What city to live in?

[Anawana]

Hi all,

I'm a 28 year old woman, currently living in SE. I'm from Turkey but have lived in the UK for the last 6 years.

I had a divorce from my husband a couple of months ago and want to move to a different place.

I make £32k and would like to buy a house. I have a biggish deposit saved and seem to be able to afford a few up north.

-I like lively cities/big towns with a lot going on in terms of activities, things to do and socialising most.
-I'm looking for somewhere safe obviously as a single woman.
-It has to be affordable

Where do you recommend that I move to? I had Manchester in mind, do you think it's a good idea, if so which part please?

Many thanks!

What’s your budget? Manchester is massive and the property prices and places I’d consider ‘safe’ vary hugely

I adore Manchester; used to live there and if I were to move cities again I'd go back there.

I live in Manchester. On that salary I probably wouldn’t move here but somewhere like Liverpool or Glasgow.

What job do you do, as job opportunities might limit your search? Unless of course you can work from home.

Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield.

My budget is c£200k. I see a few houses on Righmove for that price, but not too sure about the areas as I know near nothing about places in and around Manchester!

Hiya. I work in marketing but am fully remote.

I manage to live in the SE on that salary, renting on my own. I'm thinking if I paid my mortgage instead, I should be alright?

When you say 'city' do you want something big like Manchester or something small like Chester?

Also what size/type of house are you looking for?

32k would definitely go further if you moved out of the south east. Sounds a good plan 🙂

Thanks ever so much! 😊

The ne is considerably cheaper or perhaps Glasgow

More like Manchester but I've never been to Chester. If there's loads going on in terms of social activities for younger people - why not? 🙂

I'm looking for a 2-3 bed terraced or semi-detached. Quick look on Rightmove, there are properties in Prestwich, Crumpsall, Moston and Droylsden but these names mean nothing to me as I have no idea what the different areas are like! I only stayed in the city centre for a week before.

Thank you. Where in NE would you recommend? Newcastle?

I think I would go to Liverpool. It’s a great lively city and near the coast. I’m sure others will be along shortly to advise on particular areas.

Prestwich is fine but I'd avoid the rest.

i would definitely avoid moston in Manchester. There’s a reason why it’s cheap!

i live near Manchester and hate it. The weather is rubbish and it’s a grey and miserable city, plus it’s filthy. If I were you I’d stay down the south east or head up to Scotland.

Thank you and sorry to hear that you don't like it there. I'll definitely need to move up north if I want to buy a house. I can only afford to buy a flat in the SE, but I'd like a house with a garden instead.

In your shoes I would choose Liverpool, Newcastle or Glasgow in preference to Manchester

I also like the look of Dundee!

Aberdeen. Loads of nice flats for that price range if you want city centre living and it's surprisingly good for employment opportunities if you need another job https://www.aspc.co.uk/search/property/418197/34-Thomson-Street/Aberdeen/

Or Dundee as suggested above.

I wouldn't suggest Dundee😬

I would look in Sheffield and Liverpool if I was you. In Manchester I just don’t think you will be able to live in a nice area, but close enough to the city, on your budget.

I’ve lived in Prestwich, Crumpsall, and Droylsden, and frequently visit all three for different reasons.

All are on the tram line which is great. In terms of safety (also a young woman) most of Prestwich and Droylsden, I have no problems with. Crumpsall bit more iffy.

Both prestwich and droylsden have seen an increase in young professionals moving there. prestwich is further ahead in gentrification and there’s a lot more ‘going on’ than droylsden, but is more expensive.

Newcastle is a great city with decently priced property!

Unfortunately you won't be able to get a "nice" or "safe" house in Manchester for £200k, you'd be looking at 300-350k minimum in the nice parts of South Manchester. If you'd consider a flat then you could afford a 1 or 2 bed in the desirable areas which are safer, easy to get to the city centre but also have everything you need anyway in terms of shopping and socialising. Great city to live.