were a single parent so getting back in time to collect from childcare was an issue. To be honest, I wouldn't be looking anywhere in Cheshire or the Cheshire/Stockport bordering areas if I had to commute to Salford. You're looking at an hour commute if everything goes smoothly, but there are often delays or cancellations. My husband and I commuted to Manchester from near Wilmslow for three months before Covid hit, and several times in that short period we were stuck hanging about in Manchester due to train delays.

Heald Green is not an option if the plane noise would bother you. I'd question Cheadle Hulme as well on that front. I take my 3 year old to Bruntwood Park specifically because the planes are constant, low flying and loud and he loves to watch them.

I'd be looking at somewhere either in Manchester and connected to the tram or somewhere that isn't Manchester but is on the train lines to Salford Crescent. Atherton is meant to be nice, although I don't have personal experience.

I don't rate Wm Hulme much. It's ok, but Chorlton High or Didsbury High much better. I think because it has the word "grammar" in its name people think it's great. It's gets 56 percent of pupils grade 5 in maths and English whereas in Chorlton it's 62 percent. It's boy heavy due to girls' school locally, and very ethnically diverse which might be a positive point for you stats here say 6% white British
https://www.schoolratings.co.uk/school/135296-william-hulme%27s-grammar-school?bounds=-2.282066345214844,53.41168064175997,-2.2113418579101567,53.47834142185993

Anyway my point being that I wouldn't deliberately base my home choice around that particular school catchment when imo there are better schools nearby. Heaton Moor is lovely btw, Tithe Barn primary has a good rep and I think most go to Priestnall secondary.