If you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the centre of Manchester there are plenty of beautiful towns and villages in and around the city or within easy reach in the car or on public transport.
From hip and upcoming suburbs popular with families to quaint villages and the Golden Triangle of Cheshire loved by the city’s football and soap stars, there is no shortage of desirable places to live without going too far from Manchester.
The results have revealed a series of postcodes in and around Manchester that are deemed the happiest and most desirable places to live, based on an overall ‘life satisfaction’ score.
ManchesterWorld has teamed up with Barrows and Forrester, which has helped us to combine house price data for postcodes in and around Manchester with local authority scores in the national happiness index compiled by the Office for National Statistics. The result is this list of places people are keen to move to and where those already there are most contented. For anyone thinking of selling up and moving out, we’ve also included how much property is likely to set you back there.
1. Bramhall
Bramhall is one of the most desirable areas in Stockport, with the average house in its postcode currently setting you back some £426,140. Its high street has a mix of independent, quirky and chic shops and it is known for having good schools, while the surrounding countryside is home to grand estates. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps
2. Knutsford
Knutsford is a historic Cheshire market town which was the inspiration for novelist Elizabeth Gaskell and today has a range of boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops, as well as the 1,000 acres of Tatton Park with its deer herds nearby. Houses in Knutsford currently cost around £556,909. Photo: Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
3. Alderley Edge
Known for its celebrity residents, Alderley Edge has an array of designer shop, cafes, bars and restaurants to enjoy. To buy a house here, though, you’re looking at upwards of half a million pounds, although Cheshire East has a happiness index score of 7.47. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps
4. Wilmslow
Another place in Cheshire’s so-called Golden Triangle with house prices north of £500,000, Wilmslow has excellent transport links, a good selection of places to eat and drink and the green space of The Carrs. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps