Manchester Area recommendations

[TractorAndHeadphones]

FTB, budget between 250-300 . Looking for a 3 bed house, need reliable connections to Manc city centre. So a bus that comes regularly or a tram. trains that come once an hour don't count..
Any recommendations as to areas?
Google says that Levenshulme is up and coming but lots of people ahve said that it's a dump.
My preference would be the Trafford area (where I currently rent) but buying is way out of my price range

*that 250 -350K of course hahaha

Irlam? Flixton if you like trafford, Carrington but further out. Monton? Eccles maybe ...

Flixton

You may get a 3 bed in certain parts of Trafford for £300k - Flixton, Stretford maybe, parts of Sale. Stretford and Sale on the tram line, good bus service into Manchester from Flixton.

Urmston or Stretford perhaps?

I'd look around Stockport as very frequent trains or Bury area as frequent trams. If you start with these 2 towns as "centres" you'll find houses in your price range. Depends how far you are happy to be away from the stations.

I would say Urmston/Flixton if you want value for money and access to fix schools. Stretford is over priced now and I doubt you'd get what you're looking for in Sale for the money.

My younger, cooler colleagues live in Levenshulme and love it but I don't know it well enough to comment.

*good schools

Tameside - it’s not all a dump! Stalybridge and Denton have v nice bits and property is cheap as chips. Train from Stalybridge to Mcr city centre takes 15 mins and there are 2/3 an hour.

I live in Levenshulme and love it. We've been here for 8 years and in the last 3-4 years there has been a definite increase in the number of young, professional-looking types wandering around. House prices have definitely gone up too, although I don't know if that's set to continue or if prices will start going down a bit again now that everyone is looking to move to the countryside post-covid.

A lot of people warned us it was rough before we moved here, but we've honestly never had any trouble. The people are friendly and there's plenty of shops, pubs, GP surgeries etc. There's also some lovely parks (Greenbank Playing Fields, Cringle Park) and the "secret lake" is nice for a walk. We have a Surestart Centre, Library and Leisure Centre too.

Littering is a bit of a problem - there are quite often community litter picks and things like that getting arranged though. It can also be pretty hard to find off road parking or a decent garden if that's high up on your list - most of the houses are terraces with a backyard and on street parking.

Transport links into the city centre are brilliant - the 192 bus turns up every few minutes and takes 15-30 minutes to get into town (depending on time of day/traffic), and there are regular trains to Piccadilly which take 5-10 minutes. I don't commute into town anymore so can't comment on how good the trains are now, but a few years ago it was a nightmare trying to fit on the train in the morning (being the last stop outside Manchester, it was often full by the time it reached us). Things might have calmed down since COVID though.

Urmston is great. Try Davyhulme too but watch out for sewage works smells. I live in Urmston and I'd think hard to get a 3 bed for £350. Terrace possibly? Stretford similar. I suggested Flixton because its cheaper and on the 255 / trainline.

Whitefield or Prestwich. Prestwich is more expensive as it has more of a 'centre' and is closer to Heaton Park however Whitefield is lovely too. We're a 15 min walk from the park (we live in Whitefield) and close to bars and restaurants. Also it's approx 15 mins into Manchester on the tram and they run every 6 mins at peak times.
Additionally both areas are very near the motorway as well as that bit closer to Lakes, Yorkshire Dales, Ribble Valley

You would definitely get a 3 bed semi in your budget but prices do seem to be rising still. North Manchester seems to attract people like me who just can't afford some of the South Manchester prices anymore and its definitely got a lot going for it.

Swinton (the Worsley end)

Came on here to say urmston/flixton. We bought our first house there and that budget would definitely get you a 3bed. Trains are regular for commuting.

Looking on rightmove you should get a small 3 bed semi within walking distance of Urmston, Chassen Road or Flixton station but check the train times as they don't all stop at every station.

I really don’t rate Levvy.
There are some nice bits of tameside and you get a lot for your money. Have friends in nice bits of Denton.
You’d afford greenfield with £350k and it’s gorgeous with a good train just there is rarely much on the market

Prestwich is good but the secondary schools aren't great - have to go up to Bury for a good one unless you are Catholic.

Urmston you'll be hard pushed to get a decent 3 bed in the centre for that (lots have the traditional 'box' 3rd bedroom). Flixton maybe.

Levenshulme is definitely up and coming, as is Eccles (though I'd avoid peel green).

Where in Trafford are you currently? I'd personally not live in the parts of Sale that you could buy on you budget, but parts of Stretford are ok, but it's a bit devoid of anything to do there.

Sorry it’s 250 - 300 K. I was correcting it just to add the K 😂
Thanks for the suggestions all - will be checking them out along with transport etc keep em coming.

Lots of recommendation for Urmston, Levy seems to have mixed reviews
@RacketeerRalph near the Brooklands station. I’ve been out and about in lots of areas on the tram line including Trafford Bar etc.

Also r.e boxroom - yes a lot of 3 beds have very tiny third bedrooms! Quite torn as the extra in price doesn’t seem quite justified but then again there aren’t many 2 beds to compare. Mostly flats which I don’t want

Worth bearing in mind that lots of people buy the 3 bed semis (with small box rooms) in these areas for the long term extension potential - depends on whether you have a family / whether you intend to stay for a while. Its pretty standard to put a side and / or rear extension on these pre-post war semis as they often come with space down the side of the house and a decent sized rear garden - you would be pushed to have that long term potential in a 2 bed house (so thats what you're paying for really in terms of the additional cost of a 3 bed).

I'm very predictable in mentioning schools if that's a consideration - Trafford has excellent schools.

@TractorAndHeadphones

Also r.e boxroom - yes a lot of 3 beds have very tiny third bedrooms! Quite torn as the extra in price doesn’t seem quite justified but then again there aren’t many 2 beds to compare. Mostly flats which I don’t want

Yes. I'm looking in Urmston and struggling to find a house without a box room that's less than 30mins walk from a station.

I'm guessing you won't want to be right next to the motorway? Though road noise may be less of a concern for you.

And I'd avoid the Humphrey park area of Urmston/ Stretford the local high school there was in the bottom 100 worst performing schools in the country a couple of years ago - it's not surprising considering its essentially the mop up school for those who don't get it the grammars or the Catholic schools.

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115684712

This for example has potential to extend the 3rd bedroom to either a loft room or over the garage like next door. BUT it depends if you'll likely be able to afford it, and it's very close to the sewage works and motorway.

I used to live in Urmston until fairly recently, so know it very well!