Best places to live around Manchester?

A question about : Best places to live around Manchester?

We're thinking of moving to Manchester (or the Manchester area) in the next 6 months but we don't know what area exactly to move to. Wigan seems to be cheaper than anywhere else and is fairly central to Liverpool and Manchester which could be useful but then we like the Macclesfield area a lot as well. I just wondered what people local to the area thought about various parts of Manchester and the surrounding area? And good and bad points about Macclesfield would be very useful as it seems to be the top choice in our family at the moment. Thanks.

Best answers:

• I think it depends on what you want out of your living situation. Do you have kids? If so do you want to be within walking distance of a school, parks, etc? Do you want to live in a more urban or more suburban area? What about transport, do you drive or need to rely on trains etc?
  Personally I'd never live anywhere but the city centre itself, but I don't have kids or own a car, don't mind the fact that it's busy and sometimes noisy, and like to be within walking distance of work/leisure.
• I hope to go to a college at some point to do an art or photography course but that may not be for a few years so initially it wouldn't matter too much.
  I just want to be reasonably close to shops and such without necessarily having to drive, although we do have a car so we could drive if need be, and we have a dog so we need to be quite close to some sort of park or river or canal to walk him by really.
  I will be self employed so it won't matter too much about proximity to work or anything as I can do it from home.
  Ideally we want to have a garden as well for the dog so the place couldnt be a flat.
  Other than that though, we don't mind too much. There's no kids or anything like that so schools dont matter. I don't mind how urban or suburban it is, so long as there is somewhere for the dog to go.
• It's probably a bit of an obvious choice, but if you want to be fairly close to Manchester itself, I'd say check out the Didsbury and Chorlton areas. I don't really know about house prices but it's a nice area, bit more suburban, nice old houses with gardens, plenty of parks and things which'd be good for walking the dog - plus they've got some good restaurants and shops, while the city centre's only a short bus ride away for anything else you need. (Probably better for schools too incase any kids come along in the future but I don't know much about schools, just get the impression they might be 'nicer'.) Personally of the two I prefer Chorlton and it's a bit closer to the city centre but it doesn't feel like it's that close, so you get the best of both worlds. I don't really know a lot about other areas or towns further out of Manchester e.g. Macclesfield, so someone else would have to comment on those!
• I've lived in both Chorlton and Didsbury, both of which are great. House prices reflect the number of bars/restaurants etc, and there are open spaces for a dog in both places. Macclesfield is fine, there are parks, bars etc and you are on the edge of the country for the dogs and there is a college in Macc which (I think) has a photography course - certainly an art course. It really comes down to personal choice, but why not rent for a while and see which you prefer. Personally, if I didn't have to live near schools I would live in Knutsford but my husband refuses to move! Good luck
• South Manchester is certainly the place to live in & around Manchester, if you like suburban then Didsbury, Cheadle would be fine. If more rural Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Knutsford are great choices, all within 30 mins train ride. I guess it all depends on budget & lifestyle.
• I live in Macc. I can recommend it! I wasn't born and brought up here, but have spent a happy 11years here....... PM me if you want any info......
• If you fancy coming over to the dark side, then the Bury area is nice. You have the tram system so it's easy to get into Manchester. It's a rural town, so you dont need to go very far to find yourself in the countryside, and they have a few colleges, and Bury council do a lot of adult learning courses.
  I've lived near Bury (Radcliffe) now for a few years and I love it, close enough to civilisation, but also close enough to the hills that you can get out and have a country walk.
  I also used to live near Macc (Poynton), and although it's very nice, I always found it very expensive and it quite a long journey from Macc to Manchester, I wouldn't class Macc as manchester, it's Cheshire, but like the other guys have said it's all up to personal choice.
  Happy hunting!!
• Didsbury and Chorlton are the obvious choices but house prices are sooooooo expensive and parking can be a nightmare.
  Personally I think that you could do worse than having a look at Stockport, Heaton Moor and Heaton Mersey are really really lovely, as is Bramhall, Cheadle Hulme. And just 3 or 4 miles out of Stockport you get in to rural areas like Romiley, again some very nice spots and all quite close to Manchester.
  Also, IMO, Stockport has far far better local services than Manchester.
  Good luck.
• Have a look at Sale, Timperley and Altrincham and you wont go far wrong, excellent links into the City Centre.
• I am recommending South Manchester especially Levenshulme... Best place to live with perfect public travel links to both Manchester City Centre and Stockport... The Heaton Moor, Heaton Chapel, Stockport and surrounding areas are also worth consideration...
• All good ideas, however you aslo need to be aware that there are a few different Local Authorities which cover Gtr. Manchester and different health / education authorities etc. with widely varying success rates:-
  Stockport
  Trafford
  Tameside
  Salford
  etc.
• Have you thought about Warrington? Smack bang inbetween Manchester and Liverpool and good motorway and rail links
• I have friends who have lived in Marple for years and they seem to like it. Plus another friend's daughter has just recently moved from Levenshulme to Marple Bridge. Lots of nice walks by the canal! It seems to be a community in its own rights plus you have Stockport for main shops etc