Living in Manchester

[KLR600]

I'm thinking of moving to live in Manchester as North Wales is doing my head in. I was hoping for some advice or personal experiences from people who live/have lived there really. Here's my current situation:

I'm 22, I live in a village in North Wales on the outskirts of Colwyn Bay and have been living out in the sticks since I was 14. I've been job hopping since I left college 6 years ago and have had a string of crap jobs but I currently work on an artifical ski slope. I've been there for over a year now (longest I've ever had a job) and I do whatever they need me to do which is a combination of bar/kitchen work, kitting people out for skiing and snowboarding, operating a toboggan ride, occasional maintenance work and doing some of the touristy activity sessions on the slope. I'm also a duty manager so I'm a trusted key holder if that counts for anything these days. I work 5 days in 7 and my days/hours are never regular and change every week so it's really hard to plan things. I don't particularly like the job but it pays my bills (just) and funds my real passions of music and mountain biking (I'd like to say it funds my motorbikes aswell but it's obviously not doing that as they're both broken at the moment...).

I've got about £1200 of debt to the bank and about £2k on my motorbike on finance which I'm paying off slowly and my vague plan is to clear my bank debt and save up a bit and then move to Manchester.

I've always liked what I've seen of Manchester as I've had a few gigs there and it seems like a cool place and doesn't seem as scuzzy as other cities like (no offence if you live there!) Liverpool, Birmingham and London etc. Obviously there's going to be bad areas but I can just stay away from those as opposed to if I went to Liverpool I'd feel like I was always in a bad area...

So obviously Manchester has a thriving live music scene with loads of venues everywhere which is important for me and it's trying to establish itself as the home of British cycling which is also important to me (the BMX track there looks amazing, the street riding is legendary, there's indoor and outdoor skateparks and they've just announced plans to build an indoor BMX track/training facility aswell) so it's looking good on the hobbies front.

My main worry is what I'll do for a job when I get there. I've toyed with the idea of university but I doubt I'd get in with my qualifications (BTEC Certificate in Music Technology) and I know I'd probably end up not doing very well anyway as when I left school to go to college I thought it'd be fun to study something that I liked but the course turned out to be rubbish and I ended up leaving everything untill the very last minute to complete. The whole debt thing associated with uni kind of put me off aswell.

But I don't want to go to Manchester and leave one crap job for another crap job as it'll just be the same set of problems in a different place which is not what I want to do. I don't really know what I'd do for a job there but I know I'd want it to pay more than minimum wage and not have to work Sundays/weekends if possible. I also have no idea where I'd live as I figure I'd need a decent sized room (I have a few guitars and amps that take up a lot of space) and somewhere secure to keep my motorbike and mountain bikes so I'm guessing that's somewhere with a garage/back garden but how much is that going to cost in central Manchester?! I'm pretty sure I'd like to live in the middle of the city or at the very least a short cycle away from the centre so I can get the complete city life experience aswell.

So I call on the collective BCF's experience of living in Manchester for advice and guidance if you'd be so kind to impart your wisdom!
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[The Artist]

[Shaun]

I moved to manchester in march I think. Best thing I ever did.

I went for Fallowfield, it's close to town and a student area, so quite a few bars just down the road and I'm 5 minutes walk from the busiest bus route in europe, so you never have to wait for a bus into town, oh and they run 24 hours too, so you can get home at 4am for £2.

Everyone is generally friendly, my social circle went from a few folk to a lot within a couple of months, I'm rarely in these days because there's always something going on.

Work wise, there's quite a few places about (call centre based) that are pretty much always recruiting, a lot of job agencies etc so it's relatively easy to find a temp job until something better comes along.

Rent wise, in Fallowfield I pay 240 a month for a room, which is fine as long as you find people you can get on with, then wait for people to move out and get your friends moved in.

I was living in a remote area before here and I've found the cost of living to be a LOT lower, the public transport is actually useable and reliable so a bike/car isn't a necessity.

Depending on what sort of scene you're in to, if you get to know the right people you'll find you're out most nights very cheaply, I no longer pay to get into any bars/clubs I frequent.

Crime wise, well, it's a city, not had any trouble myself but know people who have, including someone last weekend getting a gun flashed at them for not having a spare cigarette (they don't smoke). I've wandered home at all sorts of hours alone and never had any issues though.

Oh and drugs are a very popular past time round here, it's the only place I've been to where on a night out people will walk past openly offering to sell you coke.

Love this place though, tonight I shall be going to a bar, £1 a drink, fun times.

Oh and poon, there's lots of poon.

[Dischord]

Could always come back after giving it a shot mate, the old saying you don't know until you've tried and all that.

Before you go I think you should consider the good things about this area, or even save up a little and go to Manchester for a week or so to sample it. This area has a lot going for it, the one thing that really lets it down though is career opportunities (Damn that just reminds me of The Clash).

Personally I hate big cities! I've been to Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool etc and I can't say I noticed Manchester was any better than the rest.
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[Clanger]

I haven't lived in Manchester, but lived around it. Have friends in the 'burbs, which have excellent links to the city centre.

My best advice would be to get yourself work first, then move. Have a look on Gumtree, and get yourself registered with agencies where you live, who have offices in Manchester.

Also - you need to decide where in Manc you'd like to live. Do your homework, there are some okay areas, and some terrible places.

You might even find that living on the outskirts could be a viable option...train/bus links in are good.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[KLR600]

Shaun - Cheers! Just the kind of stuff I'm looking for. I'd be looking to get somewhere close to the middle of Manchester or at least within a short cycle of the centre. I was in Manchester just yesterday and had a look in the windows of some temping agencies and there seemed to be plenty of stuff about (christ knows why there's so many unemployed people then!). I'll be looking to get into the live music/bands/rock nights kind of scene of which there is loads more in Manchester than there is in North Wales so I'm confident I'll be having a good time on that front. Ha ha, drugs are easy to get hold of in North Wales aswell so I'm well versed in just saying no! I guess the crime thing is luck of the draw really, obviously you can try and minimise it by locking stuff up and trying not to be alone at night etc but I think it's something that comes with living in a city I guess.

Dan - I've been itching to get out of here for a while now, it's not something I just fancied and I've been thinking about it for a long time so don't worry about that! While North Wales is pretty good for mountain biking and has soom cool roads for biking it doesn't have much else going for it for me. The music scene is crap, jobs are almost non existant and everywhere is 20 miles away from everywhere else. Like you say, if I don't like it I can always come back but I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of fun at the moment and I want to go and experience the whole city thing while I'm at a good age to enjoy it.

Clanger - I will most definitely have a job lined up before I go, I've learnt not to leave a job untill you have another one to go to the hard way! I still need to do a lot of homework on where the good areas and the bad ones are although I've heard Mosside and Hulme are no go areas, are there any others I need to know about?
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[Shaun]

Places to avoid....

Hulme
Moss Side
Wythenshawe (uk's biggest council estate)

That's the parts of south Manchester I know anyway, as for the good...

Didsbury
Withington
Fallowfield
City centre (although not too close to the uni)

I don't know anything about north of Manchester, I've had no need at all to go north of the city, so it's probably crap anyway.

[Skudd]

I've always found Mancland a pain in the arse to get around, but Liverpool dead easy. It depends what you are used to and if you come from such a backwards place like Wales, most modern cities can be daunting. What I like about the likes of Liverpool is the diversity and being able to get or do anything 24/7.
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[Clanger]

Manchester is sooo good for the rock scene, you've got Jilly's (for a start) open both Friday and Saturday nights (all night), plus there are the small places under the Arches. Even the gay village is good fun - especially during Mardi Gras.

Like you say, you are young and looking for a bit of lively fun, just go for it...you only live once!!
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[Phil.]

[Oz.]

[ms51ves3]

Nobody has mentioned east Manchester

[Oz.]

[CaNsA]

Mate, i moved to Liverpool 16years ago thinking it would hate it and move away within a year. I cant leave the place, awesome city, awesome people. Sure it doesnt hide the shitty stuff as well as Manchester does. If you cant decide rent a flat for a few months in Liverpool, see how it goes, then try manchester innit. You dont have to stay in one place.

As for the "if I went to Liverpool I'd feel like I was always in a bad area... " thats bollox. Its the people you mix with and the places you go that put you in the shitty areas.

chk ur pm

[Clanger]

I had a mate from Droylsden. There you go, I mentioned East side!
Actually it was a decent area to live, family oriented, good bus links. I can also recommend Chorlton, my cousin lives there, and it has it's own little vibe. Some great bars, and shops, a little alternative to some other areas of town.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[thegubner]

I moved to stockport from essex six to six and half years ago now. If it was up to me i would be back in essex at the drop of a hat.

I find lots of truth in the saying . . "its grim up north".

I have made a lot of mates up here but out of say 25 people there are only 2 i trust implicitly. From my experience mancs are far too happy to get one over on people, and very good at it too.

I spose there is the fact that there are nob heads all over the world but mancunian nob heads seem to be fearless.

I cant stand the bloody horrible stockbrick that everything seems to be built from and blah blah blah. . . . .

Maybe i have just been living in the wrong areas but i hate the place. I also hate the fact my accent has changed into an essex~manc hybrid.

Depends how long you will be living here really, its fine for a couple of years but the fact i know i will be spending the rest of my life here is depressing.

Dont do it, save yourself while you still can.
[/code]

[Oz.]

[ms51ves3]

[ThoughtContro...]

[Wilson123]

It's rough, but it's a great place to live. Just don't walk around at night on your own, if you want to keep your wallet that is. The only thing that lets Manchester down is the crime rate, it might take a while to get used to, especially if you move to somewhere like Oldham. Oh and there's lots of Pakis.

Don't move to Moss Side.
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[ThoughtContro...]

[yambabe]

There's a dry-ski slope in Manchester too y'know........

If you find yourself a job and need temp accomodation we have a spare room here now the Idle Son has moved out, we are about 15 miles out of the city centre but on the main Liverpool/Manchester train line so about 30 mins away, you'd be welcome to lodge to give you time to get to grips with city living and find somewhere proper to live.

And I promise I'm not really a totally sad pervy middle-aged woman with a bit of a thing for young musicians with long hair......... (but I'll put a lock on the door if it would make you feel better lol! )
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[thegubner]

[Clanger]