Where in Manchester?

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My husband is transferring for work to Manchester. We need to be able to get to Manchester airport and preston easily. Where is a nice town or place to live? Where should we avoid?
Thanks

Bramhall, Cheadle Hulme, Heald Green, Gatley are all lovely. Depends what you're looking for though!

Budget? Lifestyle? Children? Bedrooms? Garden? Priorities?

Sorry Nemo. We are a family of 4. Min 3 beds. Garage and garden would be nice. We'd like not to go over 250 thousand but would. :)

Have a look at Horwich. You'd definitely find something in your budget there.

My friends live in Northenden/West Didsbury. It seems lovely when I visit.

Considering you want to get to Preston as well as Manchester airport, I'd look more to the West of Manchester. Maybe Frodsham, Lymm, Stockton Heath, Altrincham. All nice places.

Probably need to think about what time you'll be travelling. Preston to Man Airport can take over 2 hours in rush hour especially in morning, would be easier to get to Preston from near the airport in the morning as you'd be going against the traffic. Also depends whether you'd want to use M6 or M60/M61 and what sort of place you'd like to live in, where are you moving from? I moved up north 16 years ago from the south east, some areas are very different. Won't get much for your money near the airport but equally nicer areas of Preston/Bolton will also be unaffordable.

I'd look at Prestwich and west of there and out to Bury. Train and tram links will be key.

Traffic in south Manchester is terrible at peak times and football matches and the Trafford Centre make it worse.

Preston and Manchester airport are quite a long way apart (in commuting terms at least). Is there one you need to be closer to? Preston is lovely and you'd get more for your money, if you only need to travel to the airport occasionally. also would you consider trains to avoid motorway congestion at rush hour?

South Ribble was recently named the best place to live in the U.K. If you're choosy about area there are some great houses in your budget. Some of the outlying areas of Chorley are nice too, Wheelton, Whittle le Woods etc. Depends how frequently you need to be in each area and what you want location wise.

I agree that its quite a challenge to be 'close' to both the airport and Preston. We used to live in Bolton, my husband commuted north (further than Preston) and I came into Manchester. Travelling north is the easier / less busy route - agree with Wowfudge that traffic in South Manchester (around the airport and going into the city centre) is bad at rush hour. That said, its because south Manchester is so popular with families because of schools & amenities. Your budget of £250k won't GI far in south Manchester though.

Generally speaking north Manchester is cheaper than south Manchester. I'd avoid city centre (all the towns / cities on that route - Manchester, Bolton, Chorley, Preston) and look at the outskirts - Lostock, Horwich (near Bolton), Penwortham (Preston), Altrincham / Timperley (near Airport).

Thank you ladies. You've given me lots to think about. My family are in preston and my husband will work at the airport so being accessible to the airport is important. We are moving from Yorkshire. We want our forever home so we never have to move again. Ever!

What kind of lifestyle to you want to have? Do you want to be near to Manchester/trams for shops/restaurants, or near countryside for walks and a quieter life?

Prestwich and Whitefield are perfectly positioned to access motorways in all directions and is an upcoming area with new development coming in. But it doesn't have the cool hustle and bustle of south manchester.

Hi nemo
We'd like to be in a small town or village with good schools. If there is a library or a community centre or a pool and a few shops that would be perfect. Somewhere other family's will be.

True that close to Preston and the airport does not really exist. Equidistant then prestwich/whitefield is a good shout and maybe the best bet for 250k budget. Lymm is well connected to the motorways and nice little village but quiet and bit lacking in public transport. Quite pricey too in Lymm. Maybe somewhere like Urmston would be good. Good schools I think, plenty of families and near the motorway m60 but quite urban...handy for Trafford centre and I think a train into city centre.

Penwortham (just outside Preston) has all that. Couple of nice pubs, bars and coffee shops, lots of families, excellent schools - (Ofsted outstanding state schools), lovely parks and leisure centre.
I don't actually live in Penwortham, but I'm not far away, and we'll probably move there, as my kids are at school in the area.
And there's a Booths. I flipping love Booths!
You'll get a nice house in your budget.

We used to live up there. South Manchester is a fantastic place to bring up kids and I really missed it when we moved South.

Not cheap though. Similar prices to the SE/Home Counties. Certainly Hale, Wilmslow/Bramhall/Didsbury. But there are other areas around there where you'd get a bit more for your money although ridiculous as it seems, 250k won't get you much in many of those areas. Look at places like Heald Green or Poynton. Poynton has good schools and the road heads out to the airport or at least it will if they ever build it. Those that live there; has it even started yet?

Hi Teardrop. I'm from penwortham! My family are still there. That's why I want to be able to get to preston. My husband says it's too far from the airport 😭
I need a penwortham that is half way to Manchester 😂

Ramsbottom, north Manchester, has all those things.