Help me find a house near Manchester?

[Piesand]

We need to move by September and as I don’t have the foggiest about the area, I was hoping to get some suggestions on where to focus our search. We’ll be travelling up there every weekend for the next few weeks to explore but would like a head start on shortlisting places to investigate.

Budget: £190k

House: definitely need a house not a flat, at least 2 rooms and most importantly- a garden for my dogs. DH will be working from home so needs some space but a dining room table would do.

Location: I need to be within commuting distance of Manchester University. My current commute (to a different uni) is 90 mins and this really adds to the end of week exhaustion. I’d like my commute to be less than an hour, preferably 30-40 mins.

Likes: we love countryside, open spaces to walk our dogs. Preferably a pub/shop not too far away. A safe area is a must as we’ve lived in some pretty rough areas and I never want to go back to that life.

Dislikes: we’d rule out rough areas and houses on a busy main road. We don’t mind doing some cosmetic improvements but wouldn’t go as far as structural changes and large projects.

I’d appreciate any help

Thanks so much for all of the help. I think we’ll start with the south, so macc and Stockport, explore the areas and test the commutes then do the same in the north the weekend after.

Don't know Prestwich very well, but it seems a good solid area and getting a bit trendier recently. My family live further out, on the other side of Rivington Pike, which is a very popular walk. On good weather days it feels like half of Manchester is up there!

Yes, Rivington is not the place to go to be at one with nature. More like being at one with the population of Bolton!

Worsley or Walkden maybe?

The university is not easy to get to from either due to traffic. The trains aren't great and you're the wrong side of town for the buses really.

There's a lovely stone cottage in Furness Vale next to the canal towpath - fabulous area for dog walking - on at £179950. Have a look on RM within a mile of New Mills. Furness has its own railway station about 5 mins from that house.

My in laws live relatively close to the first house posted in Lostock. It's a nice area but that particular house is very close to quite a busy retail park and the football stadium, if that bothers you! Location is worth looking at in any case as you can get a train to Oxford Road (or could - things may have changed), which is the most useful station for the university.

Are you considering driving into work (rather than public transport)? That will seriously narrow down your options if you want to be a 30-40 drive from the university in rush hour. Traffic into the city centre from pretty much any direction is awful.