Manchester, where to live

I’ve been offered a job in Manchester city centre, near the Arndale centre. We’re looking at renting for at least the first year. Our 2 top priorities are 20-25 minutes by tram and by bike, my bladder can’t be trusted not to fail on me on a longer commute than that really (the commute is worrying me far more than the job!).

I’d like to be able to do some sort of riding from the door (road is ok if I can get to nice roads reasonably quickly) but given the previous statement I appreciate that this might not be on the cards! I have no idea of where’s good to MTB nearby to Manchester other than there’s the whole peak district.

Having looked around it seems that houses with garages are a bit thin on the ground but we’re looking detached or semi-detached. I found an old thread on here that seemed to suggest avoiding the East (which a friend has also told me is wise) and that Prestwich is a good place to live. Is anywhere along that Bury road a pretty decent bet? What’s it like around Cheetwood/Cheethan Hill? My friend also said that Chorlton is a good area but that’d be at the top of our price range for the cheapest properties there. I think that we’re looking up to ~£900/pcm but that is a very upper limit and we’d certainly like to go lower. There’s just 2 of us, myself and my partner so we don’t need a mansion or anything.

So, where should we live? Thanks in advance for any help!

Newhey – ride straight out the door. Trams to Manchester and next to M60.

Prestwich/Whitefield would suit you I think.

Prestwich is the home of the MNPR – so there’s 1 massive +ve.

Cheetham Hill is good if your packin’ heat and into gang warfare…

I’m down in the Sale/Timperley area and that fits in with your commute times, pretty much bob on 30 mins to the centre of Manc 95% off road down the canal. The problem is the house prices, you’d be paying for access to schools that you’re not using.

Loads of really nice road rides form the door as you’ve got the choice between a fast, flat blast round the cheshire lanes of head out towards Macc or Marple and hit up some hills.

MTB from the door is really pretty restricted unless you don’t mind a 30 min drive or 45 min pedal towards Marple*. – if that’s more of a priority then you’re probbaly better off looking north round Prestwich and the like, but there are enough natives on here that can give you the low down on that!

I guess it depends on your priorities, but if you don’t need to drive, Glossop is on the edge of the Peak and 30 minutes into Manchester by train with awesome mountain biking and road riding on the doorstep plus decent local shops, pubs, restaurants etc. Also good for walking, climbing, trail-runnng etc.

You’ll also get a lot more for your money in property terms, renting or buying – think around £550- £600 pcm for a two bed terrace. Obviously you’re not as central and it’s more of a hassle to go out in Manchester itself. I get that’s all weighted towards riding and other outdoor stuff over urban living, but hey, it’s a mountain biking site after all.

Prestwich / Whitefield. Both have tram stops and direct busses into the city centre. My wife commutes in from Simister by car and bus via Prestwich (no useful bus in Simister) in about 40 minutes.

Cheetham Hill is a  bit like the Wild West.

Be aware when considering Prestwich that the Church got rid of the pie fridge behind the bar some time ago.

Property prices in the surrounding area have suffered accordingly

For the places near the arndale from the metro – your best looking north manchester, as you can then use the Bury line or the Rochdale line and get off at Exchange Sq. Shudehill/Market Street (all stops around the Arndale)

I used to commute via Prestwich to Market Street – would normally take 20mins to 30mins once on a tram (depends how many people are trying to crush on the tram)

Is Marple still about an hour’s commute to city centre in car?

The road traffic in Manchester has got noticeably worse, I think, in last ten years. The M60 is just horrible now anywhere near rush hour which just narrows your radius

I’d look at Charlesworth near glossop as it’s a walk to broadbottom station and then its 40 mins in the train to city centre .it generally avoids the road traffic of glossop but you still have to drive through mottram which has big traffic issues

My MTB mate lives in Charlesworth and loves it for the proximity to the peak

What about Shaw? It’s a bit near Oldham but might be easier to get into town

I spose Prestwich is easier for access to town and can road ride up to ramsbottom and thereafter to Calder valley

I’d be looking at Charlesworth/chisworth/glossop/Marple bridge myself but can be a nightmare getting into town, might have to take a bedpan on your commute?

☺

Not Cheetham Hill. Ever.

Prestwich/Whitefield is a great place to live. Parks, good schools, local shopping.

Bury 10 minutes away which is a great little town.

Loads of top class riding, easier access and just a nicer place to live than pretty much anywhere that close to Manchester regardless of price.</span>

Happens to be good value too.

Glossop and Oldham/Mossley  is worth a look, lovely places,  but the traffic is beyond belief.

Didsbury

Thanks all, maybe I’ll avoid Cheetham Hill… I’ll definitely be taking more of a look at the Prestwich area. Glossop is an intriguing idea as she has family in Sheffield, will have to have a think about that one as it would be slightly longer on the train.

edit: I do have a car but don’t plan on touching it near rush hour!

I’d encourage you to drop timperley off your list unless you like flat road riding. It’s shit for mtb and shit for proper hilly road rides. Shit for kayaking and rock climbing too, his knows why I moved here.

But good for flat roading.

Glossop is an intriguing idea

IIf you like sitting in traffic jams. The roads around there are gridlocked pretty much 24/7. Traffic from anywhere out that way is absolutely horrendous

As Lord Summarise said, if you’re heading into Victoria side of town the you’re much better looking at North Manchester. There are several very good reasons Prestwich and Whitfield keep coming up

Didsbury and Chorlton have now been entirely colonised by BBC refugees from London and are now as **** as Shoreditch, with similar pricing

We have a few mates in Didsbury and a handful hanging on in Chorlton until their  ex squat/mum’s old semi is worth more than Northumberland.

They are still nice places to live, but my god, that amount of traffic and stress every day?

Right, well it’s looking like Prestwich is certainly where we should be focusing. Via train/tram it’s actually as long from Glossop to Sheffield as it is Prestwich anyway. Commute into Manchester looks doable too, it’s going to be exciting to find out if we get that wrong bladder wise! There seems to be surprisingly little property for rent around Prestwich, especially with a garage. Anyone got a house for rent? :p

Have a look at Whitefield and Besses too. Prestwich is largely Victorian, so there is no off road parking. Whitefield and Besses have a lot of newer housing stock and are only one and two stops further up the tram line.

I ride into work each day from Whitefield, it’s fine for bike commuting

As well as all the Prestwich suggestions if you want somewhere a little closer to the city centre it might be worth looking at the Lower Broughton area of Salford.

Both Prestwich and LB have easy access to local mtbing areas (dedicated trails at Philips Park & Waterdale, get to these from LB with a nice riverside ride via the Cliff and Drinkwater Park)

Chortlon/Didsbury are a 20/25 minute Metrolink ride from the city centre.

I lived in Chorlon for a while – a 2 up 2 down terrace with bathroom extension was £850 a month

Also try looking at the Heatons. I live in Heaton Moor and the city centre is a 9 minute train ride away. Couple of decent pubs/restaurants as well as the Savoy Cinema.

You could also commute by bike but that would mean going down the A6………

Should get something decent for £900.

worth looking at the Lower Broughton area of Salford

Particularly if you want to be violently relieved of your iPhone and your wallet on the way home every night, and burgled every week.

Mind you… the Spices of Kashmir do the best chicken tikka kebab in the known universe

Chorlton if your salary is paid by the taxpayer, Didsbury if it’s paid for by profit.

North Manchester is the dark side, but I’ve heard good things about Prestwich.

East Manchester is purely theoretical and only really exists in another dimension.

North Manchester is the dark side

Thats actually a ‘There be Dragons’ myth perpetrated to keep all the yoghurt-knitting bedwetters Southside 😉

East Manchester? I don’t think we need to go there. Either literally or metaphorically

Whitefield is a little bit cheaper then Prestwich  and is catching up in terms of places to go out.  Full of people who seem to think they are in TOWIE mind. Depends if you prefer Tesco (Prestwich) or Morrisons (Whitefield).

it might be worth looking at the Lower Broughton area of Salford.

Wow. I can’t believe someone actually typed that!

This was my experience of Lower Broughton:

I lived in Higher Broughton when I was a student. It was slightly less like Aleppo than Lower Broughton but fun could still be had guessing which make of car would be burnt out in front of our house every morning. It was usually an Astra but for some reason Manchester Evening News Ford Transits were popular too.

It was dead easy to get drugs though, and it was fun watching the various expensive German Executive Cars come and go to the knocking shop a few doors down. If you are partial to coke and hookers, then Broughton is the place for you 😀

Once again thanks for all of the information, plenty to think about. North Manchester is certainly winning but I’ll a look at the Heatons too as a 9 minute train ride is appealing, The A6 won’t be fun to commute though? I guess that Bury New Rd is pretty alright though?

I enjoyed Crumpsall though. ☺

We had Jewish, Iranian and Polish neighbours a couple of Holt’s houses and an awesome kebab shop.

Went to college in Hulme, which appears to have been reconstructed entirely in LEGO.

East Manchester used to be iron foundries, huge engineering works and a funfair.

Now it’s a traffic jam with a football stadium and a Velodrome.

Oh well scrap Lower Broughton then!

TBH I only know a small part of it at the edge and that bit’s fine, up near Bury New Road.

Bury New Rd fine for cycling, very slow in rush hour of course if you’re driving.

chvck

Member

Once again thanks for all of the information, plenty to think about. North Manchester is certainly winning but I’ll a look at the Heatons too as a 9 minute train ride is appealing, The A6 won’t be fun to commute though? I guess that Bury New Rd is pretty alright though?

The A6 is fine to ride on – unremarkable. It’s not great because there are a lot of traffic lights, but every arterial road into central Manc is the same in that respect, and you can usually plan a good cycling route between them. There is one part of the road in Longsight that is a mess in the evening, so you either avoid this or take it steady for a minute or two.

I’m surprised this hasn’t been mentioned, but Macclesfield is 25mins on the train (I enjoyed the commute for 4 years before going self-employed).

Magnificent riding from the door on- and off-road. A few local riding groups/clubs.

Cheaper house prices – quite a wide variety of property types and pockets of affluence/poverty so needs a bit of thought, but I guess that applies to everywhere.

I’d give Broughton a swerve also.

A few years ago a mate had his car pinched. The Police found it in Broughton and told him to go and collect. By the time he got there it had been stolen again.

Brother in Law’s Mitsubishi GTO got pinched too and ended up smeared down a wall in Broughton.

In summary Broughton isn’t the best. Luckily there is Sedgely Park with its massive Orthodox Jewish community, in-house security and lack of boozers that acts as a fire break between the bad lands and Prestwich.

with a map and a pair of compasses, put the pointy end on Manchester town hall, the pencil end on Sedgley Park (just south of Prestwich), draw a circle.

Do not move to anywhere within that circle.

Why not move to Scotland? 😉

“the Spices of Kashmir do the best chicken tikka kebab in the known universe”

Damn right.

The only place I’ve ever been to where I’ve later had to go to court as a witness to an armed robbery is Higher Broughton.

I used to work there. It has an absolutely shocking level of crime.

Macc’s ok, yep. Not a bad commute into Manc (about 16 miles each way though). One of my favourite offroad loops in the world is in Macc Forest. Fabulous stuff.

Glossop is an intriguing idea

IIf you like sitting in traffic jams. The roads around there are gridlocked pretty much 24/7. Traffic from anywhere out that way is absolutely horrendous (said Binners)

It’s terrible if you have to drive into Manchester or have a strange affinity for the M60, but on the other side of town you’re straight out into the Peak, you can cut across to the M1 and down to London with minimal hassle. Plus across to Sheffield is straight over the Peak.

The town itself is compact enough that you don’t actually need to drive to the shops or anywhere else unless you’re terminally lazy.

To be honest, Glossop’s traffic is only a nightmare if you have to drive through it or commute by road to and from Manchester, but if you live there and commute by train into Manchester, it’s mostly not an issue.

A cycle commute would be tough, though I know people who do it, and involve some biggish hills. But anyway, the traffic’s only really an issue heading to and from Manchester, in any other direction, it’s fine. A lot of people confuse Glossop with the M67. It’s actually a different thing 😉

Have a look at Swinton and Pendlebury. Five miles west of mcr centre and two south of Prestwich. Good amenities and no SAM installations as in Cheetham Hill. Decent riding in the Irwell Valley 10 minute ride away. Train station in Swinton town centre. House rental is reasonable.

Swinton (Worsley side) is worth a look but no tram. I’d also recommend Prestwich and Whitefield.

Spices of Kashmir is OK, not what it once was IMO.