Calling all lovely people from Manchester: Longsight? Old Trafford? Victoria Park?

[FelinaDaHousecat]

Hi all, OH got a job offer in Manchester - south Manchester would be best for us.

Are Longsight, Old Trafford and Victoria Park a definite NO?

We could be cash buyers there and buy something really nice, but not if the community is super rough. We live in north London so used to a bit of grit.

Re students.
Manchester Uni has a serious reputation for hard partying. Also a lot of the student areas have ridiculous numbers of break ins, despite improvements a lot of the landlords are shitty so the general area won’t look great.

It's less about the students (although I'd be thinking of noise, house parties, people not taking care of their properties and transient population). Longsight, Levenshulme, Victoria park are all run down areas with high crime and antisocial behaviour.

Obviously not unique to those areas but other areas (Whalley Range, Northenden, the Heatons) have way better amenities - nice local high streets, pubs you aren't afraid to go in etc

How cities change ! I had a student job in the 1960s delivering post in Longsight, and remember one house where the door was opened by a maid......no doubt its an HMO now.

@balanceo, my being there would be then the first step towards genteel gentrification

yours

Lady Felina

For your budget and requirements I'd go with firswood/old Trafford/whalley range. Easy cycle to uni and near town. Plus lovely parks and green spaces Inc Alexandra park and the Mersey valley. Northenden is slightly further out but becoming really nice, amazing Vietnamese restaurant. I think it's good to live near a tram stop too which you can do in firswood and old Trafford. The only issue with northenden is the public transport isn't great. Just the number 43 bus that takes ages.

Agree, not Longsight or Victoria Park. levenshulmee or Withington are good if you want some of the buzz without the cost. Withington has better transport links though. Not sure if schools are an issue but Trafford council secondary is a grammar system while Levenshulme, Charlton, Didsbury, Withington are in Manchester council so are not.

@Turkishangora The Vietnamese restaurant is superb.

Lots of love for Mi & Pho in Northenden on this thread!

I was a student up there for 6 years. It was loud, rowdy, full of crime. It was fun for us but oh my god I wouldn't move back to those student areas if you paid me. We had a car stolen, another car broken into, a naked man knocking on our door at 4am (confused student!), two of us were mugged; one at knifepoint and there were shootings on two of the roads we lived on as well.

One year we lived on one side street, nice house for students etc. The council automatically send a letter out each academic year to each resident on the street identifying it as one of the top ten noisiest streets in the city and if there were any further reports or anti social noise / crime they would be there immediately. I reported one house who had regular loud house parties spilling out outside onto their doorsteps because the partygoers would take cocaine and then run up and down the street kicking the car tyres with hockey sticks. Then our tyres got slashed once. The environmental health (?) dept gave me a mobile number for the person on duty and they came out and repeatedly tried to shut the parties down. It didn't work especially well and we were up most of the night due to the noise. We were in our later student years full time on placement and having to be in Wigan for 8am the next day meant we were up and out the door before 7. It's not a time in my life I want to relive!!

Like I said, I was a student too. I didn't do it but some did! Avoid!!!

And unsurprisingly this was in fallowfield. But I wouldn't touch any of the student areas for the same reasons. Good luck finding your new home. Despite our issues we loved the city

"a naked man knocking on our door at 4am" OMG you must have received my stripogram. I have been waiting for him all night. ;)

Seriously though I take on board and appreciate your advice x

Mi & Pho in Northenden is on my list of things to do! I had a really good look at Nothenden with Street View and must say quite like it - a bit concerned about the bad transport links which PPs have kindly highlighted.

Levenshulme, old Trafford/Firswood and Stretford would be my choices. A bit more for your money and more interesting than say the Heatons or Urmston/Sale (quite Suburban).
Levenshulme: schools alright, quite a alternative/babywearing scene though!. Finally on the up. Quite a few community stuff going on, quite funky. However can take ages to get to town of trains not working and a bit rough in places.
Old Trafford- pick your bits but nice community nearer town, good primaries.
Stretford - on the up, a bit more "happening", good community stuff, amazing parks, great primary schools, annoyingly in a grammar area but still good secondary schools, diverse in every sense, lower crime than the other two.

Last night I spent the whole evening looking at all the 3&4 bedroom houses in Manchester with our budget and reading all the reddit threads about areas of Mcr.

Some consensus about what/where to avoid but also contrasting information (some contrasting info has emerged in this thread again, notably about Levenshulme), I have done searches on other threads here too, where some contrasting info has also emerged.

But that's to expect as people experience vary according to their values, taste, etc.

Also, things change so that's another variable. I need to spend time in the areas, day and night.

Hi PieMistee, good morning and thank you :) Schools not an issue as both DDs will b at uni by September :)

And definitely not interested in suburban. When I go to visit family in Surrey I think it's nice and all but not for us.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108417383#/?channel=RES_BUY

Old Trafford, no argument! We’ve been priced out of the area but it’s great, I so miss being on the converging tram lines and cycling isn’t as safe where we have moved to. Levenshulme isn’t nearly as convenient and has been at the same level of up and coming for a decade or more, it has some great venues/ events/ parks but it’s stuck with the main road and the 192.

My family in Surrey loved visiting me, especially the proximity to the city centre!

Have you looked at Urmston, which a few people have mentioned? It's a bit further out but on the tram and plenty of life of its own. Or Chorlton is lovely if you can find something within budget, and also has good transport links.

@SwayingInTime I saw that house last night and also watched the video tour : a little on the small side but could work for us and really like the location (on paper), there's also a 5 bed in OT at the moment that ticks boxes - the challenge is that atm I can't do anything as bogged down with work and our property not for sale yet... it's so hard as Impatience is my middle name :)

@mocktail looking today, it's a bit out for us, ideally we'd prefer to be nearer to the city centre.

Snorting into my tea at the idea of Urmston/Sale being compared to suburban Surrey 😬

If you’re not interested in suburban I would skip Northenden personally. Old Trafford/Whalley Range/Stretford is where I would go…

Sorry @MindTheGapMoveAlong huge apologies, did not mean to offend. I grew up in another country and even after 25 years in the UK some things that are obvious to everyone native escape me. Hope tea did not go on your laptop/phone.

@DistrictCommissioner, thank you, yes, got a lot of feedback which says exactly that from here and totally taking on board.

I walk past that house in OT when walking the dog. It’s a lovely road in the little section known as ‘Millionaire’s row’. There are a few for sale very close - would definitely recommend. If your kids are older teens they will love the area- very close to Manchester and Chorlton.