The City of Manchester: Why so shunned ?

[thenabster]

Ok, I've been to England once and I was in London. Loved the city, very vibrant, active, fast and there were things to do. I like these kinds of cities. Only thing I didn't like about London was the weather. It was pretty sad.

Anyway, when I look on wikipedia, Manchester is the 3rd biggest city in England in terms of population. The pictures I've seen from Manchester look cool and when I try to compare with Canada(where I live) the third biggest cit in Canada is Vancouver. Vancouver is an AWESOME place, I mean anyone moving to Canada would probably love to live there (Not a good comparison with Manchester due to other variables, but a basis).

So then my question is why is that every time I hear about a rumor of a player moving to Manchester City or coaches, there is always this complaint of the city. I mean is Manchester that bad ?

There was the tevez complaint a few season ago where he was like, there isn't anything to do in Manchester and the city has two restaurants (definitely an exaggeration). There was rumors that one of the reasons Hazard preferred Chelsea was because Chelsea is in London and Cit is in Manchester. Now I'm hearing that Pep isn't too warm on supposedly taking over MCFC because he would prefer to move with his family to London and will consider Bayern or Paris more.

So how is Manchester for those who have been there or live there. How much do you like the place, how do you rate it?

 

[Anonymous]

Like anywhere, it has it's good and bad, however I believe it's good outweigh the bad. Manchester has it's own vibe as you'd expect and for me it says "we are confident in who we are". There is a certain verve and swagger to the place but underneath it all is a warmth and friendliness you just don't get in London, Birmingham, Bristol (down south basically). There is a real "down to earth" feel which is kind of underpinned by that confidence in who we are.

We've got fantastic music, comedy, theatre and arts scenes going on and there a more restaurants the Tevez gave us credit for! Although to be fair, the standard can be, and is being, improved slowly but surely :D

There is so much more we could do with the place in terms of investment and attractions but that could soon change with whatever Sheikh Mansour has planned for our home in the east of Manchester.

We've got a wonderful university which has helped the city come up with numerous "firsts" and discoveries. Places like Cheethams and John Rylands Libraries are just stunning (google/wiki them), as are the many museums and galleries.

And if that don't float your boat, the nightlife is pretty darned good too!

In my opinion, the airport needs expanding, the tram lines need expanding and the motorways are in need of a revamp, but transportwise we're in pretty good shape compared to elsewhere.

We've got a very highly skilled, adaptable and fluid labour force and a very high IT/tech capable sector.

Down side is the weather of course, but it's not half as wet as is made out. I lived in Glasgow for 12 months and it pissed down pretty much everyday :) There has been problems with gun crime but I think that if you were caught up in anything like that, you'd be damned unlucky as it tends to be gang/turf/drugs related. In the main, I'm pretty certain that type of crime rate is rapidly declining.

The police force are actually ok, apart from policing football matches, when they can sometimes be the worst hooligan element!

I am of the opinion we do not sell or market ourselves nearly effectively enough though and we could attract infinitely more investment than we do.

Although, some of the above by nature has to be somewhat generalised, it's what I've found in my 42 yrs here. I love the place, the people and the whole vibe - it's not always been that way as we've had some really difficult times - but there aren't many places I'd swap it for.

I've been told before by American colleagues that Manchester is very much the same kind of place as Chicago/Seattle/Vancouver etc, but I couldn't possibly say as I have never been to those places.

Anyway, to sum up:

Manchester, it's just dead good.

 

[Thenumber1blue]

I might be a little biased but if your moving this way,somewhere nice near Manchester is the place to be,I think its a great City.

 

[quiet_riot]

I wouldn't live anywhere else, but that's because Manchester is all I know. Only been to London twice, and both times it was only Wembley that I visited

 

[Manchestercitychorlton]

nowhere I would rather live in England unless I was absolutely loaded.

 

[thenabster]

Like anywhere, it has it's good and bad, however I believe it's good outweigh the bad. Manchester has it's own vibe as you'd expect and for me it says "we are confident in who we are". There is a certain verve and swagger to the place but underneath it all is a warmth and friendliness you just don't get in London, Birmingham, Bristol (down south basically). There is a real "down to earth" feel which is kind of underpinned by that confidence in who we are.

We've got fantastic music, comedy, theatre and arts scenes going on and there a more restaurants the Tevez gave us credit for! Although to be fair, the standard can be, and is being, improved slowly but surely :D

There is so much more we could do with the place in terms of investment and attractions but that could soon change with whatever Sheikh Mansour has planned for our home in the east of Manchester.

We've got a wonderful university which has helped the city come up with numerous "firsts" and discoveries. Places like Cheethams and John Rylands Libraries are just stunning (google/wiki them), as are the many museums and galleries.

And if that don't float your boat, the nightlife is pretty darned good too!

In my opinion, the airport needs expanding, the tram lines need expanding and the motorways are in need of a revamp, but transportwise we're in pretty good shape compared to elsewhere.

We've got a very highly skilled, adaptable and fluid labour force and a very high IT/tech capable sector.

Down side is the weather of course, but it's not half as wet as is made out. I lived in Glasgow for 12 months and it pissed down pretty much everyday :) There has been problems with gun crime but I think that if you were caught up in anything like that, you'd be damned unlucky as it tends to be gang/turf/drugs related. In the main, I'm pretty certain that type of crime rate is rapidly declining.

The police force are actually ok, apart from policing football matches, when they can sometimes be the worst hooligan element!

I am of the opinion we do not sell or market ourselves nearly effectively enough though and we could attract infinitely more investment than we do.

Although, some of the above by nature has to be somewhat generalised, it's what I've found in my 42 yrs here. I love the place, the people and the whole vibe - it's not always been that way as we've had some really difficult times - but there aren't many places I'd swap it for.

I've been told before by American colleagues that Manchester is very much the same kind of place as Chicago/Seattle/Vancouver etc, but I couldn't possibly say as I have never been to those places.

Anyway, to sum up:

Manchester, it's just dead good.

Thanks for the detailed answer.
In my head I was like, if the city has 1 million people living in it, there is no way it can be that boring as some players claim. But your answer reassured me. It sounds like a cool place. Hope to visit it soon sometime.

 

[manctheknife]

Don't wanna pick holes here, but as a born bred and buttered manc i have to say, Manchester is nowhere near the 3rd biggest city in England by population.......nowhere near.

 

[bernabias home shirt]

 

[DiscoSteve]

Don't wanna pick holes here, but as a born bred and buttered manc i have to say, Manchester is nowhere near the 3rd biggest city in England by population.......nowhere near.

You'll find its easily the 3rd and only not the 2nd biggest by only a relative whisker - less than one home match full!

 

[davymcfc]

Manchester is a nice place but it does have its bad parts too. Great places to eat drink and shop plus it is a footballing hotspot with a huge rivalry. The weather isn't great but nowhere in England is. Despite the fact that manchester is the third biggest city it is generally seen as the second most important city as Birmingham is a shit hole trapped in the 70s.
If I were you I would check it out for yourself, come to eastlands and enjoy watching the current premier league champions :)