Brighton and Manchester. Looking for info.

whirlpool

Hey,

I'm considering Brighton and Manchester as a place to live and work for up to 3 months, and maybe longer.

Do any of you live in Brighton or Manchester, or have you done in the past, and would you have any general good points and bad points for someone considering moving there?

Thanks!

ancapailldorcha

I've just moved to Brighton after living in Manchester for 1 and a half years. Is there anything specific you want to know? I've not been in Brighton 2 months so I'm not sure how good my advice might be. Manchester certainly has a much cheaper cost of living. I'm sure you're aware that they're at opposite ends of the country so I'm curious to know why you asked about these 2 cities in particular.

whirlpool

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I've just moved to Brighton after living in Manchester for 1 and a half years. Is there anything specific you want to know? I've not been in Brighton 2 months so I'm not sure how good my advice might be. Manchester certainly has a much cheaper cost of living. I'm sure you're aware that they're at opposite ends of the country so I'm curious to know why you asked about these 2 cities in particular.

A short course I want to do is offered in both cities

whirlpool

The seaside is a huge draw for me, so that would be Brighton. But I also like bustling cities, so I get the impression that would be more Manchester. The cost of living would be a big factor though, ie rent, buses and basic food.

ancapailldorcha

The cost of living will be much higher in Brighton. The same applies to buses. My bus pass in Manchester was £42.30 a month. Here, it's £75. My weekly shop has gotten a bit dearer as well. I'm not too fussed about the seaside to be honest. It's nice on a summer's day but when it's windy, you essentially have to avoid it.
As far as the city thing goes, you're only an hour's train trip to London if that helps.

Supertoucher

I'm originally from Brighton, and miss it a lot.

Good points - very accepting (obviously), nice weather, nice beach (albeit stoney), relatively safe, good nightlife, nice culture.

Bad points - Expensive to live, expensive rent/property, reasonably high drug presence, like everywhere it has its dodgy areas.

ancapailldorcha

Supertoucher wrote: »

I'm originally from Brighton, and miss it a lot.

Good points - very accepting (obviously), nice weather, nice beach (albeit stoney), relatively safe, good nightlife, nice culture.

Bad points - Expensive to live, expensive rent/property, reasonably high drug presence, like everywhere it has its dodgy areas.

I've noticed that the general property standards down here are dire. But then, what do you expect from a town with 2 Universities and close proximity to London. Whitehawk and Moulsecoomb are meant to be the worst areas (I think). I'm in Moulsecoomb and wouldn't pass up a chance to get out of it. I imagine that they're fairly tame when compared with Rochdale, Oldham and Moss Side though.
Manchester Pros: Fairly cheap cost of living, Good nightlife, Has everything you'd need (airport, concert venues, etc...), gay district....
Cons: Terrible weather 9-10 months of the year (not an exaggeration), Not particularly safe (anecdotal, take from it what you will), sprawled, some areas have horrendous reputations.
Would you have any ideas on meeting people in Brighton, Supertoucher? Or things to do as I'm new to the city.

NoCrackHaving

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I've noticed that the general property standards down here are dire. But then, what do you expect from a town with 2 Universities and close proximity to London. Whitehawk and Moulsecoomb are meant to be the worst areas (I think). I'm in Moulsecoomb and wouldn't pass up a chance to get out of it. I imagine that they're fairly tame when compared with Rochdale, Oldham and Moss Side though.
Manchester Pros: Fairly cheap cost of living, Good nightlife, Has everything you'd need (airport, concert venues, etc...), gay district....
Cons: Terrible weather 9-10 months of the year (not an exaggeration), Not particularly safe (anecdotal, take from it what you will), sprawled, some areas have horrendous reputations.
Would you have any ideas on meeting people in Brighton, Supertoucher? Or things to do as I'm new to the city.

Manchester weather is truly terrible, far worse than most parts of Ireland and nearly all of Britain apart from the west of Scotland. It's to do with the Pennines lying directly east of the city centre which leads to phenomenal amounts of rainfall-something like 3 times as much annually than Dublin.

I loved living there but winter in Lancashire is truly miserable.

dd972

Don't believe everything you hear about 'Gunchester' as it was once dubbed, sure there's areas like Collyhurst, Hattersley, Odsall, etc which are nasty however places like Didsbury and Chorlton on the south side are nice, liveable suburbs as are the wealthy Cheshire areas beyond Stockport, Bury and Prestwich are fine on the northern edges as well and have the Metrolink service.

The 'skanger' element is a feature in all large UK towns and cities as much as it is in Dublin.

Wanders_fan

NoCrackHaving wrote: »

Manchester weather is truly terrible, far worse than most parts of Ireland and nearly all of Britain apart from the west of Scotland. It's to do with the Pennines lying directly east of the city centre which leads to phenomenal amounts of rainfall-something like 3 times as much annually than Dublin.

I loved living there but winter in Lancashire is truly miserable.

Clearly you're not from the West of Ireland. As a Clare man living in Manchester the winter he is fine. Not half as wild as home. I would say less rain and wind without a doubt. Have no stats to back this up just experience.