Living and riding in South Manchester

crack pipe maybe? 😉

I live in Heaton Park.

Our local mall (preeky) has just acquired a Cash Generator. The end is nigh. Cash Generators are merely exchange centres where laundered cash is given for stolen goods.

mleh.

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

Sorry, the butler seems to have been a little tardy passing this calling card to me. I think I’ll have him shot.

Didsbury (and with it west Didsbury) has been referred to as the Notting Hill of the North. I owned a place in Didsbury at the time, and very nearly went on a Luther-style assasination spree on hearing that.

I mean, really; Didsbury Festival may be a pleasant way to spend a June afternoon, but it’s hardly Notting Hill Carnival, however hard one squints….

binners – do it. I loved living in Manchester (West Dids, Dids then back to West Dids), but had to get back to small village life where curtains twitch almost constantly and there are fewer surnames than people.

Given the present perilous state of high street retailing, give it twelve months and there will only be them, poundland, Greggs and a couple of bookies still with a premises open Derek

small village life where curtains twitch almost constantly and there are fewer surnames than people.

I’m going to have to write that down – classic 🙂

Forget it and get a job in Sheffield – Peaks access from the best parts of the city virtually instantly….

small village life where curtains twitch almost constantly and there are fewer surnames than people.

Classic, is that Newmills being described ?

is that Newmills being described ?

Yes. And everywhere else small across the land.

I used to enjoy the anonymity of urban life – 10 years in M<anchester, and we got to know 3 neighbours…. – but I quite like it that there are people who’ll accept my packages off postie and will put our bins out if we forget.

I’ll get sick of that too….

So, we can confirm that Didsbury is posh then?

Its expensive. Not the same thing at all

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

This coming from a person who crashes at least once a week.

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.

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.