North/east Manchester location help please :)

[Talkingofsunshine]

Hello, I had a thread a couple of weeks ago about moving from London to Manchester and had so many super helpful replies.

We are really looking seriously at north Manchester now so I thought I’d start a new thread to find some specific help on that.

About us:
We have two small children, one will be starting school next September so good primaries are a priority. Good secondary schools a big bonus.
Our budget is probably £450k as a very maximum.
Ideally we’d have a four bed with a nice sized garden.
We would like a family friendly area with green space. Nice pubs, restaurants a bonus but we don’t get out as a couple much at the moment!
Needs to be commutable into Manchester for work - ideally on the tram line but a train station if not (would prefer public transport over driving but we do have a car if necessary).

Areas we’re considering:
Prestwich
Whitefield
Ramsbottom (had lots of recs for this - no train station puts us off but could be persuaded)

Also looking around Saddleworth.

Any help much appreciated

For example this place in Prestwich looks lovely but not sure why it’s so much cheaper than comparative houses…
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110709353#/?channel=RES_BUY

Any info on areas to avoid, schools etc! Thanks

We moved to whitefield this year and so far we are liking it. The tram to the city centre is fast and there are some restaurants. Lots of green space and parks and it’s very family friendly. We have also found the people to be very friendly.
Other areas we considered were heaton moor, marple, stretford and greenfield.
The prices have gone up a lot since we bought our house but you can still find something in budget.

East Manchester is a strange place to me. Far better in the north (if you need to be that side of town) but south and west better still.

Lovely house. Area's fine but the tram tracks run directly behind the houses which I imagine why they may be less desirable than other houses. Also very overlooked in general.

Saddleworth and Upper Mill are quite nice

Consider bus as well as tram. Prestwich/Whitefield is obviously best placed for the tram but probably has express bus links too. Ramsbottom has the x41 bus which goes down the motorway to Manchester.

I’m in Bury

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110961827#/?channel=RES_BUY

This one is in a good area, catchment for 3 good primary schools and the excellent high school nearby.
Tottington is a nice area too a bit further out from the tram station

Prestwich is a good bet. IMVHO it feels a bit greener with more open space than Whitefield despite being nearer to Manchester. It's a great commute. Schools broadly are fine. Not jaw-droppingly good, but fine. It's reasonably diverse and welcoming to incomers.

That house linked may get some tram noise as it's quite near the track. The immediate street it's on is a bit scruffy, but it's not a war zone or anything - perfectly safe neighbourhood. You do seem to get a little more for your money on the Bury Old Road/Heaton Park side as opposed to the Bury New Road/Village side, but that house is only a 10min walk to the shops, cafes, library etc.

Is Rawtenstall too far?

@Talkingofsunshine

For example this place in Prestwich looks lovely but not sure why it’s so much cheaper than comparative houses… www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110709353#/?channel=RES_BUY

Any info on areas to avoid, schools etc! Thanks

I was drawn to all the cupboards!! Such a lovely house!

I just had a look on Rightmove to see what else is good for your budget and requirements in Prestwich, and the ones I'd choose are sold stc. Which reminded me that a colleague who is house hunting told me that the market is brutal locally - everything is disappearing fast. If I were relocating I might consider renting first to avoid being disadvantaged in getting to viewings.

I'm in Tottington. I moved from Cheadle Hulme last year. I love it.

It has pretty much everything you're looking for apart from the train station but the bus into Bury takes 10 minutes.

I grew up in East Manchester. Lots of regeneration has happened and still is. There are some nice areas in Tameside like Gee Cross and Mottram.

Brilliant thanks all - this is so helpful. Really appreciate it!

@Yubaba thanks - another area fo add to our list! That’s a gorgeous house.

@PiersGaviscon yes I think the market is mad at the moment. We’re not totally opposed to renting - the only things that put us off is that most rentals want 12 months or more, and we also have cats. Still, practically speaking, it looks like we’ll probably end up renting for a while. Would you mind linking the house you’d go for? Appreciate it a STC but still helpful to see location etc.

@NashvilleQueen yes we are really only looking at Saddleworth as we are enchanted by the views! Don’t know if any other gems round there.

@NiceTwin not necessarily but I don’t know much about it. Would you recommend? Good transport links?

@Mirrorxx thanks - great to hear from someone in the know!

Oh and @CatsForLife that’s good to know. We never think about the bus. Traffic here is so awful it would be the worst commute but maybe it’ll be easier up there.

And thanks @MirandaMarple will investigate! Good schools?

I know you’ve said North but what about Sale?

Outstanding schools, 10 mins on the tram to Manchester and the whole town centre is in the middle being regenerated. Lots of green space including Sale water park. Close to Altrincham as well which is lovely.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110018366#/?channel=RES_BUY

Shaw has the tram.
3 bed though

If you look at Streetview for the property you linked to OP, you can see why its likely to be cheaper than other comparable properties. Looks like just a few new builds at one end of a not-so-nice cul-de-sac with what look low rise (Council / Housing Association?) flats. If you go on Rightmove Sold in that area, plus a quarter of a mile around, you can see that the asking price is out of kilter with surrounding properties in that particular area.

Thanks @DoingItMyself looks lovely! Don’t know anything about the area, would you recommend?

@Chihuahuacat thank you. Nothing against south (we will probably look there too) as know schools are incredible - just aware you get more for your money in north and there’s not as much info about in schools etc.

Sale is Trafford, so fully selective secondaries. This really polarises opinion so is worth being aware of.

In Prestwich this is on the loveliest street

This is on a main road, but it's not really busy or noisy, and has off-road parking to offset that. really near Heaton Park, which is great for kids of all ages.

Your budget is right for Prestwich but it’s a hot market right now. There will be people with 4 bed houses willing to sell, but not advertising because they cannot find somewhere to downsize to. It would be worth your while contacting the local estate agents like Normie who could advise if this is the case. They have certainly been match making to keep chains alive.

Posters are right that Ramsbottom is lovely and has a bus, but keep your expectations low about the speed of the journey in peak times in and out of the city. There has been talk of extending the metro link or reinstating the train line, but that seems a long while down the line.

Your budget may just about find you something in some of the desirable areas in south Manchester like Sale, Cheadle, Altrincham, Chorlton, Bramhall. These all have nice green spaces, town centres, family friendly, and are close to the tram line. In case you are not familiar with transport in Manchester, the tram is the lesser of our public transport evils.

@Talkingofsunshine

Thanks *@DoingItMyself* looks lovely! Don’t know anything about the area, would you recommend?

@Chihuahuacat thank you. Nothing against south (we will probably look there too) as know schools are incredible - just aware you get more for your money in north and there’s not as much info about in schools etc.

I can heartily recommend it, if you choose your area. That house is in a particularly nice position.

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the advice.

Will have to look at south but just worried we’ll miss out on a better house in north Mcr.

I'm local to Prestwich and Whitefield and highly recommend either. Great parks, access to city centre, family friendly, thriving independent cafe/ bar scene and very active local mum groups. May be a little biased, but you should be able to find a great house for that budget.

This is on a busy road and garden not massive but great size and very, very handy for tram..

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111189629

I have just sold in Whitefield and moved 50 miles away from a "city". Both Prestwich and Whitefield a good places to live. Good schools, good shops, good transport links. The demand is huge for houses. My property went to best and final offer and I achieved 10% over asking price within a week of being on the market. One downside is horrendous traffic but that comes with living inner city.