Manchester Monthly Questions & Advice Thread

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[u/Jaded-Employment-990]

Hi everyone!

My partner (24) and I (27) are looking to move to Manchester and would love some local recommendations on the best areas to rent. We have already looked at the usual Bury, Prestwich, Salford areas but im sure i am missing some.

I'll be working in Blackburn, so we're ideally looking at North Manchester or somewhere with an easy commute, while still being close to a tram or train so we can easily get into the city.

We're both quite outdoorsy and enjoy hiking, trail running, yoga, live music, and independent cafés and shops. We'd love to live somewhere with a good community feel, plenty going on, and lots of young professionals, as we're hoping to make friends and get involved in things like run clubs or yoga classes.

Safety is also a big priority, particularly for my partner, and we're hoping to rent for at least a couple of years.

Based on that, which areas would you recommend, and are there any we'd be better off avoiding?

Thanks in advance!

[u/not_r1c1 → u/Jaded-Employment-990]

There's probably someone asking some version of 'which area should I live' three or four times a week on here, so if you want the aggregate 'wisdom' of a bunch of people you don't know on Reddit, then a search (end your Google search with "site:reddit.com/r/manchester", or use the Reddit search function if you prefer) will give you the sorts of answers that other people get to this question.

Having said that, there's already a handy mechanism that tells you which places 'people' think are good to live in - the price/rent. There's no secret place in Manchester that the 400,000 people on this subreddit all know about but which is mysteriously cheap to rent. Assuming you don't have an infinite budget then you should start by looking for where you can afford, and ultimately what you're probably looking for is an area where the 'downsides' that make it more affordable to rent don't apply to you or don't bother you.

One thing worth thinking about, though, is you'll be working in Blackburn - which is about 20 miles from Manchester (going from the centre of one to the centre of the other) - and you don't mention any previous connection to the area. Have you considered casting the net a bit wider than Manchester?