Where to live in Manchester?

[humdrum2]

Of course, I'm afraid this thread has probably been done a hundred times before but here goes nothing!
I'll be moving to Manchester with my family (hubby + a teenager) very soon and it's time we started looking for a pleasant area to live. So far, we've looked at Prestwich which seemed alright but we're not sure where to turn next. We have a somewhat reasonable (I hope) amount of money for a house but until we save up enough, I think we'll be renting for the first few years. We were thinking about £900 max for the rent - will this get us anything in a desirable suburb?
We don't have too many conditions but we really need to be within 10 miles of central Manchester for my job and the school our child has chosen. Preferably just a nice, quiet, family area with a bit of green space (i.e. not too claustrophobic!). A low crime rate is also pretty much a must.
Can anyone offer advice on the following areas:
-Monton
-Worsley
-Prestwich/Whitefield
-Maybe south Manchester if we can afford it?
Or just anywhere else that suits our needs!
Thank you!

Thank you Jimmygreaves, as I said, I'm a bit vague on schools round here.

I grew up in Prestwich. Fantastic place.

Hi, just wanted to say that I'm selling my house in didsbury where I've lived for 20 years and moving to Monton. I've been doing lots of research and talking to people who live in the area. Everyone says it's the place to be. You get fantastic value for money compared to Didsbury and guess what, we have plenty of crime in Didsbury! Nowhere is 100% safe, just be sensible and safety conscious. I can't wait to live there.

Hello everyone. I'm a first time poster! Just looking through an old thread from 4 years ago and wondered if theres an updated version of where to live in Manchester? My son and girlfriend are relocating over the next few months. He will be working in Piccadilly Gardens (Centre Manchester?) and needs an affordable, safe place to rent initially (2 beds) with a good commute. either walking or public transport. They had a quick look around last weekend and wondered if Hulme is decent? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. They have no children and would like to be close to facilities ie shops, restaurants, cafes, outdoors at weekend (Peak District?). Don't know the budget yet as at the very start of the search and unsure of wages etc Thank you

Hi glasgow1961 We used to live in Hulme, lived there for 12 years and we still have our house there which we rent out now. It's quite studenty now that the Birley Fields campus is there, but quite a lot of the residents are professional couples, young families (there are 3 primary school in a relatively small area!) etc. We loved living there as it was walkable to the city centre and has shops, a library, a leisure centre, theatre, amazing garden centre, a couple of restaurants etc.A lot of people who don't know the area say it's rough (just cos it's close to town and decades ago was a troubled area), but we loved it there and felt very safe.

Hi DataColour and thank you for your reply. Ok so Hulme is in the running! I also like the sound of Castlefield and Ancoats so far. I don't think they would mind a student filled area tbh of which there seems to be many Ardwick, Fallowfield and Rusholme? Just doing my research! My son wants to be close (walkable up to 2 miles?) from work.

Hi can anyone tell is Eccles, Manchester a nice area to live? Specifically area around Winton Park/Cleavely street? How is the repute of the area? Crime? Etc