Manchester - diverse, safe areas

[Peanutbuttermouth]

I know Manchester has been done before on here but I'm looking for a diverse area to bring my kids up in. We live in a very homogeneous town at the moment and will be moving to Manchester in the next year. Can I please have opinions on the nicest, safest, most affordable areas? Need a 3 bed house on budget of 220k max.

Old Trafford is very diverse. Stretford slightly less so but has an amazing community spirit and the town centre is becoming the place to go after many years of, well, not being. There are good things happening in and around the Mall. South of there, not diverse at all. Neither is Urmston. Don’t live in Partington, it’s horrible.

A load of houses are being built in Denton. Agree about partington, it's an odd place.

@peacypops Great primary schools and option for Grammar schools for secondary (we have a child at the local grammar) as well as some good non grammars

Which school do you mean when you say good non grammar? Just interested, as we also live in Firswood (moved here from Hulme), so not that familiar with the local high schools. My son passed the grammar test so hopefully he will be starting Stretford Grammar in Sept, but I would be interested in what your opinion is with regards to a good non grammar, in case my DD doesn't pass the test.

@DataColour well from Firswood you might get a place at Chorlton High (which we liked when we looked around despite it being very big). The catchment seems to have increased a bit since chorlton high South and didsbury high opened. We know some children at Chorlton High South who are really happy there. Stretford high is close by too and whilst I was a bit underwhelmed with it when we looked around lots of my daughter's friends went there and are really happy. Stretford grammar is lovely - very nurturing. My DD has made lots of lovely friends there and settled in really well. Your son should definitely get in there if he passed the test. I have the same issue now in that I have a younger child to think about too. Ideally I would like them both to be at the same school.

I came on to say Hulme too. Admittedly I lived there as a student in the early 2000s, there was a small student population then but nothing like Fallowfield etc. I bloody loved it. There was a proper community feel, very diverse, the community garden centre, a couple of great quirky cafes all just starting to pop up and get established after the huge changes the are had been through over recent years. It has great history and when I lived there a real sense of belonging from a lot of the people who’d lived there throughout the changes but who were welcoming to new people.

Also, it’s almost town! My husband used to walk to work on Deansgate across the park (which was also great then). I never felt unsafe there (which I did at times in other parts of Manchester).

I thought it was a great place and I feel incredible fondness for it and it sounds to me as if it’s gone from strength to strength. I feel all nostalgic now!

Also, interestingly when I told my dad I was looking at a house in Hulme, he said without hesitation that I couldn’t live there. He’d been a student in Manchester in the 70s when Hulme had a lot of problems. He thought it was fantastic in the end and completely took back his comments. I guess it takes a long time to change a reputation though.

@peacypops thanks for the info. Yes I would like both of mine to go to the same school...at least for the sake of school holidays! Trafford and Manchester seem to have different Feb half terms and only a weeks overlap at Easter, plus I think Trafford finishes later for summer.

Trafford has 2 weeks for May half term but only 5 weeks in the summer.
That said, RC schools in Trafford only have 1 week at Easter, 2 in May, and 6 weeks in the summer so it's not even the same for all Trafford schools.
Good for bagging a cheap family holiday week though.

Only primary schools do the two week half term thing, the Trafford secondary schools don’t.

Yes it's so frustrating that the secondary schools in Trafford only have the one week May half term as it was always great for a cheap week away!