University of Manchester

Manchester

Is Manchester that bad?

Hi, I´ll be starting my first year at the University of Manchester, but I haven´t been there yet, and I´ve heard so many bad things - I already regret my decision (Uni of Glasgow was my other offer, I heard Glasgow is way nicer and friendlier).
Apparently, there´s much crime in Manchester, sexual harassment, the university lets you down... and I´m rather old fashioned, I like places with a bit of magic like Dublin and many say Manchester is just ugly...

Reply 1

+hmmmmm

Original post by Anonymous

I live in Manchester. It's okay. If you have a chance Edinburgh or Glasgow seems way cooler. And pubs and alcohol seem so good there.

University of Manchester

Manchester

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

What course are you doing?

Reply 3

SupposedlyIronic

I live in Manchester and I think it can be pretty fun. Try to stay safe when you're out and about like a lot of places of course, but the place itself can be really fun.

Reply 4

gjd800

my mate did a PGDE in Manc 2 years ago and still hasn't had the certificate, haha

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

Original post by ashtolga23

I live in Manchester and I think it can be pretty fun. Try to stay safe when you're out and about like a lot of places of course, but the place itself can be really fun.

You mean like night life wise? Is there also much to do during the day (besides shopping)? And I´ve heard bad things about Fallowfield, do you know anything about it?

Reply 6

BrainDrain

Original post by Anonymous

Maybe best if you try to think positive and look for the good points about your choice of university. There are probably bad things about every university or its surroundings if you look hard enough, and certainly Glasgow isn't without fault.
Once you are there you will bond with a few fellow students and look after each other, providing you don't go out looking for trouble you will be fine.
I live in the Manchester area and i'm sure you'll find lots of things to do and come to love the modern facilities, theatre's, clubs and pubs it has to offer and some of the best shopping anywhere.
So go with the intention of having a really good experience, I hope you enjoy your time there and wish you all the best.

Reply 7

Drewski

Original post by Anonymous

There's crime in every big city, and it usually happens among the student areas, there's no way to avoid it and you'd have certainly encountered it in Glasgow too.

Manchester's fine. No better or worse than any other UK city. Good bits and bad bits. I've lived here for 12+ years and never had issues.

Why did you apply if you a- haven't visited, and b- don't like the sound of it?

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 8

Arden University

Original post by Anonymous

@Anonymous
Hello! I studied in Manchester for four years and I have lived just outside the city center for about six years.

The University of Manchester has a great reputation for lectures and research, however, the lecturers are often at a bit more of a distance in terms of student contact (my partner did her masters there). Manchester Met are known more for being more accommodating and student centered. I don't know as much about Salford Uni but I've never heard anything bad.

As a general rule of thumb, a lot of crime faced by students tends to be down the Fallowfield end of town. Avoid Piccadilly Station and nearby back streets at night. Most night clubs are really safe, 5th Avenue is particularly good if you like indie music. As a male I have been physically harassed by women on nights out but that is not exclusive to Manchester - tended to happen more with drunken parties along Canal Street

Manchester is great. Check out the Northern Quarter!

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador

Reply 9

pippapear666

Original post by Anonymous

You mean like night life wise? Is there also much to do during the day (besides shopping)? And I´ve heard bad things about Fallowfield, do you know anything about it?

Yeah Fallow is crimey, you want to live nearer to Rusholme where it's residential or in uni accommodation as they have security. If you just constantly live in uni and private halls you will be fine safety wise. Manchester has sooooo much to do though - it's a really lively city, with a great day and night scene! There's pretty much everything for everyone. I'd advise going on tripadviser if you're looking for the highest recommended things to do as I'm sure what you enjoy is personal to you. I've just graduated from UoM after 4 years, and safe to say it is dodgey crime wise but I never had any problems myself personally. It's way cooler than Glasgow I think (my partner lives here so I've been quite a lot), and it's definitely an amazing uni experience! Plus UoM is better than Glasgow uni :u:

Reply 10

ajj2000

Where are you from? Do you have the chance to visit Manchester to have a look around?

Reply 11

Anonymous #1

Original post by pippapear666

Hey, thanks for your reply! Nice to hear that you find Manchester cooler than Glasgow, why is that? :smile:

Because every other person I was talking with told me that Glasgow had way better nightlife/ music scene and felt more ´home´ like - but I haven´t been to Glasgow too lol, I´m from Dublin originally. I wanted to go for a kind of Harry Potter experience, so Glasgow would´ve been better, but on the other hand always wanted to live in England, and since Uni of Manchester is more reputable, I chose this one

Reply 12

nushnush338

Original post by Anonymous

From what I’ve heard from my friends who go there: it’s a lot of fun, you meet cool people, the nightlife is great, there’s a lot of cultural diversity, the teaching is decent and it’s relatively affordable. For crime I can’t say much all my friends who go there are from london so I feel like crime isn’t something they consider bc they’re already from another big city. However the university doesn’t care about its students their student support and mental health services are allegedly awful and the housing crisis there is really really bad. Many people have had to commute from Leeds because they couldn’t find accommodation or have had to sleep on their friends’s sofas until they secured a place in October/November - it’s generally been quite unsettling for a lot of people. And a lot of the student halls/accommodation that Manchester offers have had issues with mould. There are students holding a lot of rent strikes and protests so it’s a major problem. From what I’ve heard from my one friend at glasgow is that it’s super fun and pretty diverse (low-key regret applying to Edinburgh instead of glasgow), the student support is decent and the teaching is good. However the housing crisis there isn’t great and I remember them saying to their students that they have to drop out/take an interruption of studies if they can’t find somewhere to live. The university doesn’t take any responsibility or liability for your accommodation unless if you firm them and apply for housing early pretty early. But I guess the housing situation is dire pretty much everywhere. I think looking into the housing situations of each city is probably the most important thing because you don’t want to be left without accommodation or having to stay somewhere that’s overpriced or uninhabitable.