Small house City centre or move further out?

[Mirrorxx]

Hello
I am sick of going round in circles over this. We currently live 5 miles out from the city centre but yeh traffic is so bad it is taking ages to get to and from work and the the public transport seems to be getting more unreliable.
So we want to move. The 2 options are a smaller house within walking distance of both our offices or a larger house approximately 20 minutes from the centre on the tram.
It's only for the next 5 years as we would be moving for schools after this.
So which would you choose?

I would make the move to where you want to be for schools now as there is evidence prices are falling and interest rates are still low. Which city is it, out of interest?

Manchester.
If we go further out now we will be buying a house bigger than we need so we don't grow out of it

Aim now for next 10 years

Move further out now. Costs of moving & stamp duty etc all add up so do it in one move if you can.

In Manchester I’d def say go further out (to where you want to be for schools if you can afford it now).

The city centre is being taken over by build to rent apartments and I think the value won’t hold.

Where in the burbs are you looking?

Either altrincham or sale. I don't want the commute to be more than 30 minutes

There are so many other places where you will get much more for your money. Sale and Altrincham are ridiculously overpriced imo.

south Manchester is better for us in terms of traveling to visit family and easy access to the airport. We also want to live close to the tram.
We previously lived in west Didsbury which I liked but think it's too expensive now

I don’t know Manchester but as a matter of principle, I would also move to somewhere you can stay in the long run. House moves involve a lot of stress and upheaval + you’d pay the stamp duty twice etc. It’ll be nice for your LO to make friends locally and for the long term as well.

Have you thought about Urmston? Not South Manc but on the ring road and it’s got the quickest train link into Manchester

I don't think house prices are falling in Sale / Altrincham, certainly not noticeably but I'm not sure that's true of the city centre because of over-supply. The re-development of the centre of Altrincham has had a real positive impact on desirability and schools mean that even if the last economic crisis, house prices only dropped by an average of 7% in Trafford where other areas were dropping by 25-30%. I'd think if you bought it the city centre now, it would be a bigger jump to Altrincham / Sale than it is now.

I'd look for maybe a house in those areas with potential to extend so you're not paying for a large house that you don't really need, but you can make it bigger without the expense of buying & selling again in 5 years.

Sorry forcall the typos!

And another!!!!

Move to Urmston! Closer to town than Alty. Nice area. Good schools. Tram from Stretford easy to park. Or quicker to drive (but traffic still annoying). Or Chorlton for tram + nightlife but more expensive and not as good for schools.

If not there then deffo altrincham or sale over city centre. Its v. Expensive so you must be doing alright.

I was leaning towards altrincham but standing here this morning with the bus being so late again is pushing me towards the city centre again. I'm cry frustrating with the amount of time I waste every day doing this.
Our budget would be around 450k which doesn't really get much in altrincham now

I have had a look at urmston previously as I have s friend from there who suggested it. I didn't see anything I liked in budget or that didn't need w lot of work

I think it really depends on your lifestyle. I know several people who just love city-centre living - and, with somewhere like the Northern Quarter, I don't blame them at all! If you love being in the heart of things, and you like the buzz of a city, there is absolutely no reason why you should move to the suburbs just because it's the "done thing" amongst the (rather boring) middle classes. You can raise kids in a lovely way in an inner city.

However, if your inclinations are towards suburbia in the long run, then a move to the city for a bit, then a move out, is a costly way of doing things, and risky if house prices start to look shaky. If your heart is in a place with hedges and a garden, then why not look at somewhere on a decent commuting route. My friend used to live in Leverhulme and commute to the uni, and it took her literally minutes. I'm not in Manchester, but in a city not a million miles away , and there are radical differences in commute times depending on the particular route in.

I was in a similar dilemma (we went for suburban) There’s some nice houses in your budget around Salford quays area, although schools did put me off.

We bought in the ‘burbs and are glad we did, the quality of life is great and I know we don’t have to move for good schools. I was worried about resale in the city centre due to market saturation and a more transient renter population. We decided that if we wanted Manchester we’d just pay for a taxi in.

Another option is commuting via train as this opens up your options. Try marple Bridge it’s lovely or Marple or romiley- both on hood train lines and you’d get a decent amount for the budget.

We live near New Mills - it's half an hour on the train to Piccadilly. Disley, if a Cheshire postcode is important to you, is a bit closer to Manchester and there are also parts of Stockport worth considering. Also Poynton which has a train station and a pretty good high street.

I'd think long-term personally. If you intend to move into the suburbs eventually for schools etc, then it makes more sense to move where you eventually want to be now, rather than have the hassle and expense of moving twice.

OP where are you now (I presume you're not near the tram currently?).

For Alty and Sale, the tram is brilliant - don't get me wrong it gets crowded at rush hour but it's (at least) every 6 minutes and IIRC goes from 6.30am until about 1am. You wouldn't have to be waiting around for a bus.

Not sure what postcodes has to do with it wow, the OP mentioned those areas specifically for schools (which is - in my view- the biggest draw for most people who end up here) the airport and family.

Because some people actively prefer to live somewhere which is in Cheshire. We're in Derbyshire. I know the OP has mentioned schools, but presumably that's due to the Trafford grammar schools and, as they don't have children yet, that's a long way off and imo shouldn't limit the search area.

Derbyshire isn't handy for the airport though is it, nor presumably, her family .

Very much depends where in Derbyshire you are @namechangedtoday15. There's a bus which runs 20 hours a day from Buxton to Manchester airport. We always use it as it's far cheaper than a taxi or parking your car at the airport. Once the airport relief road from High Lane is completed early next year then the journey time will be reduced. It currently takes around an hour for us.

I'm not from Manchester, currently live in London. Def move out and even try to find a freehold. We are buying a leasehold and it's incredibly stressful, still many things can go wrong later on. Not sure in Manchester, in London there is almost no chance of finding a freehold property.