Relocating from London - Manchester or Leeds?

[HarrietM87]

We live in London at the moment with our 1.5yr old DS and DH has the opportunity to move his job to Manchester. His parents are in Leeds and we’d thought of possibly moving there some day. The thought of a better work life balance is appealing (I’m a city lawyer) but I have a short commute (25 mins door to door) and love all the cultural opportunities in London.

Questions are:
Has anyone done this? Is it a good move? Is it feasible to commute from somewhere near Leeds to Manchester or do we really need to live in Manchester? What are good areas for a young family? Are we going to miss London terribly or never look back?

I would hope to be able to get a job in either city.

Thanks so much for all the replies - lots to look into and think about.

Will enjoy some Rightmove research later!

You simply cannot commute from Leeds to Manchester. My DP does the reverse once a week and it’s dire. Takes hours and is so expensive.

Regards areas I really like Whalley Range, get a bit more for your money than chorlton. Got schools and a nice park.

North of Manchester (ie bury esp brandlesholme) are nice, actual North Manchester is in the main, horrible. Moston in particular I’d avoid.

I also like Denton, and you get a fair whack for your money there. It’s quite suburban though so if you want hustle and bustle maybe not for you.

I think didsbury is dull as ditchwater

Manchester does have music and galleries. But to compare it to London is like telling someone moving to Hampstead from Cumbria that there's a hill and some lakes on the heath

Has anyone actually said that Manchester is comparable to London? Or is that just a ridiculous jibe?

If you want to see the best orchestras in the world, most lavish ballets, highest profile exhibitions etc then London is going to win every time. But if you like going to a classical concert a few times a year, seeing the odd exhibition etc then there is easily enough in Manchester and the surrounding areas. (Four professional orchestras in Manchester itself, plus ones in Liverpool and Leeds. Ballet and Opera based in Leeds, but play in Manchester regularly. Large art galleries in Manchester itself, plus in Leeds and Liverpool. Yorkshire Sculpture Park isn't far away and imo is genuinely world class.)