Looking for a new place in manchester.

irishguy34

Hello all, hope someone can give me some advice on here,
Last year I unfortunately moved into Bolton not realising it was a dead end of a town and now am finally at the end of my tenancy.
I’m basically newly self-employed and have a budget of £440 per month and want to move into Manchester or a decent place near Manchester.
Basically I’m a stranger to Manchester, so am looking for a decent area that is accessible to work and is socially better then where I have been.
Sadly I am on a low income until I can get back into part time work so £100 a week is my budget. I have done house shares before and would never consider it again as have cats and to many things, plus like my own space.
So what I am looking for is a town that is decent, is easily accessible to Manchester, where I can get back after midnight and not wait for hours for a train. I’m not looking for a super place just something way better then Bolton as I am looking to start a career from scratch and begin a social life from scratch.
Thanks for your help

slicence

Hiya,
I moved to Manchester recently, and have moved around a fair bit in the southern half of town. Providing you don't mind living in some rough parts of town, you can probably get a 1 bed/2 bed place for around £450 pcm. I recently saw a 2 bed flat in Hulme for £449 pcm on Right move. Check the usual sights, Rightmove, Spareroom (there's a 1 bed flat option), there's bound to be something there for you.

Good areas for people who are new ish to manchester I'd say are Withington, West Didsbury, Chorlton, at a stretch Whalley Range, Levenshulme, although I think all those places are great. Hulme is close to town, but borders Moss Side, which still has that stigma attached to it. Fallowfield can be great if you stay away from the student areas. Northenden is also great, a little further away but the busses run through there 24 hours (the 43 to the airport, amazing!). Old Trafford could be good too, as it has good connections with the trams, and isn't too far to get a taxi, but there's not as much here as in Chorlton/Didsbury/Northenden/Withington.

Hope this helps.

kingstreet

irishguy34 wrote: »

looking for a decent area that is accessible to work

Where is "work?"

bluestarlight

Northenden is a good bet at the moment, housing is a lot cheaper than nearby west didsbury/didsbury but you can still walk there, or get the bus in minutes. It has restaurants and shops. The bars are a bit rough but not terrible. Try and stay near to Palatine Rd as it gets a bit rougher the further away you go from the high street.

You used to be able to get cheap city centre flats, particularly in the green quarter and ancoats so that might be worth looking into.

You can occassionally get a very basic studio flat in west didsbury or chorlton for that budget, so keep an eye out there too.

irishguy34

Work goes with me, work from home for free at the moment. Buisness is in media so hence why i want to move closer to the city. Pluse the social network in bolton is dead and not friendly.

pawlala

You don't want to be living on the outskirts of Manchester and not take advantage of the metrolink. It'll make your transport into and out of the city so much easier. If living in the city is too expensive, explore the areas on the tram line.

V_Chic_Chick

Metrolink is a good idea. In addition, the bus route that runs from Didsbury to Piccadilly along Palatine / Wilmslow / Oxford Roads is (apparently) the busiest bus route in Europe, and buses are 24/7 (though you might have to wait half an hour if you want to go home at 4am).

Along that bus route, you've got
- city centre (pricey)
- Rusholme (curry mile, fine safety wise, but don't live above / very close to a curry house as they are known locally to have a rat problem. Areas slightly off the curry mile (NB don't go west - that's Moss Side) could almost pass as leafy suburbs)
- Fallowfield (good luck if you don't want student neighbours - some roads are 90% student occupied, and you will be competing with students who want their own one bed and have a similar budget. Also keep an eye out for japanese knotweed. Some areas, notably around Egerton Road, are hopelessly infested with the stuff and letting agents don't give a toss)
- Withington (nice, less studenty)
- Didsbury (relatively few students, I believe it's about 45 minutes on the bus to Piccadilly, definitely the smarter end of Manchester)

You could also choose to live a little further off the bus route, where property prices tend to be that bit cheaper - Longsight springs to mind, as it's relatively close to the centre. It's Asian dominated and a bit run down, but I don't fear for my safety when walking around there IYSWIM. If you were to live within 3-5 miles of the centre, then a bike will almost certainly be the quickest way to get into town. If you're worried about carrying things, then get a set of Ortlieb panniers (fully waterproof, worth every penny). Even the five miles from Sale to Fallowfield is no quicker by car than by bike.

irishguy34

Thank you for your advice I will definitely have a look at the places mentioned. I hope that Manchester will be a better place than horrible Bolton. Sorry no offence to people who live there.