More and more people in Manchester are ditching city centre life for a more relaxed and cheaper life in the suburbs. And when it comes to commuter towns around the city, some are more popular than others.
A study by Selecta analysed 20 different commuter towns around Manchester, looking at factors such as train travel time to Manchester, annual season ticket cost, school ratings, crime ratings and available wellness facilities, to find out the best alternative to city living.
With a score of 8.06, Wilmslow came out on top, proving to be one of the more ‘Instagrammable’ towns in the region with 420,000 Instagram posts to its name. It also scored highly on the number of National Trust properties in the vicinity, including Quarry Bank Mill.
Wilmslow also had the joint highest percentage of schools rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted (29%), together with the Cheshire town of Holmes Chapel, which came in ninth. Urmston, which came second overall with a score 7.48, followed closely behind on the schools front with 28%.
However, at £544,601, Wilmslow was found to have the highest average house of the top 10. The cheapest town for average house prices was Ashton-under-Lyne and it also had the shortest train commute to Manchester at 10 minutes. Overall, Accrington had the lowest average house price, but scored poorly elsewhere and did not make the top 10.
Another town that did not make the top 10 was Shipley, which scored highest for number of health and wellbeing facilities, but scored poorly when it came to crime rate, train journey duration and annual season ticket cost
Here is the full list of top 10 most desirable commuter towns around Manchester, including their overall score. More information on individual category scores can be found on the Selecta website.
1. Wilmslow
Score: 8.06
2. Urmston
Score: 7.48
3. Cheadle
Score: 7.3
4. Ashton-under-Lyne
Score: 6.3