Relocating to Manchester

[SambB]

Hi all,

Im pregnant with my first child and my bf and I are thinking of moving to Manchester in March. We have looked at a lot of properties and more often than not we get negative opinions from people about the location or area. We simply don’t know.

As a new small family what would be your suggestion of a nice area, safe, proximity to parks, cultural and not too far from the city centre with a metro and rail link. 20 min commute.

thanks for your help!! 🧡

Can you afford altrincham? Didsbury or chorlton? Those would be my top 3 places as a young family if I needed to get into Manchester frequently- but they’re pricey.

Buying, or renting? Budget?

Your list is a bit muddled. Chorlton is a suburb, Trafford an entire district as is Salford.

Heaton Moor - nice but a bit dull.
Sale - nice but bisected by a huge road.
Salford - where in Salford?
Trafford - where in Trafford?
Chorlton - mostly fine except the Nell Lane and Mersey Bank estates.
Fallowfield - studenty and litter blown.

Didsbury or cholton. Perhaps parts of whalley range?

If you are a new young couple with a baby on the way and wanting good links to town I would look at Stretford actually.

Where do you live at the moment and what line of work is your partner in? I grew up in the north east but lived most of the last 20 years in the south west and our move to Greater Manchester 2 years ago has been a real shock, even allowing for COVID lockdowns and how they've changed the world. There isn't as much work as there was here and house prices are rocketing up. Add in to that the worst train services in England and the weather, and it's probably the toughest place I've ever lived.(And I spent two years in Northern Ireland.) Of course it depends on your reasons for moving, if it's to be nearer family or bf has already been offered a good job that's a different story. Personally I'd try and opt for somewhere in the tram route though as buses are a nightmare unless you're in the city centre and the trains are regularly cancelled, overcrowded or very very late.

Trafford is a huge area. Chorlton is expensive!
What is your budget?

I would also add in the heatons area in Stockport and Hale and sale

Just to give you an idea of prices, my ds and his gf have recently rented a nice 1 bed flat in chorlton for £1k pcm. This was after searching extensively for a while and losing out on several as they go so quick.

I would agree with a pp about definitely being on the tram line if you need to rely on public transport- the trains have been pretty dire for a while. And yes it rains a lot. If you’re coming from the south it will probably be a shock.

Congratulations OP on your pregnancy how special
i moved from Yorkshire to Offerton in the Stockport area, its nr Manchester with my two kids some years ago. Its a lovely place with woods, parks and a river running through it. Schools were great too.

Budget? Also your list isn’t right, Trafford is the borough, so sale is in Trafford.

Trafford is a good family area, from most expensive to least (pretty much reflecting desirability):

• altrncham
• sale (parts of it are much less nice, sale west / racecourse estate is predominantly council housing).
• urmston
• Stretford
• old Trafford (fine, not much there other than football, takeaways and a big Tesco)

Didsbury and Chorlton are the nicest areas of Manchester. Didsbury very middle class and leafy and lovely and expensive.

Chorlton used to be boho/ trendy. Still is a bit but now just expensive with a high street of crackheads. Beech road area is ok.

The Heatons in Stockport area are good. Again, nicest to least nice - heaton moor, heaton chapel, heaton Mersey, heaton Norris.

Avoid Fallowfield, full of students.

Offerton used to be very rough indeed. Must have changed?

Sale is in Trafford! It really comes down to budget and what sort of place you want. Fallowfield is much gritty than sale and parts of Charlton.
altrincham and Timperley will be pushing your commute time BUT you’d be getting on the tram closer to the start of the route which can be critical at rush hour!