Manchester guide
Living in Manchester: a guide for families, students and expats.
Schools, universities, healthcare, transport and the neighbourhoods people actually choose. For buyers moving to Manchester, sending children to study here, or letting to the people who do.
- Two major universities and a conservatoire bring tens of thousands of students to the city each year, many of them international, and a large share stay after graduating.
- The best independent schools and the Trafford grammar schools draw families to the southern suburbs: Didsbury, Altrincham, Hale and Sale.
- Manchester Airport has direct flights to the Gulf, Asia and North America; London is around two hours by train.
Most people who buy in Manchester from overseas fall into one of three groups. Some are moving here, often for work or for their children's schooling. Some are buying a home for a son or daughter at university, which they will let once the degree is finished. Most are investing and letting to the people in the first two groups. This guide answers the questions all three ask.
Where people live
Area | Who chooses it | Character |
|---|---|---|
City centre (Deansgate, Spinningfields, Ancoats, Northern Quarter) | Young professionals, couples, students in their final years | Apartments, walk to work, restaurants and nightlife on the doorstep |
Salford Quays and MediaCity | Media and tech workers, young families | Waterside apartments, open space, Metrolink into town |
Didsbury and West Didsbury | Families and professionals | Victorian houses, independent shops, good schools, tram to the centre |
Altrincham, Hale and Sale (Trafford) | Families focused on schools | Grammar schools, larger houses, a market-town feel |
Chorlton | Young families, creatives | Independent, green, well connected by tram |
Investors usually buy in the first two groups, where rental demand is deepest. Families relocating tend to rent first in the city centre and buy in the southern suburbs once they know the schools.
Universities
Manchester is one of the largest student cities in Europe. The University of Manchester is a Russell Group university with a global reputation in science, engineering, medicine and business. Manchester Metropolitan University is one of the biggest universities in the UK. The University of Salford sits beside the Crescent and runs a campus at MediaCity, and the Royal Northern College of Music is one of the leading conservatoires in the country.
For parents, this matters twice. A city-centre or Oxford Road apartment can house a student for the length of a degree and then be let on the open market. And the city keeps a high share of its graduates, which is the main reason rental demand for one- and two-bedroom apartments stays so deep.
Schools
The leading independent schools are Manchester Grammar School (boys), Withington Girls' School and Manchester High School for Girls, with Cheadle Hulme School and Stockport Grammar close by. Trafford is one of the few areas in England that still runs a grammar-school system, which is why Altrincham, Hale, Sale and Urmston command a premium with families. International schools are fewer than in London, so most international families use the independent sector.
Healthcare
Manchester's NHS hospitals include Manchester Royal Infirmary on the Oxford Road corridor, Wythenshawe Hospital and The Christie, one of Europe's largest cancer centres. Private hospitals and clinics are concentrated in the southern suburbs and around Spire Manchester. Overseas visitors on most visas pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which gives access to NHS care.
Getting around
- Metrolink is the UK's largest light-rail network, linking the city centre to Salford Quays, MediaCity, Didsbury, Altrincham, the Etihad Campus, Trafford and the airport.
- Rail. Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria connect to London Euston in around two hours and to Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham in an hour or so.
- Air. Manchester Airport is the UK's largest outside London, with direct routes to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.
- On foot. The city centre is compact; most central neighbourhoods are within twenty minutes' walk of each other.
Culture and sport
Two Premier League clubs, Manchester United and Manchester City, are the city's best-known exports, and both are driving major regeneration around their grounds. Aviva Studios (the home of Factory International), the Bridgewater Hall, HOME and the Royal Exchange anchor the arts, and Co-op Live at the Etihad Campus is the largest indoor arena in the UK.
Buying a home here
Anyone can buy property in England, whatever their nationality or residence, and there is no need to live here to own here. If you are relocating, the visa question is separate from the purchase; our UK visa and residency guide sets out the routes. If you are buying for a student, buy where they will want to live in their final years and where young professionals will want to rent afterwards: the city centre, the Oxford Road corridor or Salford Quays.
The Manchester guide · Buying property in the UK as a foreigner · UK property taxes for overseas buyers
More in our Manchester guide and the United Kingdom investment guide.
