[Closed] Living and riding in South Manchester

So, we can confirm that Didsbury is posh then?

In parts. And expensive all over. But perfectly pleasant (except Dids Village on a Sat night can get fairly "lively" - it's quieter than it used to be, though)

EDIT: beaten to it by binners

West Didsbury is the nice bit, but houses are scarce and mixed in with student houses etc. There are posh bits to Didsbury but generally it's just silly expensive.

It must have just been my street that was posh then. There were more plums in mouths than you could shake a stick at.

I find West Didsbury to be the poor relation to Didsbury. The parking is a nightmare and it just isn’t quite as nice.

However Didsbury of Friday / Saturday night is full of K***s.

In response to

Any less-publicised gems tucked away in the city to think about?

...I think someone mentioned Urmston & Flixton. You get more for your money there than the likes of Chorlton, Didsbury or any of the Heatons. Urmston has a town centre with public library, Trafford General hospital's nearby in case of a child based emergency (you mentioned family) plus you can catch a train to Oxford Rd station from Flixton, Chassen Road or Urmston and then easily walk to the university. I guess the trains will be busy at peak times though.

BWD - having been to your man cave a couple of times, a house swap is the last thing I'd do, now a bike swap would be more like it.

I share your misgivings on the house swap front, if you can't keep your ketchup next to your chain lube, why bother living at all?

Wouldn't ny bikes be a bit big for you? I can imagine some epic crash action with your feet not reaching the ground...

some epic crash action

Mmmm lube flavoured burgers/fishfingers/chips.

The same cupboard, not the same bottle, tsssk. Even I'm not that dense.

Just keep the Optrex away from the Loctite.

Another vote for Marple from me!

Within spitting distance of the Peaks, 30 minutes by train into Manchester, 30 minutes by bus into Stockport, within spitting distance of the Peaks, everything you need shop-wise, and within spitting distance of the Peaks.

Did I mention it's within spitting distance of the Peaks?

Just keep the Optrex away from the Loctite.

There is a reason I don't keep bike maintenance stuff in the bathroom...

gary - like you i have had the same problem, based at the university and wondering how far to live, currently 25 miles away. by the end of summer hopefully we should have moved into our new house in north manchester. like previous posts you do get nore house for your money in north manchester, as south manchester bieng so desirable is so damn expensive. the house we're buying would have cost nearly twice as much as what we are paying for it if it was south manchester.
as for riding, hopefully i will now be able to leave the car at home with the missus especially when she goes on maternity, and i'll ride the 5 miles or so in to work.
i would reccomend that you try to get a permit from the university to lock your bike in one of its secure bike sheds, ratehr than leaving it locked in a public place where it would probably get vandalised.
as for ridingoutside of manchester, the peak district would be within easy reach from the south but i can strongly reccomend lee/crag quarry as a top riding area.

Where abouts on t'North Side are you heading Gonzy? Quite a few forum dwellers are in or around Prestwich.

Bolton is awesome - I simply don't understand why anyone would leave!

Does binners study general relativity..?

There's absolutely no way on earth I could do that as a daily commute. You could physically age while sat in your stationary car every day.

I now live in Heaton Mersey. Good access to town/Uni and a nice locale. Have just moved from Sale, Metrolink gives great access to town.

Both need a short drive to get to loads and loads of great riding.

Cheers 🙂

Think outside the box.Live in Calderdale close to the Leeds/Manchester train line-think Todmorden,Hebden Bridge etc 0nly a 30 minute train journey to the city centre.Superb riding literally on your doorstep and a three bed house for the price of a Didsbury garage. Yorks,Lake district and North Wales all not much more than an hour and half drive away

all depends what you want mate....vegan cafes or nice country surroundings - hang on Hebden bridge has both!!!

plus loads of earth folk, tie dye and lesbians

big up the bean cafe culture 😀

harry the spider - we'll be moving to Blackley, we looked at prestwich, but couldn't find a house we both liked, the commute into work takes a bit longer and we couldnt find a school we liked the look of for the little one...

Give us a shout when you are in if you fancy a ride out.

Gonzy, I'm from Blackley, just on the Moston/Harpurhey border.

There are some superb trails in Boggart Hole Clough, but you might want to take a cheaper bike if riding on your own at night.

Couple of decent trails in Alkrington Woods, but the good stuff is definitely Hit the North country, nearer to where Harry & Derek live.
There's bloody miles of it - some real quality stuff too.

I live in downtown central Stockport. It takes 65mins to amble over to the Sett Valley carpark in Hayfield. From there the Peaks are your oyster. It only takes 35mins to get to Disley from my front door. Dizz is ace if you fancy a quick blast. On my doorstep is Reddish Vale, idea for dogging and night rides.
I can be here in well under 2hours.
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Aside from Didsbury,Chorlton(where my mate was pulled from his bike on a main road in evening rush hour by a gang of youths and beaten only saved by a passing off duty bobby),parts of Stockport a few places in Trafford already mentioned I would find it hard to recommend anywhere within the M60 especially on the North,east and west of MCR except perhaps Pretswich but Blakeley 😯 Obviously there are decent pockets and neighbourhoods and coming from another major urban area you may be fine but Edinburgh-you woud be in for a shock.Factor in schools and it gets even harder..Born and bred in North MCR(next to Blackely),lived in East Manchester for 10 years worked in Chorlton,MCR Uni ,city centre,Failsworth,Oldham and Salford Quays and got a house in West Didsbury-where the bars are frequently robbed at knife/gun point!.The drive into MCR is a nightmare from anywhere.Now living in the comparatively serene surroundings of Glasgow,believe me. The villages in Saddleworth are expensive but worth it simialr vibe around Stalybridge but cheaper. Parts of Radcliffe parts of Chadderton and the villages north of Bury worth a look.

If you're going to slag off Blackley, at least spell it correctly, eh?

I've lived in Blackley, Crumpsall, Radcliffe and Todmorden, went to college in Hulme and have spent an awful lot of time in Chorlton, Withington, Whalley Range, Collyhurst, Salford and Middleton.

They are all as safe as each other, if you have an ounce of sense.

Blackley...simple typo. Unfortunately that doesn't fix your comment about riding in Boggart Hole Clough which I would say is slightly more perjorative but probably more accurate 😉

I hear Lower Broughton's lovely. And cheap.

you have a car, thats cheating!!!!

Feel like a local now I've read this thread, great stuff and v helpful. We're probably going to rent in the first instance so we can get the lie of the land.

Living out in the hills is really appealing to me, but will be a hard sell to my wife. Cycle commute to the uni from around Marple way seems doable looking at a map, not sure what the reality of it would be day in day out. Car or train commute is not for me. Anyhow, there's clearly loads of places to choose from.

what the map doesn't show you is that when the apocalypse comes, it will look like the A6 at 8.30 in the morning. Its do-able in the same way that walking up Everest in slippers is probably do-able. I wouldn't expect to derive any pleasure from the experience though.

My advice would be to live nearer. That stuff is infinitely reachable on say, a weekend morning. Whereas From Marple, Manchester city centre may as well be next to Tehran. On a daily basis - no thanks! It will take you 2 days commuting to realise the horrendous mistake you've just made. Seriously!

Wise words from binners.

Good point Nick 🙂

I wouldn't ride round Sale Water Park on my own either though. Some right weirdos hang around there 😀

But not as bad as Chorlton Water Park believe me,Rusty!
If you ever head up to Scotlandshire drop me a line and we can meet up.Let you do a comparison between Alky Woods and Mugdock Park (just outside Glasgow)-you should be safe with me an honorary Glaswegian as a body (and bike) guard 🙂

Have you never heard my Chorlton water park corset story?

If you loved Edinburgh I recommend renting or buying stone NOT brick then you can't go wrong.

binners - Member

Have you never heard my Chorlton water park corset story?

Do tell, I'm all ears:

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harry - i'll give you a shout once we've settled into the new house.
rusty - i'll give you a shout also if you're up for it so you can show us round the local trails. local knowledge is miles better than what you read on some route map!!

derek - you live in heaton park?
wow you must be rich...i've seen your house..it's huge although i suppose those stone lions are a bit of an acquired taste...you should be able to build a really nice trail in your garden...it massive!! LOL!
but seriously i'll be moving near there soon so i might call upon you to show me some of the local trails...

your a fool!

should have listened and come to Bolton 🙄

Garry_Lager - Member

Cycle commute to the uni from around Marple way seems doable looking at a map, not sure what the reality of it would be day in day out.

binners - Member

what the map doesn't show you is that when the apocalypse comes, it will look like the A6 at 8.30 in the morning.

Been away for a few days, sorry. Binners has the right of it. It's *AWFUL*. I commuted from Marple to Cheadle. I'd set out at 7am so that I could get down the A6 before things went mental, and once I'd moved from Hazel Grove to Marple sorted a route that meant I didn't have to cycle along the A6 at all. People coming from our sister office in Ashbourne would go round via Stoke rather than coming up the A6. It's only going to get worse as they're building a new bloody car park entrance in the middle of Hazel Grove, that'll proper stuff the traffic up.

I know Crazy Legs commutes in via the A6 from New Mills to East Manchester (near the velodrome), and Rod (posted further up this thread) from Heaton Chapel to the city centre, but personally, I'd not want to risk it, I feel bad enough when I go to volleyball training and have to drive down that way. Stanley's just moved to Marple, his missus commutes in by train each day to work at the uni.

jules, what about the opposite direction? i may have an interview for a job in marple; will it kill me trying to get there if i get the job?

Firstly, thank you, STW wisdom. This has been most informative.

My Missus and I are moving to Southish Manchester - she's working at the Wythenshawe hospital. I need to be able to get the train to Birmingham (but not as a regular commuter).

Has the STW Wisdom got more wisdom on living in such places as:
Wilmslow
Alderley Edge
Chelford

…WRT biking available - directly from the door or via short drive (<45 mins)?

Is Wythenshawe that bad - I lived in Leeds Headingly/Burley for about 8 years - is it a comparable experience?
What's the opinion on Cheadle/Cheadle Hume?
We’re coming from Great Yarmouth. I’m very excited. 😀

From Bolton? It'll be an hour's journey or more, you;ll struggle round the motorway, it'll be busy through Bredbury and so on. MLS or Arden?

alderley edge- are you a millionaire? if not, forget it.
wilmslow wishes it was alderley edge.

wythenshawe- if you would like to keep your bike(s), then you probably don't want to live there.

you can pretty much get to hope valley/ladybower (in the peak district) in under 45 minutes from anywhere in south manchester. rivi etc is only about 20-40 minutes' drive too.

arden j.
i'm not moved up that way yet; depending on how things with jobs go, i may stay in the south end for a bit.

Has the STW Wisdom got more wisdom on living in such places as:
Wilmslow
Alderley Edge
Chelford

Are you made of money? I don't know how expensive Great Yarmouth is. I can't afford Wilmslow, and only people who can't afford Alderley Edge live in Wimlslow. We did look at a place in Chelford, but they have a MASSIVE car boot sale every sunday and the place is gridlocked.

We looked at all those places when we moved, in fact we spent two years scouring a large part of East CHeshire and East Manchester - from Chelford across to Bollington and as far north as Delph and Diggle. As a finger in the air example, 250k would buy you a one bed flat in Alderley edge, a tiny two bed semi in Wilmslow or a comfortable 3 bed place in Cheadle Hulme / Heaton Moor / Marple. You'll find variations, like paying a little more for the more desirable streets and so on, but that's not a bad guide.

As for riding, there's a few bridleways out of Wilmslow to the south/west as its horsey country, but they're flat, and if you're into road riding you'll be in heaven with the cheshire lanes, but for MTBing you're looking at a 30 minute journey over towards Disley / Marple / New Mills.

CHealde Hulme is nicer than Cheadle, both are ok, neither has "from the door" riding. Consider The heatons as well, all trains stop at Stockport station but not many intercity trains stop at Chealde Hulme or Chelford, tbh.