Perfect Family Friendly area in Manchester and nice nursery recommendation

[Kaizen92]

Hello,

I'm starting a new thread here, even though there may already be hundreds of threads on the same topic. My query is a bit different, so here I go.

We are planning to move to Manchester this year from Nottingham. We are a couple with a 2.5-year-old toddler. Currently, he attends nursery, and it took us several visits to finalize one that suits our needs. It's hard to believe we have to go through the process again. My husband will go to city centre for his job (twice a week) and we do have a car but public transport link will be good if we can access easily.

I have two questions for which I'm hoping to get some useful links.

1. Firstly, could you please suggest some good nurseries in Manchester that focus on lots of outdoor play? I've read about Montessori schools, which seem interesting, and my child seems to be a good fit for this kind of education. However, I'm unsure if they truly follow the Montessori method. Please suggest nursery names that you think are good, where your kids feel safe and happy.

1. My second question relates to family-friendly areas in Manchester. Google suggests Sale, Altrincham, and Hale, mainly in the south of Manchester. However, the price range doesn't seem to offer much value for money, with small kitchens for £1000 per month. In the future, we see ourselves buying a house, and our budget is £250-300K. We won't be buying in these areas, so if you could suggest some nice, family-friendly areas where lots of families are similar to ours, that would be great. As a couple, we really like the suburban, slow-living vibe, with plenty of leafy, hilly areas and not too much hustle and bustle. We're not very fond of bars and pubs, but book clubs would be highly appreciated. Schools should be excellent, and there should be plenty of activities for kids, such as indoor play, swimming clubs, football clubs, and parks with rides, etc.

I'm confused about whether we should first look for a nursery and then choose a place, or vice versa. Also, I'm not sure if I should make a separate post for each of my questions. Please let me know.

Thank you so much for your attention.

My knowledge is not current, but from my previous travels in that area, I would say the parts of Oldham and Ashton-under-Lyne that are firmly within your budget are decent and safe.

I think Slaithwaite and Marsden areas would suit you.
Nice leafy but a bit trendy villages with good rail links to Manchester and no crazy rental prices.
Only issue is finding a rental as they don't come up too often there

it seems very beautiful area to live in. Not sure is there anything to do with kids. What about schools?

Oh thank you :) I will surely look into that.

Depends what you want to do with your kids I suppose but both those villages are known for being child friendly, there are swimming pools, indoor play, child friendly cafes, park etc pretty close by. The Primary provision is pretty good, as are the Nurseries from what I understand but my DC are older.
Not sure about Secondary there though

My Nottingham rent is £900 in a cheap area!

Would a more fuel efficient car help? In my car, 2 days a week, Nottm to Manchester, it would cost me £112, not £250.

We have tried this it is around the same. He prefer train more because he feels it is much safer and less tiring.

We are lucky, living in a really nice area here and landlord did not increase the rent and it is definitely less than a 900£.

Then I really think you should stay there and try and save as much money as you can before buying. You'll just be throwing money away.

Thank you so much. This has definitely got me thinking in this direction. We'll focus on saving up for the deposit in the meantime, rather than spending over £1000 on rent.
However, we can't delay for too long. At some point, we need to make the move to Manchester. Can you suggest areas with good schools (mainly primary) that meet all the criteria from our list? Many areas have been suggested here already.
Also, how can we determine which areas would be suitable for us while we're still in Nottingham?

My advice would be to join as many local Facebook groups as possible.

Find an area of interest, look at OFSTEAD ratings of schools, then go on the local FB group and ask about the school/area. And if locals would recommend living there.

Got it. Thank you :)

Your rental and buying budgets are very low as others have said. Why don’t you find a few suitable places on rightmove within budget then come up for the weekend and visit those areas and see what you think.

your expectation for the kind of area you want, in Manchester is completely unrealistic so you are going to have to make compromises.

there are a lot of people moving here from London at the moment with ideas that ‘the north’ is cheap and being completely surprised. Manchester is not a property bargain.

good luck though! I hope you find what you are looking for.

Well I do don't think so, I searched on Rightmove and filter it 300K and I found few properties the places others have mentioned like hazel grove, Stockport, Marple etc.

You can definitely find somewhere for 300k around Manchester.
The rental budget of 1k is a problem though.
Have you had trips to Manchester to check out the areas you like?

those areas are near Manchester but actually in Stockport. You’ll get more for your money not in Manchester. As I said…

Don’t rule out north Manchester. North east Bolton is 4 villages sprawled into suburbia. Good nursery, primary and high schools. The town centre is grim now but bury 3 miles the other way is thriving. Ramsbottom lovely. Bury has better metro etc into Manchester. Lots of leafy moorland

Agree with @lotsofdogshere Bolton and Bury has lots of really lovely green spaces and Kids adventures forest school is really, good, my son went to the Prestwich setting, although you don't have a hope in hell of getting anywhere to rent in Prestwich for £1k these days.

Radcliffe in Bury is on the metrolink, as a suggestion. Someone with more current local knowledge may know about schools & nurseries

Google can help with info on nurseries. White field is next step from Radcliffe on the metro and increasingly popular as south Manchester becomes too expensive.
my children went away to university, said they would t return. They’re 37 and 39 now, live 2 miles from the house they grew up,in, where I still live. 4 children in local primary schools, parkrun every Sunday in Rammi’s `Nuttall Park. Open countryside and 12 miles from the city centre

Bit further south but have a look at Northwich in mid Cheshire, much cheaper than the villages east of Warrington although not as pretty.
Train to Altrincham then Metro is apparently an easy commute into Manchester and house prices are still reasonable although rents are shooting up massively.
Lots of excellent nurseries/forest schools and primaries and plenty of countryside nearby with Warrington, Liverpool and Chester within easy reach for serious shopping.
Really good regular community events too. Artisan markets and food hubs etc. with an active Rotary group.

How long a commute would your husband be prepared to put up with if on a train/tram/bus? That might help us suggest areas further out.

Theres a nice forest school nursery in Broadbottom which is on the eastern edge of Manchester with access to the Peak District and on the train line into the city.