Crime in Manchester?

I'm from the US and am currently living in the very safe midwestern US. I've been accepted at Manchester for a PhD and am really interested in going, but I'm nervous about crime. The internet makes it sound like everyone in the city is constantly being mugged. How bad is it actually? I have a small child, so I don't want to bring her to a high crime area. Thanks!

Reply 1

Origami Bullets

Original post by katiegud

Hi,

I've been living in Manchester for the last 2.5 years, and I've never been a victim of crime myself. Manchester is like all big cities - you should take the precautions that you should take anywhere else (walking home alone at night whilst drunk and flashing your iPhone isn't recommended, for instance - but if you get a bus you'll be fine). This bit of Manchester did get a reputation for gun crime a few years back, but it dropped by 92% or something ridiculous city-wide after two gang members were jailed (they got 39 years each, so you'll still be safe!) and I can't remember hearing of a shooting in the area since I've been here, so it's nothing to worry about. Violent crime against students is exceedingly rare - it's almost all property crime, such as burglaries, which usually occur when someone has done something idiotic like leaving their front door open when they go out :banghead:

).

You should probably bear in mind that when people talk about rates of crime (especially violent crime) being "high", they are often talking about rates that would be considered low in most US cities - these things don't always translate perfectly by any means, even when you look at the official crime stats. In short, so long as you don't act like an idiot, you'll be absolutely fine - it's a big city, and crime does exist, but you just need to make sure that you're not the easiest target around.

When it comes to your child, if she's nursery age, then make sure that you register with the university nurseries asap as they're vastly oversubscribed, though there are private nurseries in the area. If she's of school age (school starts the September before her 5th birthday) then start looking at primary schools in the area, including reading the OFSTED reports. Keep these in mind when choosing where you want to live - you normally need to live close to the school to get a place, the more oversubscribed the school is, the closer you need to live, and there's a national shortage of primary school places at the moment following something of a baby boom. In terms of housing, consider the university's two family halls, Horniman House and Linton Hall, which will allow you to avoid the private housing sector.

University of Manchester

Manchester

Reply 2

Origami Bullets

PS this team should be able to help you with finding a school http://manchester.fsd.org.uk/kb5/manchester/fsd/organisation.page?record=8KcDxBwH1hA

In terms of areas to consider, I'd be focussing on
- Didsbury - nice leafy suburbia, quite a few postgrads living there, and a direct and very frequent (but relatively long) bus route into uni
- Chorlton-cum-Hardy - nice leafy suburbia, popular with academics, but an unusually high burglary rate
- Withington - on the same bus route as Didsbury, but a bit closer. A bit less leafy, and a bit cheaper, but popular with final year undergraduates.

Beyond that, you could consider
- Fallowfield - very popular with first and second year undergrads, so there's a tendency for it to be dead in the holidays, and some of the housing is poorly priced and undermaintained, but it's fairly safe and you might find something
- Rusholme - very multicultural, famed for the 'Curry Mile', but far safer than it looks, houses tend to be cheaper and better maintained than Fallowfield, and it's very convenient for uni (I live in Rusholme).

If you're worried about crime, avoid Moss Side and Longsight - whilst I wouldn't say that you should never go there (I do go there) they do have relatively high crime rates. Do also be aware of estate agents who have "elastic boundaries" when it comes to which neighbourhood somewhere is in. As a general, but rather conservative, rule of thumb, I wouldn't rent anywhere that's both west of Wilmslow Road and north of Platt Lane, or east of Anson Road / Upper Brook Street.

Reply 3

katiegud

Wow, that was a really detailed response! I was kind of wondering if high crime in the UK was actually equivalent to high crime in the US, so that helps to clear it up a bit. Thanks!

Reply 4

Origami Bullets

Original post by katiegud

Wow, that was a really detailed response! I was kind of wondering if high crime in the UK was actually equivalent to high crime in the US, so that helps to clear it up a bit. Thanks!