I see London more as somewhere to visit than live. Everything is too spaced out, there are too many people, and it's just too expensive.
In Manchester you get everything that you get in London, but on a much smaller scale, and if you live on the Cheshire side, the neighbourhoods and satellite towns are as good as the nicest parts of the Home Counties. Which suits me better.
With that said, most of east and north Manchester need knocking down (with the exceptions maybe of Prestwich and Worsley), and the city centre is a hovel considering the amount of money that's been poured into it, but then at least 50% of London is just as bad, so it's all relative.
Also, Manchester has virtually no city centre parks. I've never quite understood why the council would rather see streets full of derelict warehouses and cotton mills when they could just bulldoze them and have a nice park instead. But then I rarely undertstand Manchester Council decisions.
A city centre park would be just another place for drug dealers.. to hang out like piccadily gardens
London is a World City,it feels like a capital,which Manchester or any other city in the UK does not.Agree with a previous poster about the trams though.Wish we had a similar large network in London.
I agree. There are very few second or third cities around Europe that you can compare with the capital of that country. No other city in France can hold a candle to Paris for example. Maybe Barcelona has more going for it than Madrid, but Manchester ain't no Barcelona.
That doesn't mean that you might not prefer to live somewhere like Manchester rather than London of course, but that's a personal preference. I'm from Bristol originally, and still think that is a pleasant place to live. But no other city in the UK really compares to London.
I agree. There are very few second or third cities around Europe that you can compare with the capital of that country. No other city in France can hold a candle to Paris for example. Maybe Barcelona has more going for it than Madrid, but Manchester ain't no Barcelona.
That doesn't mean that you might not prefer to live somewhere like Manchester rather than London of course, but that's a personal preference. I'm from Bristol originally, and still think that is a pleasant place to live. But no other city in the UK really compares to London.
Depends on what criteria you're using though. If you want a "world city" with masses of things to do, then of course London wins out.
Thanks for confirming that the rain I encountered was imaginary. Good thing I haven't had to go to Preston. From the sounds of things that would've been worse luck.
If you read your own quote you will see I did not actually say your rain was imaginary. You highlighted the 'or' part of my quote (which notes that people do tend to link Manchester with rain and so it is easy to recall visits with that in mind but its reputation is not founded in fact).
But as I said in the part that you also quoted before the 'or' it might also have just been bad luck in your case that it rained when you were there.
My point was not that you were fibbing about it raining but that the idea that Manchester is unusually rainy is a myth based on scientific data.
I guess I'm supposed to say Manchester as I'm only an hour away, but I won't. You feel like being in a completely different world when you're in London and there's always so much going on. The nightlife, theater, cafes, bars and restaurants easily surpass Manchester. There's a lot of chain stores and shopping centres in Manchester whereas London has places like Camden which is just a world of its own.
I’ve been to Manchester a few times when I visited my friend at university. It’s a pretty decent place. I had a few good nights out. My friend still lives there. I grew up in Highgate, but I moved away from London to attend university and haven’t moved back. My girlfriend and I have thought about moving back, but we’re still not sure. There are many aspects of the city that I miss and a few that I don’t. My grandma and grandpa sold their long-time London home five years ago and moved to a small village in Buckinghamshire. They got to a point in their lives where they wanted peace and quiet after living in the city for so long. My older brother and his wife moved from London to Sweden a few years ago. My brother couldn’t wait to leave. He's someone who doesn't need the hustle and bustle on his doorstep 24/7. My parents still live in Highgate with my younger brother and sister. My older sister also lives in London with her fiancé. She couldn’t live anywhere else. She loves it. Like any city in the world, London is a great place to live if you earn a good wage and can find somewhere decent to live.
I guess I'm supposed to say Manchester as I'm only an hour away, but I won't. You feel like being in a completely different world when you're in London and there's always so much going on. The nightlife, theater, cafes, bars and restaurants easily surpass Manchester. There's a lot of chain stores and shopping centres in Manchester whereas London has places like Camden which is just a world of its own.
Camden Town (which is where I assume you mean) is becoming more and more clone-town now with individual shops etc being replaced with big chains. The markets are becoming more gentrified and sanitised too now.
Unfortunately there seems to be no getting away from the rise of the identikit high street these days..
Camden Town (which is where I assume you mean) is becoming more and more clone-town now with individual shops etc being replaced with big chains. The markets are becoming more gentrified and sanitised too now.
Unfortunately there seems to be no getting away from the rise of the identikit high street these days..
Ah that's a shame. I was there last March and it still seemed to have a good vibe about it then. I'm pretty sure I'd still enjoy wandering aimlessly around there though.
Ah that's a shame. I was there last March and it still seemed to have a good vibe about it then. I'm pretty sure I'd still enjoy wandering aimlessly around there though.
Yeah, it is still a nice place to go - still plenty of quirky places, and quirkier people but a lot of the 'prime' spaces (by the lock, along that part of the high street) are being taken over by chain restaurants, coffee shops etc. If London Underground ever get their way and get their plans for extending Camden Town station we'll be waving bye bye to about half the market which of course would defeat the point of coming to Camden in the first place..
I really don't want to turn this into a "friendly north vs unfriendly south" battle but what is this fascination with wanting to talk to strangers wherever you go? It is a generalisation but why do people in the north want to talk to strangers?
Gosh this such a good question! I have never reflected on it but I love striking up conversations with random strangers. You can find out some really interesting things and hear amazing stories from people. I must be a manc through and through! And it's nice to be nice.
About the rain, it doesn't matter about the cm. it IS always raining here! Sometimes it just spits and stops but it rains an awful lot of the time. Still with a brolly you can stop and have a chat!
To be honest, comparing London with Manchester is not fair.
As someone else has said, London is a world class city, whereas Manchester is not.
As a Mancunian myself, I would rather live in Manchester than London.
I have many close family members that are Londoners, so I know both cities well, but Manchester's less frenetic pace (it's not a ghost town by any stretch) makes it much more bearable, but you still have plenty available to do & see.
If I was a foreign tourist & I had the option to visit only one city in England, I wouldn't choose either; my choice would be Bath.
With that said, most of east and north Manchester need knocking down (with the exceptions maybe of Prestwich and Worsley)..........
It's true that the suburbs on the North side of Manchester are generally less affluent than those in the South, but to say that only Prestwich and Worsley are worth keeping is such an exaggeration and simply not correct.
I see London more as somewhere to visit than live. Everything is too spaced out, there are too many people, and it's just too expensive.
In Manchester you get everything that you get in London, but on a much smaller scale, and if you live on the Cheshire side, the neighbourhoods and satellite towns are as good as the nicest parts of the Home Counties. Which suits me better.
With that said, most of east and north Manchester need knocking down (with the exceptions maybe of Prestwich and Worsley), and the city centre is a hovel considering the amount of money that's been poured into it, but then at least 50% of London is just as bad, so it's all relative.
Also, Manchester has virtually no city centre parks. I've never quite understood why the council would rather see streets full of derelict warehouses and cotton mills when they could just bulldoze them and have a nice park instead. But then I rarely undertstand Manchester Council decisions.
Neither Prestwich nor Worsley are in Manchester.
Prestwich is in Bury & Worsley comes under Salford.
The nicest part of the Manchester council area would be Didsbury M20.
Prestwich is in Bury & Worsley comes under Salford.
The nicest part of the Manchester council area would be Didsbury M20.
That's a whole other thread that we had on here recently!
The media think Greater Manchester IS Manchester and often use it interchangeably. But many people still prefer to live in Lancashire (as in Bury) or Cheshire (as in Stockport) and plenty of address systems can go either way.
Manchester in the context of this thread presumably just means the city of - though, as the Irwell runs through it and divides it from Salford, sometimes it is both as round there they merge imperceptibly into one.
Comments
I know, but are they any worse than Tower Hamlets & a good few other areas of London I could mention?
And eight million people disagree with you
Your point is what?
A city centre park would be just another place for drug dealers.. to hang out like piccadily gardens
That eight million people live there already
Capiche?
See
http://www.samueljohnson.com/tiredlon.html
I agree. There are very few second or third cities around Europe that you can compare with the capital of that country. No other city in France can hold a candle to Paris for example. Maybe Barcelona has more going for it than Madrid, but Manchester ain't no Barcelona.
That doesn't mean that you might not prefer to live somewhere like Manchester rather than London of course, but that's a personal preference. I'm from Bristol originally, and still think that is a pleasant place to live. But no other city in the UK really compares to London.
Depends on what criteria you're using though. If you want a "world city" with masses of things to do, then of course London wins out.
If you read your own quote you will see I did not actually say your rain was imaginary. You highlighted the 'or' part of my quote (which notes that people do tend to link Manchester with rain and so it is easy to recall visits with that in mind but its reputation is not founded in fact).
But as I said in the part that you also quoted before the 'or' it might also have just been bad luck in your case that it rained when you were there.
My point was not that you were fibbing about it raining but that the idea that Manchester is unusually rainy is a myth based on scientific data.
My favourite part of Manchester :-D
Camden Town (which is where I assume you mean) is becoming more and more clone-town now with individual shops etc being replaced with big chains. The markets are becoming more gentrified and sanitised too now.
Unfortunately there seems to be no getting away from the rise of the identikit high street these days..
Ah that's a shame. I was there last March and it still seemed to have a good vibe about it then. I'm pretty sure I'd still enjoy wandering aimlessly around there though.
Yeah, it is still a nice place to go - still plenty of quirky places, and quirkier people but a lot of the 'prime' spaces (by the lock, along that part of the high street) are being taken over by chain restaurants, coffee shops etc. If London Underground ever get their way and get their plans for extending Camden Town station we'll be waving bye bye to about half the market which of course would defeat the point of coming to Camden in the first place..
Gosh this such a good question! I have never reflected on it but I love striking up conversations with random strangers. You can find out some really interesting things and hear amazing stories from people. I must be a manc through and through! And it's nice to be nice.
About the rain, it doesn't matter about the cm. it IS always raining here! Sometimes it just spits and stops but it rains an awful lot of the time. Still with a brolly you can stop and have a chat!
As someone else has said, London is a world class city, whereas Manchester is not.
As a Mancunian myself, I would rather live in Manchester than London.
I have many close family members that are Londoners, so I know both cities well, but Manchester's less frenetic pace (it's not a ghost town by any stretch) makes it much more bearable, but you still have plenty available to do & see.
If I was a foreign tourist & I had the option to visit only one city in England, I wouldn't choose either; my choice would be Bath.
It's true that the suburbs on the North side of Manchester are generally less affluent than those in the South, but to say that only Prestwich and Worsley are worth keeping is such an exaggeration and simply not correct.
Neither Prestwich nor Worsley are in Manchester.
Prestwich is in Bury & Worsley comes under Salford.
The nicest part of the Manchester council area would be Didsbury M20.
That's a whole other thread that we had on here recently!
The media think Greater Manchester IS Manchester and often use it interchangeably. But many people still prefer to live in Lancashire (as in Bury) or Cheshire (as in Stockport) and plenty of address systems can go either way.
Manchester in the context of this thread presumably just means the city of - though, as the Irwell runs through it and divides it from Salford, sometimes it is both as round there they merge imperceptibly into one.