A Comprehensive Guide about Living in Manchester

Life in Manchester

Culture and Leisure

Manchester is renowned as a vibrant and dynamic city and attracts visitors from all over the country to its many attractions, shopping hubs and entertainment venues.

Manchester’s rich industrial history has left a legacy of industrial heritage sites and historical areas of interest ready to be explored; as well as offering modern alternatives, such as the Wheel of Manchester (the London Eye of the North), which provides visitors with a spectacular bird’s eye view of this impressive city.

Infamous for its internationally renowned football teams, Manchester is home to the National Football Museum as well as two premier league football grounds: the City of Manchester Stadium, home to Manchester City FC, and Trafford Park, home to Manchester United.

With modern Manchester originating from the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium, historians have s쳮ded in successfully reconstructing part of the original fort and it is now on display at Castlefield Heritage Park, Britain’s first Urban Heritage Park.

Taking a leap forward in history, Manchester is the location of one of the most celebrated museums in Britain today, IWM North (formally known as the Imperial War Museum North), which presents fascinating exhibitions and insights into people and their stories – how lives have been, and still are, shaped by war and conflict.

Outside the city, there is a further assortment of things to do and places to go. The Peak District is only a short drive away, and offers visitors and resident’s spectacular views and the opportunity to try a range of outdoor activities, from canoeing and climbing through to horse riding and walking for the adventurous among you.

Transportation in Manchester

Manchester is extremely well served with transport links and it is probably surrounded by more road systems than any other city in Britain, situated at the heart of a national transport infrastructure of rail and motorway networks.

At the height of its textile trade, Manchester required a large transport and distribution infrastructure: the canal system was extended, and Manchester became one end of the world’s first intercity passenger railway — the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

Today, Manchester is the location of one of the most important British airports (MAN), offering short haul European, long haul international and domestic flights. Orbital and linear motorways provide access to all other UK cities by road and Manchester is served by two main railway stations, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria. These stations offer direct services to major cities across the country, such as London, Leeds and Birmingham, as well as travel inside the borough.

The city’s own tram system, Metrolink, provides fast and easy access within Manchastery. As with many other large cities, Manchester center is subject to congestion at peak commute times, however, its unique lightweight tram system offers an effective solution; the need to drive into and park in the city center is minimized, and allows people to avoid parking charges of up to £20.00 per day.

Education in Manchester

Schooling in Manchester is regulated and managed by the Manchester Local Education Authority (LEA). They are responsible for school admissions and should be contacted by anyone moving to Manchester with children of school age. You can then register and apply for a school place at one of their institutions.

Manchester is home to more than 170 primary and high schools, a good number of which perform within the top 5% of schools nationally. There is plenty of choice, from vibrant multicultural state schools to grammar schools with histories stretching back hundreds of years. There are also many further education establishments within the region, including colleges of further education and sixth form colleges. Among these are numerous religious institutions, including Catholic and Muslim, as well as specialist colleges (of music, for example).

Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University, UMIST (formerly the oldest technological university in Britain, now part of the University of Manchester) and Salford University, as well as the University of Bolton, are all within the Greater Manchester region boundaries, with three located in Manchester City itself. The University of Manchester is the largest full-time non-collegiate university in the United Kingdom and includes the Manchester Business School, which offered the first MBA course in the UK in 1965.

Manchester currently has over 105,000 students across the four universities; the city region has one of the largest student populations in the UK and Europe, with the majority of students specializing in technology, science, legal and administrative subjects.