I'm moving to north Manchester and I don't know what I'm doing

I'm thinking of leaving London because a) it's expensive and b) to be nearer our son's grandparents in Cheshire.

I grew up in rural Cheshire, but have lived in cities since I was 18 (now 32). Being back over Xmas made me realise I much prefer the cosmopolitain grind of a city to the "I'm not racist but"ing of the farmlands. Literally heard an old crone squawking "my daughter says I'm racist, but I'm not" to a meekly smiling shop assistant after one day there. We went up the Northern Quarter for a meal one night and it was such a relief to hear foreign accents.

I kind of knew Manchester really well at one point, but I've never actually lived there and now it's all different. Chorlton is really expensive apparently?

I'm looking for somewhere you can bike commute into town and with decent-ish schools I guess. My current commute is 8 miles - that means the furthest out would be places like Cheadle, Gatley, Timperley etc.

We're probably not moving for about 2 years, but I guess we're shortlisting right now...

Wilmslow is nice but probably just as expensive as Chorlton, Cheadle is a good shout.

Levy, obviously, at some point it'll definitely be the new Chorlton, don't you know? I would've thought Cheadle, Gatley, Timperley, etc would be similar prices to Chorlton, although I've not checked, just more middle class, suburby areas. If you're after that kind of thing then Sale would probably be alright, quick canal blast into town, has it's own stuff going on, big enough that there's probably cheaper places round the edges, full of tories though. Could look at some of the Heaton's for a slightly posher, but more urban place.

Alderley edge....done

That's got to be more expensive than Chorlton, it's full of footballers and the like, and is a good 13 miles from town. Had some friends on decent, but normal decent money who lived near wilmslow, so doable.

Levy, obviously

Move North

#KearsleyMassive

Don't do that.

Wilmslow is nice

I know it very well. Probably a bit too well to be honest - it's a bit...bland.

Haha - my sister lives there in my grandparent's old house. If you told them it was in south Manchester, they'd have fainted!

Cheers for the tip. I was thinking of Sale but I don't know it really. I think we need to explore that whole area at some point.

East. But in many years.

Levy.
Whalley range/Trafford?

Heaton chapel?

Our eldest, and then youngest, lived (he four years back, her just last year) in and around West Didsbury for a couple of years, seemed plenty nice. Both said it was family friendly FWIW.

Merseybank ftw. Easy access to W.Dids & Chorlton either side, half the price. Used to have a bad rep but hasn't lived up to it often in 7yrs. If you own a home in London you could probably buy a street here for the same money.

As others mention though, Old Trafford, Cheadle, Sale, Levy areas are all the upcoming bits.

Bury / Rammy and bits of Bolton similarly becoming more popular to the North I hear.

Cheers - literally never heard of Merseybank until now. My wife said to me today, "What about Stretford?" which is where my dad grew up. Has a kind of tragic circularity to it.

I already rejected moving back to our home village (Holmes Chapel in case anyone's taking notes for an unauthorised biography of me) because you'd just feel like you've reset the clock 20 years.

Stretford is good, tram into town, Longford park is good for kids, you can ride out towards partington for lanes if you road ride.
We opted for marple as it’s closer to peaks but not rideable into town- I work in oldham so it’s fine

Forgot we're from the same place. Holmes Chapel is pretty pricey these days. Wilmslow and Alderley won't be all that much cheaper than London.

We're moving back to the north this very week, albeit from Hong Kong.

Peak District (fringes of, most likely) ftw. We'll rent for a bit and sell our house in London.

Why do you want to live in another big city out of interest? Parts of Stockport (Davenport, Woodsmoor, Bramhall) are okay and it's a good commute. Marple, Glossop both worth a look

Thanks.

I was originally really drawn towards Marple because it's a decent-sized town close to Manchester with the benefit of being in a really nice part of the country. My cousins grew up nearby in Chisworth. To be honest, we're not sure what we'll do for work at the moment. My wife works in the head office of a big fashion retailer, but there aren't many of those in Manchester (or the north-west at all) and I'm a writer, so I could end up doing anything.

We had a chat yesterday where we decided we don't know what we want to do with our lives or where we want to live - so that's good!

How do fizzy... I'm a writer too, been living in South Manchester about 15 years. What type of property would you be looking for?

I've just sold my house, and am looking for a new place, so got a decent grasp of prices etc at the moment.

+1 for Whalley Range, seems to be up and coming too atm. I think Sale would be a good shout too.

Hey - probably a 3-4 bed with garden (small is OK) and a garage. We certainly won't move in the next 12 months (our mortgage comes up in Jan next year), but might start seriously looking in Feb 2019.

Right now we have a 2-bed flat in a nice-ish part of London, depending on who you ask. No idea what it's worth today!

About 6 houses round here.

I could be a landlord, so that's my new "job" sorted!

This.

West Didsbury terraced houses are 3x the price of Farnworth terraced houses.

Irwell valley great for MTBing and A666 is not a bad commute into Manchester. Rail line getting close to finishing electrification.