What is Manchester like?

Me and a friend of mine are planning to move to England in a few years, and are wondering what Manchester is like. I've heard mixed reviews, some saying its a great place to live and others saying to stay away. Is there anyone on here that lives in Manchester that can give me an idea as to what to expect.

Thanks

Well its good and bad, I see your from Nova Scotia. I moved North of Manchester (town of Bury) about 2 years ago from Montreal. The positives? The people are chatty, down to earth the cost of living is more realistic then London & Southern towns and it's very easy to strike up conversations & make friends with people around Manchester. the down sides - the weather's not great, the salaries aren't the highest in the country, not many government central offices or international central offices, lower standard of living as an average. It's mostly about personal preference though, if you like chic and fashionably up & at them rat race modern city life, London & surrounding area is for you. if you like more down to earth open & honest living/people, Northern England will probably suit your personality better.

Good luck to you which ever way you decide

Hi! I hope you're still around - I haven't checked these boards in a while.

I lived in Manchester 2 years and am now back in Vancouver (since May). I have to say that I think Manchester is pretty lively, and like the previous poster said, very earthy. It is a lot cheaper than London, and I found the wage to be plenty enough to live on, though I can't compare as I didn't work anywhere else.

I lived in a neighbourhood in South Manchester called Didsbury. Pretty little place and handy by bus to the centre of Manchester (20 min., buses left every 5 min. or so). The centre of Manchester was cool - lots of little places to explore and loads of pubs worth checking out. If you're a partyer, there are lots of clubs, though I couldn't tell you what they're like as I didn't go. I stuck to the traditional pubs mostly. If that's like you, then you'd want to check out places like the Britons Protection or Peveril of the Peak. I miss Manchester quite a lot these days. Lots of farmer's markets, and Manchester City Council seems to be very friendly to cultural/ethnic fairs and such. There was a Dutch market regularly throughout the summer in St. Ann's Square, and the German Christmas market is awesome.

Went to last year's German Market, was lovely! Lots of insteretsting stuff in the stalls of the market and good food & beer at resonable prices too. The nice thing too is that although London gets most of the big ticket events (if they're going to play in only ONE place in England, it will almost awlays be London), the proper tours will usually include a show at Manchester or Liverpool. Liverpool is about an hour or two away by car depending if you get caught in traffic or not. There are alot of coaches that travel between Liverpool & Manchester at fairly reasonable prices too should you crave a tour of the Beatles home town

I wouldn't say Manchester has a lower living standard as average. In fact, it hasVERY chic places! Very "posh" (as they say) restaurants and shopping areas.You just need to know where they are, but Manchester is definitely not "lower lving" as a standard. You have 4 (at least?) premiership football clubs in the greater manchester area, and most of the guys live in Cheadle and Alderley Edge. It's a vibrant city and reminds me of Montreal in fact in quite some ways.

It's got it's chinatown and gay "vilage", loads of museums and theathres (one which shows Quebe cmovies which is a plus.)