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.

@Pollyannamex lots of people are in this situation depending on their income. I'm not sure what you're laughing at when a lot of our country is in deep poverty, with children living in poor conditions and in cramped spaces. If OP says their budget is £1k per month, there are lots of 1-2 bed flats in city centre (cheaper outside). For a lot of families, they are being forced to live in 1 bed flats with their baby or children due to the cost of living crisis. Unlike you, I don't judge them, I try to best advise given their budget. I am just giving OP advice based on living in manc for 8 years. There are some decent flats in Manchester that are 1 bed too, so if young families are really struggling at least I can point them in the right direction. Or do you have a problem with that too?

then again, perhaps youre a landlord in Manc just trying to push that rent is high there to benefit yourself? i see that a lot on MN.

Hale very expensive.

How about Sandbach or Holmes Chapel? Good schools, family areas. Bit further out but commutable....

I am not a landlord, sorry to disappoint you.

im laughing at the idea of castlefield on £1k a month not people on the breadline. There is nothing to suggest in her post that she wants or needs a one bed flat.

She isn’t struggling she just has unrealistic expectations and you are fuelling them by suggesting two of the most expensive areas in the city would be achievable while claiming to know what you are on about.

https://www.manchesterworld.uk/news/what-its-like-living-in-manchesters-most-expensive-neighbourhood-4210335#

Really? The last time I used the train to anywhere there was one about every 15 minutes😁

All of you suggesting places that are easily commutable by train, when's the last time you had to actually use the service to get into Manchester regularly? Many services are cancelled at the drop of a hat even on non-strike days, meaning those that do run are extremely crowded. They've been like this for at least 20 years (though have got even worse in the last couple).

The trams are a bit more reliable though it depends on where you want to get to and what time you want to arrive. One of the reasons north of Manchester (where we currently carlessly live) is a bit cheaper is because the actual public transport - as opposed to the Andy Burnham unicorn version - is pretty rubbish.

The high peak is lovely and is easy commute to MCR in places like New Mills or disley

Another vote for Prestwich, you get more for your money in North Manchester generally and Prestwich is on a tram line which is good because the trains are pretty unreliable. We looked round there but ended up buying in South Manchester as I need to commute to London regularly. I was a bit disappointed as the Blue Skies Montessori Nursery looked lovely! I’ve got mum friends round there and they seem very happy with the area.

I wouldn’t rent in the city centre with a child - it’s very expensive and it doesn’t feel safe. I lived in New Islington/Ancoats for 4 years and it was great having everything on your doorstep but there was a lot of crime, anti-social behaviour and pollution. We came home at 2pm to find someone injecting drugs on our doorstep once and we lived directly opposite a primary school so an area where a lot of kids passed by every day.

Try around Adlington

It's on the train line

You could definitely get a 3 bed in Chorlton if you avoid Chorltonville and look at Mersey Bank area.

Yeah you maybe could in merseybank, but…it’s not in Chorlton. I guess it’s what the estate agents call ‘Chorlton borders’

anyway, I’m boring myself here. But just making a point. I’m done now 😂

Mersey Bank isn't in Chorlton, what??? 😂 😂 😂

Of course it is. My husband was raised in Mersey Bank and it's always been Chorlton. It's More Chorlton than the posh bit you're talking about which is right next to WITHINGTON hospital.

We're actually pissing ourselves at this 😂

This is true. Any move needs to be carefully researched and tried out. Good services on paper can be anything but.

What are you talking about…

Withington hospital is on burton road, west Didsbury (which I agree makes no sense, and yes, I know it moved but still m20) and Chorlton is the other side of Merseybank, not near the hospital.

honest to god there are some idiots on this thread 😂

Good luck with the house search OP!

Sorry I had a traumatic brain injury 5 years ago and I always get Didsbury and Chorlton mixed up since even though I've lived in the area 42 years :(

But Mersey Bank is definitely in Chorlton.

Thankyou for calling me an idiot, been struggling alot lately with cognitive issues and that's made me feel great.

As someone who did a long distance move north with child a couple of years ago (not to Manchester!) I'd recommend going and looking at places either to buy or rent.

It's only then that you get a feel for whether what's being advertised is what you're looking for. We could see a lot of big houses on Rightmove within our budget but the reality was they were further out, less safe or difficult commute so wouldn't have been practical.

We rented first which gave us a chance to get to know areas for real. We bought in a different area to the one we rented in and wouldn't have even known about it without living here first. We had to increase our rental budget to be able to afford to get somewhere - we had been looking up to £1.5k a month and ended up paying £2k!

But renting also meant we were in the area to do house viewing easily and were chain free so did help us to buy.

You say you want a hilly area- Manchester isn’t hilly! Poynton, Marple and Macclesfield are at the foothills of the peaks and have hilly views at least. I like Macclesfield a lot and it’s easy to get into Manchester by train but is otherwise quite isolated.

Some of the eastern suburbs are hilly-ish too (and affordable), Manchester itself is pretty flat. As is the vast majority of Cheshire/warrington

the most desirable areas in Manchester itself are chorlton and Didsbury but they are unaffordable. The whole of Trafford borough (Sale, Altrincham, Hale) is also desirable but the prices there are insane, partly due to it being a pocket of a grammar school area whereas everywhere else in GM is comprehensive.

I really wouldn’t go off nursery recommendations- loads are closing sadly and like schools go up and down in estimation al the time. However there are plenty of good nurseries about.

Rossendale would suit what you're looking for, regular bus service and plenty around the local area.

I would try looking at Stretford and Urmston (south manchester) or outside Manchester try looking at Calder – Todmorden, etc.

Sale is a bit dreary (my opinion).

Places like Chorlton & Didsbury in S Manchester are ridiculously expensive now. Whalley Range has been recategorised as ‘Chorlton borders’. Feel like even Levenshulme, and places like that may have gone up too.

Thank you, everyone, for your insights. From what I've gathered, it seems that the rental market is quite tough, and £1000 won't suffice. I will keep this in mind and consider buying a house directly instead. I've already received many suggestions from you regarding places to consider.
Thank you once again for your time. :)

@Kaizen92 happy for you to DM me if you want more advice about Urmston/Stretford. I won't be able to help re: Prestwich or further out.

Hi @Kaizen92 ,

My little boy goes to Back To The Garden Childcare in Lymm, he's 18 months and is thriving there and I can't recommend it highly enough. It has a strong focus on outdoor play, they have their own Atelier and the chef is an AA Rosette award winning. The team are so lovely and caring. They have a sister nursery in Altrincham too. Have you looked at properties in Lymm? It's a lovely leafy village with lots of community events. Heres the website https://backtothegardenchildcare.com/

Sandbach and holmes chapel are nice and a bit cheaper than Hale and Altrincham

Well I'm from Manchester. I live in Urmston next to Stretford. Urmston is nicer than Stretford but Stretford has great parks and strong community.

It's not awful like some PP say. Yes it's expensive.

In addition to Stretford look at Flixton, Davyhulme. Carrington and Irlam are cheaper. Irlam is on a train line to city centre.

Monton is worth looking at and Eccles which is a dump but on the tram.

My friends live in Culcheth and its very nice. Definitely check it out.