Living and riding in South Manchester

Didsbury it isn’t, but unless you want to wrap your kids up in cotton wool….

Didsbury’s primary schools aren’t great. One of the factors that elad us to leave That Manchester for the flatlands of West Lancs.

Whats Whalley range like these days? I used to live (in a few different houses) in the triangle between upper chorlton road, whithington road and college road – lovely houses for much cheapness, lovely leafy streeets, quiet. Much better that the other side of withington road or over by clarenden road

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=382515&y=395092&z=110&sv=382515,395092&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=677&ax=382515&ay=395092&lm=0

TJ. Whalley Range is bloody great. That’s where I am. Chorlton has frankly become a parody of itself of late. To the point of becoming really really really annoying. The sense of unbearable middle-class smugness now hangs over everything like a particularly virulent vegetarian fart.

I can only walk past another newly opened free-range, organic, vegan, Guardian-reading, locally-sourced, hemp-wearing, fair-trade, raki massage centre, before I’m itching to start getting all Columbine with the firearms

Whalley Range has some nice little bars and shops but isn’t yet shoulder-deep up its own arse

your arrow is at the Spire Hospital, local roads have got massive speed bumps and parking issues at Wood Rd

probably very much about picking the “right” street in that area, then gambling that a family evicted from Council social housing don’t move in next door whilst you are there 😉

I lived on Wood road and on Rowan Ave in two different houses. Nice little bars and shops in Whalley range – thats a change. the bars used to be pretty nasty.

binners – I agree with you totally, I moved out of Chorlton years ago over to Northenden, cheaper housing and live on one of the nice quiet estates, young families and retired people. But all the suburbs in the same area seem to be going the same way with bars/estate agents popping up and replacing all the old interesting shops.

Best bet is to check out the local schools to see how they’re performing as if you’ve got kids that will no doubt influence your decision.

What binners said on chorlton is spot on. If you like your mung beans fresh then Chorltans the place. The unicorn sums it all up.

http://www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk/

Chorlton, in all honesty, is a complete hell hole. It has all the pretentions of being bohemian, but is in reality just a place for over grown students to pout and look cool. There are some proper scallies there too and it’s quite rough around the edges. Oh, and that Unicorn supermarket stinks of poo.

Didsbury is ok, with nice pubs and is quite posh. You need to be posh to afford a house there.

Withington is quite rough, I’d say.

The best parts of south Manchester are Heaton Moor/Mersey/Chapel I reckon. Really nice areas, without the pretentiousness of Didsbury or Chorlton, a bit greener, and that bit closer to Marple where you can get some decent riding in.

Walley Range is nice enough, but there’s not really a lot there in terms of pubs/shops and it’s on the edge of Moss Side.

Actually, Moss Side’s not that bad, I had less bother from scrotes when I lived there than I did in West Didsbury.

The Heatons for me – I don’t know much about the north side, sorry. Anyway, I don’t live in Manchester any more as I’m now a West Yorkshire resident, and all the happier for it! 😉

I notice that “The Unicorn” has a downloadable copy of their ethical statement regarding palm oil.

😆 He lives in Didsbury by the way…

the small triangle of Stretford between Longford Park and the Metrolink used to be OK

Oi! It still is nice, cheeky.

Withington is a good location 5 mins from Didsbury and West Didsbury and a 10 minute ride to the Uni. Good bus links too.

Not much riding in sth Manc but you can pootle around The Ees along the Mersey and there’s even some hidden woodland singletrack and, of course, Chorlton mountain!

It takes me 30 mins by car to Roman Lakes at Marple from Stretford; loads of riding from there. Within 45 minutes you’re heading down the zig-zags towards Aspenshaw Hall and then on to Hayfield and all that the Dark Peak has to offer.

@gg

I lived in Withington for a year (Parsonage road), no bother at all from anyone.
Moved to Heaton Moor, and nice as it was, had car broke into, walking boots nicked from porch and was finally burgled.

It sure looks nicer than Withington, but I wish I’d stayed put.

Fair enough gwj72. Scrotes don’t usually sh*t on their own doorstep, they travel to the nice places to thieve though, the same happens in a lot of cities.

When I lived in the centre of Moss Side for nearly 2 years I never had any bother, but was nearly mugged in West Didsbury, which is all nice and posh. I say ‘nearly mugged’ as getting beaten up by ten 15 year olds just wouldn’t do. 😀

i’m a whalley ranger now (was chorlton). it’s ok – fairly quiet & has a tesco metro (where doesn’t), netto, a couple of independent convenience stores/off licences/grocers, a quality save, subway, chinese takeaway that opens random hours, pharmacist and a haridressers.

needs a good indian takeaway and the only drinking establishment, the whalley, isn’t somewhere i would personally like to go for a pint. not sure where binners means when he says ‘nice little bars’ unless it Jam Street & Hilary Step, which are even more up their own asses than the bars of Didsbury. are they not Stretford though?? personally i go drinking in chorlton rather usually.

Withington is ok actually – the mrs runs indigo bar and solomon grundy so i spend a fair bit of time there. it’s a bit ‘no mans land’ between the students of Fallowfield and Professionals of Didsbury. Indigo is a great little late night bar with a good vibe – live music, djs jazz nights, fashion markets etc. Sols is alright for breakfasts or a quiet pint. two great curry houses and dossa express (try it if you haven’t!!) plus a few other places for food. supermarkets, a half-decent bike shop, fruit n veg shops, pound shops etc. quite a lot there thinking about it. some of the locals are a bit rowdy, but no worse than anywhere else in the area. it’s 5 mins from didsbury, well connected by one of (if not the) busiest bus routes in the uk, also runs to town. cycling into town would be 10-15 mins. close to motorway and on cycle path to reddish vale/marple. hmmm, i’d be tempted actually if you wanted somewhere cheap, as it’s a load cheaper than didders & chorlton.

Scrotes don’t usually sh*t on their own doorstep

Bingo! And there is a good escape route from Heaton moor across the golf course to withington / Levenshulme. I didn’t mind moss-side and hulme either. The Moss side carnival is great and there is some top curried goat to be had. You don’t get stuff like that in the more expensive areas.

Peachos – I refer to the Hilary/Jam Street as lesbian Central. But its only a walk round the corner, the beers good and you can marvel at the lezzers, as you tick off your little ‘stereotypical cliches’ bingo card

Short asymetric haircut? Check!
Lumberjack shirt? Check!
Low slung jeans with Calvins showing? Check!
Man-hating scowl issued in the direction of anything with a nob? Check!

One of my mates lived in Didsbury centre and had his car (Golf GTi) Broken into every other week. I hadn’t been out in Didsbury for ages, went in on a Saturday night and its absolutely bloody awful. Hordes of chavs descend from Stockport at the weekend. I once rode down the Mersey Valley early on a Sunday morning and noticed someone had stoved in the windows of every single car all the way down the Road by the Didsbury

I’ve lived in south Manchester and Stockport for the last 28 years – Fallowfield, Withington, Whalley Range, West Didsbury, Heaton Mersey, Heaton Moor.

The Heatons all have good housing but only Heaton Moor has any nightlife. It’s not as busy as Chorlton or Didsbury but then again nor is it as rough on a Saturday night (in my experience).

Riding from doorstep depends on your fitness. My preference is a quick drive to Marple Bridge and head out from there. As others have said, there is plenty of milder entertainment nearer to hand and the TPT north from Stockport opens up interesting options.

I used to live in Northenden then Rammy and now Heaton Moor…

Northenden good if you like fighting in pubs or curry (it never lived up to being the “new Didsbury” and to close to Wythenshawe).

Rammy was great but can be hard to find a decent house and the commute into Manchester is a PITA (that was the reason we moved – not too bad for me cycling in most days but my missus had to drive).

Heaton Moor suits us well with easy commuting into the city centre and a nice centre with good pubs and restaurants (more grown up feeling than Didsbury etc). Like everywhere, it’s near some ropey areas, but it’s a good compromise. I mostly ride from my doorstep (following Goyt or Tame Valleys) which has some nice diversions on the way to the Peaks or Saddleworth). It’s the furthest west I’d like to be for decent doorstep riding.

Marple is a good option if you want to be able to ride from your doorstep but have the train link into Manchester.

Scrotes will go looking for the best areas when on the rob.

I think that withington / fallowfield would suffer the most because of all the students. Like picking low hanging fruit.

It’s not as big an issue for private housing as it was because most people have decent security in place now. I dont think any of the nicer areas are better / worse than each other.

Ha! I aspire to being middle class so I quite like Chorlton. Lots of places that sell proper beer and a couple that sell Stella to the scrotes (honeypot).

I hardly ever venture into Manchester for anything other than work.

The south west area of Manchester is nearly all pretty good: Urmston, Sale, Whalley Range (south), Chorlton, Didsbury. Further south into Cheshire can get a little more pricey but for a reason, Knutsford etc

another vote for Hyde/Gee Cross. I work at the Manchester Royal Infirmary on Oxford Road and the commute is manageable. Just got back into riding my bike and regularly ride to Compstall/Etherow, Marple, New Mills etc. There are plenty of circular routes to mix things up. Riding up Werneth Low is a bit of a challenge if you’re not used to it!

Urmston area, perticually around Davyhulme and flixton is a quiet and safe area for a family. Pleanty of housing to suit most bugets.

Urmston centers just completed phase 1 of a large regeneration project and the 2nd parts about to start.

Theres train stations in both Urmston and Flixton to Oxford road near the university campus, and busses take about 25mins on the express service, 45mins on the regular route.

You have the trafford center close which is very handy, but on the other side of the motorway which keeps local traffic to a minimum.

Its flat, so riding is tame, but you can be out in the country side in minutes as its right on the edge of a green belt. Going out for a lazy afternoon ride through cheshire, down the transpennine, or along the mersey or the canal to lymm for a drink or two with the missus and freinds is a peach.

Being close to the Trafford Centre is a good thing??? 😉

I guess it depends on your priorities, but for decent riding, I’d be tempted to head further out – Manchester side of the Peak maybe – and have it right on my doorstep, though obviously if you want a short commute and civilized culture, that won’t be an option.

Hyde/Gee Cross is okay geographically, but I lived there for a while and found it offered an interesting mix of soullessness and readily available casual violence.

New Mills maybe. Or even Glossop, which is 30 minutes from Piccadilly on the train, though I believe it’s a godforsaken hell hole in the eyes of most Mancs with their ace canal paths and waste ground singletrack 😉

Allow us to introduce your next-door neighbours, should you move to Glossop

Yep, you can nip in during the week when its quiet, you dont have to pay to park, and theres little you cant find when you need something in a hurry. Perticually if youve forgoten a birthday or aniversary. 😛

If you do consider the Urmston area, have a look around the chassen road railway station and church road, Davyhulme road for the really quiet places.

@binners That’s way to close to reality to be funny.

(My other half is from hadfield -sshhhh!)

and your other neighbour will keep popping round asking the same question….

There’s a lot of “I live here, it’s ace and everywhere else is a bit rubbish” on here.

I’m in Marple. I like it, but it has bad points – traffic can be a bitch, for instance. IT’s doea have the advantage of being close to good riding, that’s why we moved here. Would hate to live closer in to the center in Whalley range or the Heatons, but that’s just me.

Glossop’s on the way up, they’ve got a Costa now and an M&S is being built. AGain though suffers from traffic for getting into Manchester in the car…

Lets be honest NBT – Anywhere down your way is just hellish if you need to get into the centre of Manchester on a daily basis. 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. Or if you did it every day on your bike, you’d survive about a month, tops!

The riding is indeed brill round your gaff!! And now with your poncey, flash M&S ways, and everyfink!! 😉 but its just not worth that hideous commute

There’s a lot of “I live here, it’s ace and everywhere else is a bit rubbish” on here.

Not from me, all I’m saying is that there’s better riding further out, but you lose a bit in terms of culture.

I get a bit bored of people stereotyping Glossop and similar towns as inbred for an easy giggle. I don’t come from here originally and nor do around 50% of the local population – lots of Uni folk and commuters here who choose to live with the Peak as their backyard. It’s mostly just a decent, no-nonsense, not poncified/gentrified/wankified northern industrial town. And it’s 30 minutes into town on the train…

Manchester riders, most of them seem fat, slow, overweight and frankly a bit rubbish, probably because there’s nothing there worth riding. Ring any bells, Binners? 😉

No one has mentioned Vegas yet?

Hmmmmmmmmm. The words do have a certain familiarity to them, I have to admit 😉

Jules – most people have chosen to live where they live for a reason, so they’re bound to think it’s the best place 😉

In an ideal world we’d live in the hills but, in reality, the daily commute is a massive factor in where we live…

We do a lot of our shopping in Glossop because it’s cheap. The folk are so friendly. There’s a really good old fashioned family friendly park there too, with the old stylee kiddy railway, crazy golf, BMX track, cafe, bowls, mini football pitch for the tots.

Then we drive home to Marple, phew 😉

Hmmmmmmmmm. The words do have a certain familiarity to them, I have to admit

To be fair my neighbour is called Dave, but he does Iron Man tri and is an obsessive mountain biker…

As far as people bigging up their own neighbourhood, like I said above, it all depends on your priorities. If you’re a diehard biker and don’t mind extending your commute slightly and not having a cinema on your doorstep then it maybe makes sense considering living further out.

If you’re a louche urban sophisticate, then you’ll want to be nearer the centre of town. And if you want a compromise, somewhere like Marple makes sense, though I hear they all ride tandems round there these days…

I’m fortunate in that I don’t need to commute, working as I do in the Glossop Institute of Genetic Science and Inbreeding, but I wouldn’t even think about travelling in the Manchester direction by car.

Anyway…

We do a lot of our shopping in Glossop because it’s cheap. The folk are so friendly. There’s a really good old fashioned family friendly park there too, with the old stylee kiddy railway, crazy golf, BMX track, cafe, bowls, mini football pitch for the tots.

That’s a local park for local people you know. There have been some nasty incidents with the miniature railway and comers in, but the ducks normally clear up the mess/evidence afterwards…

I do most of my shopping in Marple for much the same reasons you shop in Glossop, perhaps we should consider a house swap?

Why not just do each others shopping and then meet half way to swap it in a sort of cold War style, Berlin Wall-esque prisoner exchange?

Anyway… BWD, between you and me, I am not longer for this metrosexual, man-bag clad, city existence. My latte days are drawing to a close. The draw of the hills has become stronger than the desire for a goats cheese and roasted red pepper ciabatta.

I’m headed north though

… or swapping shopping. Think of it as a lucky dip.

You both spend £50 then do a bag drop at a neutral location. Chapel-en-le-frith perhaps.

[edit] Not quick enough. Damn you binners. [/edit]

Ah yes, pipe and slippers time.

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.