[Closed] Manchester, where to live

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12px;">If you’re OK getting the train rather than riding have a look at the line out to Edale.</span>

The whole New Mills, Whaley, Chapel neck of the woods is okay, but as someone who lived in Glossoo for 17 odd years or so and is now in New Mills, I prefer Glossop. Not just for its location, but because the influx of folk working at Media City and the University over the last ten years or so, has really changed the feel of the place and it's big enough to have a decent spread of restaurants, shops, bars. pubs etc.

New Mills is like going back in time to the 1950s, which is fine if you want to live in an indeterminate part of the last century. Good location and riding though.

Still just a long road to nowhere with a school and a couple of glosses.

Prestwich has changed quite a bit.

The Clough is still the same.

Marple's been mentioned in passing but you should consider it. 30 minutes into manchester (piccadilly) by train, maybe 40 minutes on a bike (not sure, I only work in Hyde) via canal or A6 (other routes are available). Direct train line to sheffield, takes maybe one hour. Great biking locally, so much that people who've posted above travel from their locations over here to go riding. Am away at the mo (and slightly leathered) but if you have questions, please feel free to ask

Similar choices myself, leaning towards an apartment in the city to start with, easy commute for 6 months and see what works after that

Train might be a good option as t'interwebs says that all of Northern trains have toilets, might not be able to get near them at busy periods though....

Have you thought about Macclesfield?  25 mins on the train to Manchester, reasonable house prices with the Peak District as your back garden and Cheshire on the other side.

You need to be aware of the reality of Northern Trains....

chvck

Member

Train might be a good option as t’interwebs says that all of Northern trains have toilets, might not be able to get near them at busy periods though….

Guy I used to work with had a good commute from Marple / Strines way on the edge of the Peak - ride in early morning to uni, 14 or 15 miles and slightly downhill. Then train home with the bike. Cycled it both ways in the summer. I find pushing onto a rush hour Manc train with a bike a bit stressful as the cycling provision is poor, but he wasn't arsed - guess you soon get used to it.

I suspected that might be the case tbh. At least there are loads of good options of where to live and plenty to be thinking about. I haven't fully ruled out an apartment in the city but having grown up rurally and lived in Aberystwyth most of my adult life I think that I might struggle to adjust! I also really like riding my bike.

+1 for New Mills. Great riding from the door. Trains as above. You may jest at the quality, but they wee in the shoes of all the southern train operators when it comes to reliability and punctuality.  IIRC, the bus like trains do have toilets.

Cycle commute is c 40something minutes and a bit slower going home, but it's the A6, or a longer more off-road version.

Slightly better roads than Glossop, but you wouldn't want to be driving from either in rush hour.

Marple is good too and slightly closer in with more facilities. Probably get slightly more house for your money in New Mills though.

The East is great for MTB, and Ashton tram line might be a good option. Commuting by bike into Manchester isn't great - I've done it most of my life, but drivers are pants, and my commuting by bike was spectacularly finished for good two years ago when I driver broke my spine on the way to work.  I've given it up now, and switched to MTB, but living to the east of Stockport, it's great for MTB - no need to get in the car - it's also great for road, but I've packed it in after 30 years for road riding.

Id vote for marple or the surrounding areas if riding from your door is a priority,along with it being a nice place,and decent commute into the centre.

Macclesfield would be a good choice as well.

I dont live in marple, i live elsewhere in stockport,but thats where id recommend given your criteria.

Consider Bury too if you’re having a look at Prestwich. A bit further out but it’s the last/first stop on the tram to Victoria, so not too busy and you always get a seat. The Bike Hub next to the Metro is great to ride into Bury, lock your bike in there and jump on the tram (35 min into town). The ride in from Bury to Manchester is ok too.

its a nice town centre nowadays

The riding once you get out past Bury into Rammy and Rossendale is brilliant. Rammy is a fantastic place to live (we’ve been here 7 years) . Great riding right from your door, but I work from home most of the time and wouldn’t fancy commuting into Manchester City centre on a daily basis from here

I commuted daily from Whaley Bridge for a year on the train. An hour on the dot from stepping on the train to my desk in Spinningfields, very rarely had any issues. And there were loos on the train.

Whaley is great if you like little village feel, New Mills is a bit bigger, if you want an actual town I'd probably suggest Macclesfield. Or there's Poynton, but that's lost the village feel it once had, it's now basically the same as the other south Manchester commuter places like Bramhall, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme etc.

.... and living in Bramhall or Cheadle Hulme would make you spend your quieter moments, of which will be many, idly wondering about procuring automatic weapons, and scouring the internet for ISIS manuals on how to make IED’s

…. and living in Bramhall or Cheadle Hulme would make you spend your quieter moments, of which will be many, idly wondering about procuring automatic weapons, and scouring the internet for ISIS manuals on how to make IED’s

How long did you live there, Binners?

Worked there for 6 months. During which time I concluded that actually living anywhere round there would be too awful to contemplate.

Never did manage to get hold of the automatic weapons....

Having spent a few days up here in media city I reckon the mac wafting crayon chewing binners would fit right in 😉

 I haven’t fully ruled out an apartment in the city but having grown up rurally and lived in Aberystwyth most of my adult life I think that I might struggle to adjust! I also really like riding my bike.

Grew up rural, love riding my bike but at this point I'd rather get the day done and have time for everything else for a bit. Once I get out of this hotel into a place of my own I'll be riding again but it's nice to have a chance to play in the city, it's come a long way since I was last here.

Interesting to hear Cheetham Hill is still as ‘challenged’ 😁

lived there for a while in 1990 I think. (Strangeways was in meltdown at the time). Only place i’ve been assaulted by a naked three year-old girl armed with rocks...

Has it not improved at all?

‘Improved’?

well the three year old would now probably have a gun

I’m in the South, moved from Liverpool and ended up in Bramhall where I still am now. I left my firearms in Liverpool.

stockport has good rail links and close to the hills / Peak District for your outdoor interests. About a 10 mile wobble in to Manchester on the bike.

We we also have Soya milk in our lattes.

Manchester is a changing city, sister is a primary teacher in a challenging area except it's a lot less challenging these days due to a shift in the demographics

My experience is that a few streets can make a big difference and some communities are quite strong, "bandit country" is still out there so be careful

Just have a drive around Gorton. Everything is fine after that....

There is always St Retford....but id ignore that and check out Urmston.
Easy access to the Cheshire lanes for road riding.

St Retford? You mean 'Chorlton Borders'? 😉

[i]Just have a drive around Gorton. Everything is fine after that….[/i]

As a slight digression...

My dad was brought up in Gorton; two up two down, outside loo, tin bath by the fire, the whole Northern working class cliche. My granddad worked nights in a factory his entire working life. That was a short life, as he died in his fifties. The house they lived in was flattened in the clearances and housing 'improvements' of the '80s. My dad left school at 14 with no qualifications, got a job as an office junior in town, worked his way up to become a stockbroker, with a home in Manchester's stockbroker belt (the aforementioned Poynton). He now has a comfortable retirement, and a grandchild that has regular riding lessons at her fee-paying school.

From tin baths to riding lessons in two generations. I wonder how the life chance of children living in Gorton today compare with that.

Horwich and North Bolton.

Superb for Mountain biking, great Motorway links and Manchester 30 mins on a (admittedly hellish) train journey.

Personally I wouldn't rule out East Manchester. There are plenty of nice areas and you have good access to countryside. It's also far more affordable. Since you're renting you are not stuck in the area and there is no point throwing money away just to live in a trendy area because you have heard it's cool. Manchester is currently changing very quickly.

What’s it like around Simister these days, just north-east of Heaton Park? It’s changed a bit since I lived there as a kid until ~1978

2 schools, 2 pubs, a church hall and a post box. Nearest shop is in Polefield about a mile away. I love it!

If you could stretch the commute I'd look at Macclesfield - good train service. Macc Forest routes on your doorstep!

Big n Daft makes a very good point - once you've decided on an area or two you need to check as there are expensive places right next to rough (classic example is in Prestwich you have Guest Rd which is a conservation area with massive Victorian 3storey semi's and detached, and within 200 yards you have polefield circle which is the recipient of a lot of police effort)

Yep. 2/5 of Elbow live on Guest Road and there was a drive-by shooting in Polefield not so long ago. Both are within 100m of Armstrong's Chippie.

Here's a fact. There is no street prostitution in Prestwich unlike everywhere else in Greater Manchester... because there are apparently 12 knocking shops between Besses and Sheepfoot.

I used to know the lady who did the sandwich deliveries to them.

I wonder how the life chance of children living in Gorton today compare with that.

If you make it to 20 without seeing the inside of Strangeways then I'd imagine you're doing better than most

i live in Rammy and commuted to Manchester for a good 10 years by car, was an absolute breeze if i left early enough. miles cheaper than 2 trams fares if wor lass is travelling too. there used to be plenty of dodgy carparks as well, basically a patch of baron wasteland some scrotes had commandeered and they would charge you £3 for the day.... i imagine NCP have ran em all out of town by now tho, or theres a skyscraper there instead...

but i do think it is too far out for your needs, and if you did want to use public transport it would be a ball ache.. id be listening to suggestions of South East, Stockport or Macclesfield... although the trains are not great. I work in London now and everyone is always fuming with SouthWest trains which i always find an absolute dream compared to northern rail!!

I'm in New Mills now, and there's no way to do the 20 - 25 minute commute of your dreams. It might work on the train from Marple a couple of stops nearer to town.

I moved from Monton, Eccles, and reckon from Eccles by tram these days that time constraint might just work. The train from Eccles is super quick but super infrequent which made it impossible for me. Worsley Woods, and many monotonous canal towpaths in your future from a bike perspective. If you're creative, there is some gravel riding. One of the best things about living in Eccles was how easy it was to get out. North Wales, Cheshire lanes, South Lakes, all just about possible in an hour.

I went hot then cold when someone suggested Lower Broughton. Brr, the vibe there used to incentivise me to sprint through on the bike.

You could look at Saddleworth (Greenfield in Particular for the train station, Uppermill & Grasscroft within walking distance of the station). It's one stop further out than Mossley which has been mentioned by train, but still only 25mins ish from Victoria for the Arndale.

Nice area, good local riding on and off road. Good pubs, eateries in Uppermill and surrounding villages. Ignore the 'Oldham' moniker...

Todmorden? Great riding out the door, 30 mins to Manchester Victoria (which is right by the Arndale) on the train. And it's home to a certain mountain bike magazine.

I used to live in Monton too. Nice village feel and loads of bars have popped up since we moved out to the Peak a few years ago. Half an hour ish commute to the city centre on a bike. Decent but not amazing public transport options. Very good links for getting out of the city to ride Rivington, Hebden, Lee Quarry and Llandegla. Fun local riding Worsley Woods.

Always liked Urmston too. Chorlton, Didsbury and Heaton Moor are good if you can afford it.

Actually, what chipps said. I would hate to see it overrun by people looking for the latest trendy location, but Todmorden is really nice. If I was moving back to the region, I would seriously consider it.

Moving to Macclesfield from Didsbury was the best thing we ever did. Superb riding of every kind straight out of the door, and the mortgage on a 4-bed house is similar to what we were renting a 2-bed flat for. I don't work full time in MCR anymore but I still ride in and out a few times a week. The commuting miles does wonders for your fitness and is actually quicker than driving. The train is quick if you can hack the price, but that's the same as any of these satellite towns.

To summarise what everyone's saying:

The best riding is out of town and nearer the hills, e.g. Glossop, Marple, Macclesfield etc.
Driving in and out of Manchester every day will definitely send you under.
The train is a much quicker/better way of getting in and out of town, but pricey.
Certain area's closer to the centre e.g. Broughton, East Manchester aren't very relaxing to live in...

If you choose to live near the centre, make the most of the trains to get you and your bike out to the good stuff at the weekend. Northern Rail trains are f*cked, but consequently they're not too bothered when you get on after a muddy ride.

So, for various reasons I actually didn't end up accepting the last job but I now have a contract for somewhere else for a job i really like. I've got under 4 weeks to find a place and move. I've been doing some research for a while now and I think that the north looks good for a first step into Manchester. It seems to be easy to get away from the urban sprawl whilst not actually far from the centre. Whilst Marple and other places south/southeast look lovely I think they're a bit too far away for now. Looking at Prestwich and Besses o the barn.

Found a nice place in Besses that i suspect will go before we get chance to have a viewing so is the Besses area pretty nice to live in (i.e. my bikes won't get stolen in the first month)? On the subject of bikes, houses smaller than a 4 bed don't seem to come with garages. Other people will have been in this position so how do you keep mountain bikes indoors without trashing anything/them getting in the way?

Besses is ok, have a drive round to check the streets as some are better than others (this applies to all areas of Manchester). yes it's tricky to get a house with a garage, all the available space is needed for houses but garages and sheds are often rifled, usually because the toerags figure out you have bikes (or they just wait for the board to come down and then break into it to see what you've put in there)

Thanks, I hadn't even considered that about garages. I am looking at streets on street view when I look at houses online but when we head over to do viewings I'll have a better look at the areas.  Bikes in the house is sounding more attractive now...

Besses is OK. I grew up there 40 odd years ago!

Trees Estate, Hardmans Road or Thatch Leach Lane?

It is quite close to Prestwich, but the motorway cuts it off. Commuting into Manchester will be a doddle on public transport but the proximity of Junction 17 means that sometimes the traffic can be a PITA... like it was yesterday.

The specific place I've found is on Hardmans (although there a couple of other properties in the area that look ok too). It's very close to a tram stop so I guess that I'd hop on that quite a lot and when I rode then go into Prestwich via the Bury Old Rd rather than try my luck on that motorway junction. It's not finalised yet but it's looking hopeful that I might manage a day or 2 a week WFH which will also make my life easier.