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.

My gran used to live on Hardmans.

Let us know when you land. We’ll introduce you to the Mighty MNPR.

Let us know when you land. We’ll introduce you to the Mighty MNPR.

Sounds good to me, what’s your policy on ebikes? :p

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

i heard Moss Side was nice 40 odd years ago…?

nah its a good spot. well handy for phillips park, the tram and the motorway, and not near any parks or recreation ground where scrotes might congregate…. I went to see Labyrinth at the Mayfair there in 1986.

Bikes in the house is sounding more attractive now…

Cellars are ace if you can find a house with one of them. Though you may need to run a dehumidifier to keep it dry.

As near to the city centre as possible, in any direction.

“I heard Moss Side was nice 40 years ago”

These days, you only ever hear Moss Side mentioned at the butt end of a joke by a lazy comedian. I could show you 20 boroughs in Manc that are worse than Moss Side. I live in Hulme which is Sandwiched between the city centre and Moss Side. Both places had a terrible reputation once but have changed beyond recognition.

South Central Manchester is not ‘nice’ like Didsbury, Chorlton or maybe prestwich but it’s better than pretty much anywhere else in the City.

Old Trafford will be the new Chorlton. If you want to buy a gaff take a drive around Old Trafford and notice how many skips are starting to appear in the streets. Old Trafford, centred around Ayres Rd. is closer to Moss side that the football stadium named after it [the footie stadium is in Salford really]

I have the prejudices of a creative type though, so outside of south central Manc and the Chorlton / Didsbury area it’s all Dingles to me.

Well if you get a wait around picadilly then make sure you check out cloud water and track brewing out the back there

I’d go for Stockport.

8 mins or so on the direct train into Manchester, easy cycle if you go the back routes and avoid the A6 and you can be in the peaks in 20 mins.

I looked at Stockport but it’s still very rough around the edges and traffic seemed to be fairly crap when it got damp, the train is a great thing though and most of the mainline stuff stops there too

I don’t live in Stockport but lots of friends do, Stockport-rough compared to Manchester-rough is a world of difference. Cars a few years out of date and some closed down shops seems a bit different to human poo, graffiti and mattresses in the street I experience on “posh”M20 streets every day.

OK it’s not on par with that, just the shiney middle didn’t seem to go far, the pound shops and cash converters were occupying the main shopping street etc meant it didn’t feel that great, I gave it 3 weeks but decided it wasn’t for me. The traffic jams were the killer for me though, as I can get around easily by tram where as it was bus or drive from stockport to work which was getting hit and miss.

Mobike pulled out of Stockport after only 11 days. I’m sensing it may have encountered some rough aspects to the area.

Well to give some closure we’ve found a place in Prestwich, not going to say exactly where but it seems like a nice area and quite near to woods/parkland. Just got to hope that references etc… all come back good, which they ought to.

Places can change heck of a lot over 30 years as well as looking through rose tinted glasses of yesteryear, but from memories of my nan’s flat in the now demolished Tuelle Court, Prestwich had a nice balance of greenery like The Clough close to the moderate amount of accommodation and shops.