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Original poster

Where to live in Manchester with a baby

31 replies

Mirrorxx · 05/02/2020 16:57

I am hoping for some suggestions on areas in Manchester that would be good for a couple having their first baby.
We both work in the city centre full time so need a shortish commute so we can get home in time for nursery closing.
Ideally we want to spend max 400k and be close to a nursery, good primary school and tram/train station. Any ideas?

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lastqueenofscotland · 05/02/2020 17:47

What size property do you need? And do you need things like parking/large garden etc
Manchester is very very expensive compared to most of the north you might be surprised how little you can get for your money in some places

iklboo · 05/02/2020 17:58

Urmston is nice. Train station there, about 10 mins into city centre. Good schools, shops, places to eat. Decent houses under £400k. Close to Trafford Centre & motorways.

Original poster
Mirrorxx · 05/02/2020 18:03

@lastqueenofscotland we only need 3 bedrooms. Don’t care about having a large garden as long as there is some outside space. Parking would be nice but not essential as we don’t plan to drive most days

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Original poster
Mirrorxx · 05/02/2020 18:04

@iklboo we have visited urmston before but haven’t seen any houses we liked. Ideally we’d prefer the tram to train but may have to look at that area again

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lastqueenofscotland · 05/02/2020 19:06

What about whalley range? Not sure about primary but the secondary’s are excellent. Stones throw from chorlton without the price tag. Most of it in walking distance to chorlton tram and there’s a good bus, also a nice park.

Or the Firswood end of stretford for the same reasons.

Levenshulme gets a lot of love on here but I personally don’t like it at all.

Panda368 · 05/02/2020 19:10

Prestwich - lots of parks, good schools and nursery. Much more affordable than south manc.

3-400k will get you quite a lot of house.

Panda368 · 05/02/2020 19:10

Prestwich is also about 20min out of town on the tram.

glasshalfsomething · 05/02/2020 19:11

Stockport May be a good shout. It appears to be on the up, and areas like Cheadle Hulme etc are popular with young families.

Original poster
Mirrorxx · 05/02/2020 19:18

I did read something about the tram maybe being extended to Stockport which would be good but that would obviously take years. Which areas of Stockport are nice?

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Original poster
Mirrorxx · 05/02/2020 19:18

@Panda368 are the schools in prestwich good?

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yestonodressyet · 05/02/2020 19:23

Didsbury is lovely

Original poster
Mirrorxx · 05/02/2020 19:27

@yestonodressyet didsbury is my favourite area we’ve visited but we can’t get much there for 400k. We could stretch the budget a bit but that doesn’t seem the best idea when we will have full time childcare costs

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Panda368 · 05/02/2020 19:28

@mirrorxx parenthorn and Phillip's high which I think are the two main secondarys are good/outstanding for Ofsted.
Lots of good primarys and highly rated nurserys too.
My partner grew up round here and it seems all his school friends are moving back to the area to buy houses - prices keep going up and 2-3 bed terraces go really fast - our 3 bed was about 170 2 years ago and people have bough similar places for 220 in the last year.

TwoBlueFish · 05/02/2020 19:40

Sale maybe, in Trafford so good schools, tram to town in 20-25 minutes.

Urban Road, Sale, Greater Manchester, M33
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75131056.html

hodgepodge21 · 05/02/2020 19:43

We love didsbury too - but managed to get a more affordable house by moving slightly nearer towards withington. Look around fog lane park area, I think you could get something decent for your budget. We have a 6 month old and love living around there!

TokenGinger · 05/02/2020 20:26

Denton/Audenshaw/Guide Bridge are good areas.

Denton currently has a new estate being built, 3 bed houses are approx £210k there (Wainhomes). It's next to a new complex being built with swimming pool, bowling alley, soft play area etc and very close to Crown Point North (shopping complex with restaurants). The local school is graded good and is top of the performance table for Tameside (St Anne's Primary). There's also an outstanding nursery on the estate (Children 4 Most).

It's approx 7 minute drive to Guide Bridge train station which takes you to Manchester in 10 minutes.

Taylor Homes have also just built 3 bed homes next to Guide Bridge station which I think are around £190k. Same distance to Children 4 Most nursery.

TokenGinger · 05/02/2020 20:30

Sorry, I quoted the cost for a 2 bed with Taylor Wimpey. 3 bed is £226k.

www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/greater-manchester/audenshaw/arnfield-woods

newyorky09 · 05/02/2020 20:45

I live in Gatley (Stockport) and love it. Great primary school, 15 mins on train to Manchester and really nice village/community feel. Cheadle and cheadle Hulme are nearby and really nice too.

Igmum · 05/02/2020 21:10

Didsbury is fab, on the tram, excellent bus service, great schools, lots of nice cafes and restaurants, lots of things to do with baby and later young kids. Chorlton is lovely as well. Yes, towards Withington and out to East Didsbury are much cheaper. Hope you find somewhere good OP and hello fellow Mumsnet Manchester people 😁

Original poster
Mirrorxx · 06/02/2020 07:47

@TokenGinger we haven’t considered East Manchester but would want to be within 10 minutes walk of a tram/train station. Want to use the car are rarely as possible

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Original poster
Mirrorxx · 06/02/2020 07:48

@Igmum is East didsbury ok? It seems much cheaper but still close to the tram

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Igmum · 06/02/2020 09:22

Mirrorxx - East Didsbury isn't as good as Didsbury Village (hence the difference in prices) but there is a tram stop (three tram stops in Didsbury). IMO Burnage - by East Didsbury tram stop, is OK, East Didsbury itself less nice though the roads south of Fletcher Moss Park are nice - but a long walk to tram/shops/coffee. North of Fog Lane Park and into Withington is good - slightly further from the tram depending on how far you go but on a great bus route. Parrs Wood Road is cheaper and worth considering south of Wilmslow Road where the houses and surrounding roads are pretty nice and the prices not too bad for Didsbury. West Didsbury used to be much cheaper but has caught up (overtaken?) in recent years.

Original poster
Mirrorxx · 06/02/2020 09:30

From the houses we’ve viewed there doesn’t seem to be much difference in price between west didsbury and didsbury. We can probably get a 3 bed house in either for 400/425 but smaller or more modern than we’d prefer. I have seen some houses near burton road tram stop for 375

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Africa2go · 06/02/2020 13:30

Do your research about schools in Didsbury. Primary schools are notoriously over subscribed so look carefully at catchments. A new high school has just opened which will solve some of the issues at high school level but still worth looking at options. Didsbury doesnt come under Trafford, which generally speaking, has better performing schools at high school level (and lots of children from Didsbury and surrounding areas travel to Trafford senior schools).