Moving to Manchester, need help please on deciding on an area.

[Nixxy2401]

Hi everyone. I currently live in South Africa and will be moving to the UK in December. My husband and i have absolutely no idea to live. We know we do not want to live in London. So we were thinking the next best city would be Manchester for Jobs. I have two kids who are 1 and 4, and we are looking for a family friendly area. We will not have a car when first arriving so somewhere commutable. Also my hubby loves nature and the outdoors. Loves hiking and fishing etc. So this place would need to be greenish and easy to get to a park or something. Also i do not want it to remote where we would have to travel a distance just to by groceries etc. I am hoping you lovely moms can give me some insight as i have googled to death and thinking maybe i could get real help on this forum. Our budget for rental would be a max of £900pm. We will both be looking for Jobs, i will be looking for something Half Day, in order to spend time with the kids. Thank you.

I am a Mancunian living (just) in Derbyshire. To get an idea, I did a search on Rightmove (the major online property portal here in the UK) for a 3 bedroom house to rent at £900pcm. Manchester is quite an expensive area and a lot of the houses in my search results were in either not great areas and/or places that don't fit your brief.

So I would suggest you look slightly further afield than some of the areas which would typically be recommended - look at Prestwich and Bury which are on one of the tram (Metrolink) lines into Manchester and places like Marple, New Mills, etc with good transport links into the city. Be aware that commuting by road into the city can be awful - tram and rail links can be a lot less stressful.

Thank you so much for the info WOWfudge. Will look into those areas. Have seen Didsbury comes highly recommended. What is your take on it? As i did see 3-5 properties in that area. We are still young (will be 30 next year) and also like to do dinners and go to a local pub

I live in Didsbury (well, Didsbury close to the border with Burnage... beware that estate/letting agents like to extend the borders of Didsbury to their advantage!) I have a 2.5 yo, we really like it here. Very family friendly, love the village, there are good schools, lots to do (Didsbury park just had a very snazzy refurb of the playground, there are multiple crafting cafes popping up). Happy to help if any specific questions.

You could also look at Leeds
I actually prefer Manchester but Leeds is nice too ( mostly) and the rental might be cheaper

I absolutely love Salford Quays, it has fantastic links to town and feels safe. It's not the cheapest area but you should be able to get something decent within your budget. Manchester is the best city on earth (ok, I may be biased here) and is fabulous for young children. Take a look at Rainy City Kids on Facebook for inspiration.

PS also like Sale, Didsbury and Chorlton. Urmston seems nice too.

Thank you ladies!!! This is very daunting. I have ever been to the UK. So its very scary. But its the best decision for my kids. I will keep a look out at the places mentioned. Hoping i can do an air bnb for about 10 days and be able to visit the different areas to get a feel 😊

Didsbury is lovely, but expensive if you are in Didsbury proper.

How about living on the fringes of Manchester, a bit more rural? Mossley, Hebden Bridge, Saddleworth? Lovely villages in these areas too.

Didsbury, Sale, Chorlton, etc are likely to be outwith your budget. Salford Quays is full of apartments and very urban feeling imo - I wouldn't want to live there with small children. It also borders a couple of social housing estates which don't have a very good reputation.

Loveka i just do not want to be too out , as i need a tescos or aldis etc, and need busses or trams i think it is to get around. And i am worried if i am too out i will be stranded.
I did look on right move and there were 1 or 2 places in Didsbury.
What about Prestwich as wowfudge suggested.

Greater Manchester is a large conurbation. You would have to be somewhere very rural to not have access to supermarkets or regular bus services. I live near New Mills, which is in Derbyshire but very close to Manchester. We can walk into the town which has a range of mainly independent shops plus a mid size supermarket and a convenience store, takeaways, pubs, etc. There is a larger Tesco supermarket on the outskirts of Whaley Bridge about a mile and a half away - there is even a bus stop in Tesco's car park. It has two railway stations linking it with Manchester, Sheffield and other cities further afield and other Peak District towns. There's an express bus to Manchester Airport which runs 20 hours a day and other bus services linking with surrounding towns and villages. There is a good community feel with an annual carnival in Summer and art walk and Lantern Parade in early autumn. There's a leisure centre, library, two doctors' surgeries, etc.

That's an example of somewhere further afield but commutable with good transport links and amenities.

I used to live in Didsbury, it's a lovely area with good schools, excellent restaurants and cafes, great transport links, and has a lovely feel to the place.

I live in Huddersfield, I love living here it's perfect for my 2 year old and Greenhead Park is brilliant for kids. It's also easy to get to cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield either by car or train.

The chester area is another good option with-train links to Manchester and Liverpool

Levenshulme is becoming more expensive (as more and more people find they can't afford the ridiculous prices charged in Didsbury and Chorlton and look elsewhere, leading to landlords taking advantage and raising their rents) but you could definitely still find a 3 bed for under £900pcm, like www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-55687905.html. Transport links are good (train station and buses although no tram yet). We have Highfield Country Park which is lovely. Good primary schools, new secondary school, good variety of childcare options, active parent's networks and groups. It's apparently 'up and coming' : www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/property-for-sale-in-levenshulme-14733358

Hi OP. I moved from London to Manchester and we bought in Chorlton. Although the central bits of the area would be out of your price range, there are still more affordable bits in Chorlton, e.g the south part near Chorlton water park which is a gorgeous nature reserve bordering the Mersey valley walk, I feel like I'm in the countryside and it's only a km walk for us! Also parts of Whalley range, firswood and Stretford are walking distance to Chorlton and more affordable.

The areas immediately around Salford quays are horrible.
Chorlton and didsbury are ££ but Whalley Range is nice and near those places
Monton out in Eccles is also nice
The Heatons are worth considering too.

babyshark I could have written your post!
Do you go to the food and drink fest?

@Hoppinggreen no I didn't go this year, it's just a bit too busy for me and would overwhelm my clingy toddler plus I don't drink, hope you enjoyed it though :)

You ladies are amazing!!! Thank you so much for the input! Uk life will be very very different to what we are all accustomed to. But i think if i can atleast find a lovely place ot will make the move easier. Plus we are moving over xmas eve. Where its super hot here to a bitterly cold climate. And we are not used to public transport at all so that will be a hurdle as well. As well as living in houses that are not fortified, that will definitely take some time getting used to and hoping i will be able to sleep well without the anxiety...But i am glad to have found this site. You ladies have been very informative 😊

Well the weather at Christmas tends to be chilly and miserable, often rainy. It's usually colder in Jan/Feb.

Definitely Didsbury. Excellent primary schools, nice parks, lovely high street, public transport to get to the city centre is easy to use and cheap. I’ve lived in Manchester for 6 years and this is definitely where you want to be. Good luck with the move 😊

We lived on the border of Whaley Range and Trafford - close to Trafford Bar tram. Big houses, good school, big park and a couple of stops to the city centre & Chorlton/Didsbury. Would really recommend the area.

What type work will you both be looking for?

@casestudyresearch my hubby is a sales/design and project manage for high end Italian kitchens here in SA. He has been doing it forever and wants to stick with that. I have been at home lookkng after kids, but before that i was in internal sales for a corporate gifts company. However i am not fussed at all with what job i do. As long as its part time, as my youngest is 1 and i hear it is super expensive paying to look after kids. I want to work about 25 hours per week.

Nixxy my one year old went to nursery in trafford and it was £48 a day/£30 for half days, included everything. We're switching to a slightly more expensive one now but £50-£60 a day is ballpark for nursery fees.

@lapufalina thank you. I hear there are different options for looking after kids. I have been suggested to look into child minders if i feel nursery is too expensive. Do you have any thoughts on them?