moving to manchester with family-needing urgent advice

[schatzu]

Hi, we are moving to manchester very soon and wanted some advice on a nice area to live. We are a young family with 2 kids (2 yrs old and 4 yrs old) so wanted a nice family friendly area with good primary school as my 4yr old boy will soon attend school. My husband will undertake a post at the University of Manchester so we wanted to have easy access to the university.
Please if you can give me some advice where to start from would be great
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If you want to live in a newer property how about something like this:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-32787960.html

Saddleworth, village primary schools village feel. Reasonable prices

Feels like lakes

35 min on train to town

Salford would be worth contacting re: school places too. It includes Worsley, Monton, Swinton and Prestwich.

Stockport would be somewhere to consider - good rail and bus links.

There are lots of good areas - as well as some not so good and some bad. You really need to visit.

Agree with Sophie. Phone Trafford and Manchester LEAs and find out where there are vacancies. They may tell you to wait for a number of weeks until they've finished dealing with the applications process and then contact them again.
Look at the travel links via tram and train. Areas like didsbury and fallowfield will be great for getting the the uni, but sale is better in terms of primaries (didsbury had two good primaries but you won't get in).
Sale isn't green but that's true of most Manchester suburbs given industrial legacy. It has a functional but uninspiring centre, but is very popular with families due to Trafford schools and being cheaper than Altrincham/hale/bowdon.

Agree with wow on Stockport actually. I far prefer bramhall to sale, and faster in than sale despite being further out (train vs tram).

Don't consider driving in from places like delamere and Bollington. It can be done, but not a fun way to start your life up here. And I'm a fan of both places for different reasons, but wouldn't recommend to you now

Nooooo to Newton Heath.

Also, if you are keen on public transport look carefully at the transport routes. The nearest train station is Manchester Oxford Road, the nearest tram stop is St Peter's Square - respectively about 10-20 minutes walk from the university.

You need to go and have a look around. If you have so little local knowledge that you can't tell whether Sale is better than Newton Heath (huge huge difference!), you run the risk of making a massive mistake. Get yourself to Manchester and drive around ASAP!

second saddleworth
Or mossley on train line excellent high schools

The OP should also check where her DP's department is and where he is going to be working. He could be in the city centre or in Didsbury for all we know - which has a huge bearing on commuting from different places.

Can I also say that on these threads, the same couple of places get recommended every time as though they are the be all and end all and it gets on my wick a bit as there are lots of suitable areas the OP should look at!

Maybe rent somewhere for a year and then get to know the area.

Op, I suggested stockport too and linked to a house well within catchment for hursthead school which is a very sought after primary. Did you see my link? £800 PCM

But just realised you want reception entry for this September. You are very very unlikely to get a place in any good or outstanding schools either in Trafford or Stockport or in fact in south Manchester as you will now be applying as a late applicant so effectively evenif you move next door you go to the bottom of the pile. Some LAs will allow late applicants to 'slot in' if you can show you have just entered the country. Although if they do, this will be in their published admission blurb. You really need to phone.
Good luck

Wowfudge!
I always recommend Trafford or south stockport (bramhall, Ch Hulme) And I don't even live in Trafford or Stockport!

Have you lived there Nancy? I know schools in Trafford have a good reputation but there are other places too - which aren't as expensive to rent or buy in either. Just out of interest, where are you?

Trafford schools do have a good reputation but housing is much more expensive.

It takes 1-1:30 by car from altrincham to manchester . Tram wouldn't be feasible as it's quite a walk to the university from the tram stop. Tram also takes an hour in rush hour.

Finally schools are massively oversubscribed and most have a waiting list. Our local school had an intake perimeter of about a mile. People still struggle to get in.

Have had friends move to Sale recently, the same problems exist there. You couldn't necessarily register a child either - they require utility bills/ rent/ mortgage statement as proof of living in a particular property within catchment to prevent people taking places. It's really tough!

However we have been researching other areas and have fallen in love with Worsley. Good schools and about 25 min drive into town. The high street seems really pretty too.

Only posting this as considering a relocation as both DH and I work in town - with small DC the commute is making a negative impact on us, but you may not have that difficulty.

*parameter not perimeter!

Prestwich and Whitefield are nice, good schools and transport links. Plus you get more for your money.

The OP doesn't say if the job is permanent, if not then they may not need to worry about secondary schools. Also it would be helpful to know if you were planning to work (sorry if you already said this) and if both of you can drive?

Worsley village is somewhere I know well. Broadoak Primary School has an outstanding Ofsted rating and there are several others rated good in the area.

Reindeer those commuting times are not correct (imo). I agree that driving from Altrincham if you left at say 8am would probably be an hour or 1.5hrs to the City Centre, but the tram never takes an hour - not even close to that. I have been 'tramming' into town for 4 months now, and it has never taken more than 30mins from Altrincham into town, even at rush hour. I also think the tram would be feasible - if the OPs DH didn't want to walk he could easily get off at St Peters Square, walk a couple of minutes down Oxford Road and hop on a bus. 10 mins tops to the Uni.

Hi Nancy,
I saw the link. It looks really nice. Unfortunately the property is already let!
I have to say I am very worried now with the late application for reception!
In case he doesn't get into a good school for reception this year can he try to change for a better one next year? How does this work?

OP I think certainly for Trafford that you accept the place at the school you're offered and then you go on the waiting list for your preferred school. There may be some movement before September but you may be one of a number of people on the waiting list, just depends how far down the list you are. There may be some movement in Reception but this is obviously less likely - if your child has started in September, there would usually have to be exceptional circumstances (unexpected re-location etc) for a child to give up a place.

Do you know roughly the monthly price of trains into manchester when living outside?

come to helmshore/ haslingden in ssendale. As another poster has said the schools are excellent.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-47223451.html

this house is on my street ( outs myself) it is a lovely little estate that is surrounded by a reservoir, a stream and has lovely country side.

i love it here and i honestly feel like rossendale is a little gem. ou are also a 1 min drive to the motorway and can be in manchester in 30 mins