[Closed] Tell me about Salford

live out north, Ramsbottom or Bury or out Bolton way, Salford aint nice.

I lived there for a year as a kid, based on that I think Id work there but live somewhere else.

Loads of reasonable places to live within quite a small radius and good riding too. Sustrans 6 will have you on the trails within 3 miles of Salford centre.

mrmichaelwright - Member
live out north, Ramsbottom or Bury or out Bolton way, Salford aint nice

Agree with this, Salforsd itself is very urban/inner city.

Worsley is about the only nice area in the city of Salford in my opinion (and I have worked in a public service all over the city for 15 yrs)

Personally I wouldn't want to live there as it does have a lot of deprivation and suffers a high rate of crime. Worsley is about the only pleasant area but it is really expensive and as above, there are are plenty of decent places within 5 or 6 miles of Salford.

Bury/Prestwich is okay to the North, as are Flixton/Sale/Altringham to the South. The further north you go, the hillier/more picturesque it gets. Plenty of my work colleagues live in Ramsbottom/Rossendale etc - all easily commutable.

From what I've seen driving through, Pendlebury looks decent enough (and I'd expect areas around Swinton to Wardley to also be okay in the most part). Too far outside the M60 and it can become a real pain (if you can avoid the motorway then that's a big bonus). Also could look towards Prestbury / Whitefield.

Ramsbottom/Rossendale etc - all easily commutable.

your tolerance to sitting in traffic must be greater than mine

your tolerance to sitting in traffic must be greater than mine

I cycle

Salford is a tough area. the development round the quays is nice, but theres really no where else I'd look at living there.
Well connected by the tram from the North nothing really from the south, you have to go to M'cr and pick up trams there.
NOTHING in the way of off road riding that is ridable to
When we get moved out to media city I reckon my public transport commute time will double.. as will the cost!

oh and Hazel Bleirs is the MP........

Don't be seduced by the Quays. Definitely more of a workplace environment or somewhere for high earners to have a Monday to Friday flat. once you venture out of the quays you find yourself in Ordsall which is grim to say the least.

there's plenty of nice houses around Bury/Ramsbottom/parts of Rochdale etc and all within a couple of miles of great riding!

I lived and worked in Salford late 80's left when we found our selves seriously considering buying a gun. It truly is a different world. Saying that had some good laughs and there used to be some excellent pubs full of character! Fine if you are child free and like a spliff.

or like having the front door of your house kicked in in broad daylight, all your possessions stolen and then have all the neighbours who stood around watching swear blind they didn't see anything for fear of retribution.

I live on the border of Manchester and Salford. A few considerations before deciding to move to Salford are:

Crime rates are higher (potentially higher insurance policies)
Council tax is higher than Manchester
Property is cheaper on average than Manchester
You are really not that far from some really good venues for riding.

I know a few people who live/have lived in Salford and they have mixed opinions.

Watch Shameless! 🙂

hmm there are potential openings that may be suitable for me in the new media bit at Salford Quays in the new year, was hoping it was a bit nicer than has been described in this thread! I'll be on a really low income so would have to house-share in a probably less-than-ideal area, is it really that bad and would commuting (bike/train/bus/tram?) from somewhere else be a better idea?

metrolink goes from Bury and soon from Oldham/Rochdale - It'll take ages from Rochdale though.

192 from Norden in Rochdale takes about 50 mins rush hour to get to Manchester Victoria and you've then got probably another 20 mins+ by tram to the Quays.

You could look around Leigh as it's just down the A580 from the Quays

If it was me and had to rely on public transport, I would look towards sale and altringham. 15 - 20 mins on the tram and both really nice areas. Tram stops right on the quays.

The good thing about Salford is that its really quite well connected, with the A580, M60, trains, trams etc etc, so you wouldn't have much problem living further away.

I lived in Salford for 10 years including going to uni there. Its gets a bad press but I never got any grief there personally

The solution is simple. Live in the Peoples republic of Chorlton, which is bloody great. Commute to Salford as its right on the border with Manchester. 5 minutes ride to the quays

your tolerance to sitting in traffic must be greater than mine

from Rossendale - there really isnt much traffic - the M66 moves fairly quickly - average speed in the morning is 60-70mph most mornings - the problem normally starts on the M60
But ATM i'm commuting to Prescot (liverpool) from bacup - takes be around 1hr 10mins. missus is working in north stretford/Trafford area, takes 3/4hr to get to work.

The thing is we used to live in bury - used to take us longer to get out of Bury (living on the bolton side) and to the motorway, than it does to get from Bacup down to the same junction, simply because traffic is very bad in Bury - and LOTS of traffic lights.

, is it really that bad

In places yes, in others not so - it's a big area. Depends how sensitive you are. Just go have a look around with your eyes open. If I was young and single there are places I'd live not too far away (I've lived in similar worse places). My comments on commuting relate to my experience of commuting to Trafford (next to Salford) from Rochdale - the M60 is best avoided.

I would not ride a decent bike in Salford - you would soon be trailed home and have it nicked.

My old company had offices in Salford and regularly had employees mugged for their laptops whilst walking 50 yards to their cars.

It's like most places with it's really bad places and not so bad. Worsley is nice, we have close friends in Pendlebury and they have a lovely period house in a nice street with decent neighbours and no experience of crime (touch wood!). I work with people who live in the quays and struggle with car thieves getting into secure parking etc. Works both ways!

Work there but don't live there. Even if you look at the properties and think 'wow thats cheap' and even if you think 'its a flat so will be secure'.

You'll still want to go out in town, wander out etc and it just feels to grim to be that weekend haven/feel good especially for your partner.

Most of it just feels like one big industrial estate to me.

I'd recommend living in the Stretford/Chorlton borders. Gritty but you avoid the vegetarian Maxist Lesbians and you can still hear the gunshots at night 🙂

All of the above applies pretty much.

However, after living in Ordsall for the last 4 years or more I've not experienced any crime, muggings or vandalism. Maybe I've been lucky, maybe it isn't as bad as people like to spout.

Anyway, I've just moved out and into Castlefield. Highly recommended if you want city living without the feeling of living in a city centre.

There's a sort of implication in this thread that Salford and Manchester are quite geographically distinct. They're not. They are physically joined.

Salford is the older of the two cities, but it is also Manchester's poorer (literally) relation these days.

In fact, the reality is that, unless you want to live 10 minutes from work, you could choose to live in all sorts of places that would be defined as "Manchester" and still get to work realtively easily.

The question would be better put: "I may be taking a job in Salford. Where should I live in Greater Manchester - my budget is £x (to buy) or £x to rent".

Then we'll be able to tell you on the basis of how you want/need to get to work and what your tolerance is for public transport/traffic jams.

FWIW I work in Salford. Actually, it's on the border with Cheshire. I ride through open countryside to get to work from the other people's republic, West Didsbury.

[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Salford ]All about the city of Salford. :)[/url]

the other people's republic, West Didsbury

Or as us poor Surfs like to describe things:

Sweeping geographically from West to East:
Didsbury - You've made it good in life
West Didsbury - You are getting there
Chorlton - You are a Lesbian who can afford a 200k house
Stretford - Street sweeping jobs only buy soo much.
Trafford Park - For shopping innit.

MartynS - Member

Salford is a tough area.....NOTHING in the way of off road riding that is ridable to

The fact is that, unlikely as it may seem, 30% of Salford is actually open agricultural land, a sort of vast, banjo-playing, mid-western boondock ....within view of the Trafford Centre -spooky on a misty, exploratory night-ride.

Salford:
[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

The remaining 70% of the city isn't great, although not as bad as suggested by some on here.

although not as bad as suggested by some on here

I'm not sure of the road in question but there are a few architectural gems sat along there utterly going to ruin probably due to a developer hoping someone will 'finish them off' so he can rebuilt flats I bet.