The City of Manchester: Why so shunned ?

[acquiesce]

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.

That really sums it up nicely. I've been visiting Manchester for well on 10 years now and consider it my second home. I would call it similar to the rust belt cities of the Midwest in the United States, Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh. The difference between Manchester and London is like the difference between Chicago and NYC/LA. Most notably the people are what make Manchester such a brilliant, friendly and vibrant city. There's a hard working mentality that you don't get down south. There's more of a "I've put in a good shift today, time for a pint" feel. It's more laid back and easy going, people take their time and aren't in a rush as you get in London.

And the statement about not marketing the city enough is spot on. They really are missing a trick there. All you ever hear about is London this and London that. Manchester could really pull in some major cash if they tried even a shot.

Damn I can't wait for January and my next trip over.

 

[mackenzie]

What Manchester does today, the rest of the world does tomorrow.

"Have you seen Manchester?" wrote Benjamin Disraeli in 1844. "Manchester is as great a human exploit as Athens." And the writer Anthony Burgess, admittedly biased having been born in the city's Harpurhey district, recalled in his autobiography Little Wilson and Big God how, for a Mancunian, a visit to London before the second world war "was an exercise in condescension. London was a day behind Manchester in the arts, in commercial cunning, in economic philosophy".

Probably the greatest place on earth. Imho.

And those that 'shun' it either don't know it's history or its standing in making the modern metropolis.
It's a fascinating place; just because it isn't chocolate box pretty makes it all the more intriguing in my book.

 

[waterloo blue]

After a recent trip back,I found that a lot of the City centre depressing , very non descript but that's like a lot of the UK these days very homogenous.
My wife Sydney born and bred loves it and says it feels safe yet gritty at the same time,with the warmth of the people an added bonus.
I miss the shitehole pre bomb,but that's just me,it just changed too much after that,although a lot of people should buck up for fucks sake,nothings ever that bad.

 

[Rascal]

That really sums it up nicely. I've been visiting Manchester for well on 10 years now and consider it my second home. I would call it similar to the rust belt cities of the Midwest in the United States, Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh. The difference between Manchester and London is like the difference between Chicago and NYC/LA. Most notably the people are what make Manchester such a brilliant, friendly and vibrant city. There's a hard working mentality that you don't get down south. There's more of a "I've put in a good shift today, time for a pint" feel. It's more laid back and easy going, people take their time and aren't in a rush as you get in London.

And the statement about not marketing the city enough is spot on. They really are missing a trick there. All you ever hear about is London this and London that. Manchester could really pull in some major cash if they tried even a shot.

Damn I can't wait for January and my next trip over.

Thank you.

Manchester is inherently a good place, yes we have our scum but so does any city. We have had our problems but so does any city.

But we are the City that gave the world the ndustrial revolution, we are the city that inspired Marx and Engles, we are the city that supported Abraham Lincoln and his fight against slavery (fuck we are the city to have his statue) we are the city that gave us Peterloo, we are city were the suffreagettes were born. Our City has always been radical, challenging, politically charged, strong, self assured and fucking cocky as fuck. When Liverpool wanted to charge us more we built our own canal, our airport is the 15th busiest international airport in the world. You can fly to more places from Manchester than any other place in the UK.

Yes as people we can be irrevarant and sometimes rude, our humour is harsh and cutting and occasionally close to the bone, but we get us we understand us and i think we lke what we are a lot as we know we are warm and friendly people confident in what we are and what we represent.



For me its simple, im blessed, i was born and raised in the greatest City on the planet

City

 

[yerwot?]

manchester would be a market town if it wasn't for the damp weather which spawned the cotton industry, which begat the railways and heavy engineering. All that's left is the shite weather, and the people of course.
of course

 

[m7mcfc]

Use the red button for BBC text and have a look at UK weather. Manchester nor any other North West City is on it, the closest we get is Leeds.
You have to go to regional weather for Manchester to get a mention, a bit strange seeing as it's state of the art media city is based here. What type of message does that send out.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

I've lived in several cities in England at one time or another: Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield, London.

If, all other things being equal, I could live anywhere tomorrow I'd probably pick Manchester, but of course life is never that simple.

I did London in my late 20's and lived in a nice area (girlfriend at the time was pretty loaded) but never really settled. That said, whenever work takes me down there there's always a twinge of regret that I never really made it there. It truly is one of the World's great cities. I can certainly understand the attraction for someone like Edin Hazard. Being rich and single in a city like London must be truly intoxicating. It is quite telling that a lot of our foreign players who've settled in the Manchester area have pretty stable family lives: Aguero, Yaya, NDJ, Silva. You could even add Carlos to that list now he's re-united with his estranged wife.

The City has a lot going for it as long as you don't expect world class restaurants and globally recognised landmarks. Some beautiful surrounding countryside, good transport infrastructure, a lot of interesting history and some of the friendliest people in the World aren't what everyone is necessarily looking for, but neither is living in a city of over ten million people where the transport system is often a nightmare to negotiate and a large proportion of the inhabitants are cvnts.

It won't be for everyone, but Manchester certainly has enough about it to attract plenty of people, footballers included.

 

[ElanJo]

Great scene for music


but that's because the weather is wank and there's not much else to do

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

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!

Below is a list of the populations in the following council districts.
London isn't in there because it covers so many different boroughs.

Birmingham 1,074,300
Leeds 750,700
Sheffield 551,800
Bradford 523,100
Manchester 502,900
Liverpool 465,700

Manchester is third behind London and Brum when you include Salford and other outlying towns in the figure

 

[NPBlue]

It's a whole load better than boring, bloody Vancouver!

Sorry pal, but you come on here and in a way slag the city off, and then patronise us by asking us what it's like living here?

It's a shithole, we all smell of piss and have wonky teeth.

Is that a good enough answer for you?

It may as well be.