One of the biggest choices you will have to make when moving abroad to study is where to live. Greater Manchester is made up of ten boroughs and Salford is one of them. Our recommendation when you are searching for accommodation is to expand your search to all of the boroughs as we have great transport links to campus.

To help you find the right place to live, we’re starting a series about different places to live in Greater Manchester, kicking off with Stockport.

Stockport is a borough located in the South-East of Greater Manchester. It is a great place to live because of the excellent transport links to Manchester and Salford and the redevelopment that is taking place throughout the town. It also has many affordable areas to live in.

Here’s a quick guide to the borough and how to travel around.

The ‘New Berlin’

Over the last few years, Stockport has undergone some major redevelopment.

The newly redeveloped Underbank area of the town centre contains artsy cafes, bars and shops. This has contributed to Stockport being named Greater Manchester’s town of culture and some people calling the town the ‘New Berlin’. In another area of the town, around the train station, new international restaurants, shops and even a cinema have been created.

Alongside this cultural redevelopment, the bus station is also being majorly expanded and will enhance the transport in the borough.

Living in Stockport means you get the best of both worlds. You can enjoy living in a promising town which is undergoing major development, close to the vibrant Manchester City Centre but you also escape to nature if you wish as Stockport is near the beautiful Peak District.

Affordable accommodation

The most affordable places to live in Stockport are Reddish, Offerton and Edgeley. These areas are close to the town centre where you can easily commute to Manchester and Salford.

Green spaces

Stockport has a large amount of parks and green spaces located all around the borough.

A few examples of these spaces are Reddish Vale Country Park, Mersey Vale Nature Park, Bruntwood Park and Alexandra Park. These places are special because they all provide a serenity that you will struggle to find in a city. They all have great walking routes along the rivers, play areas and sports fields.

All of the parks are easy to commute to via public transport.

Food

Over the past few years, more and more food options have popped up in and around Stockport. A highlight of the food calendar in the town is the monthly ‘Foodie Friday’.

‘Foodie Friday’ occurs on the last Friday of each month and consists of a group of international food stalls coming together, along with music and other stalls. This creates a lovely cafe culture vibe in the OId Town area of Stockport. From here you can walk to the new Underbank area too.

Transport

Stockport boasts a vast amount of buses and trains that connect you to the rest of Greater Manchester.

The 192 bus connects Stockport, from the southern part of Hazel Grove, all of the way through to Manchester City Centre on the A6 dual carriageway. It is easily accessible for all residents in Stockport. The 191 and 197 follow similar routes, with the 197 passing through South Manchester.

All of Stockport’s outlying areas have direct bus services to Stockport town centre, and from there you can easily get a connection to Manchester.

To travel from Stockport by bus you can take the 50 bus. If you buy a 7-day pass for £20, it works out to £2.86 per day for as much travel as you like in Greater Manchester.

As well as having a good bus network, Stockport also has multiple train stations which you can travel from. The borough has 12 stations, including Heaton Chapel, Reddish North, Cheadle Hulme, Marple and Stockport.

From all of the stations, you can either get a train to Manchester or Stockport. Once you make it to Manchester Piccadilly, it is very easy to get to Salford Crescent on the Blackpool North line.

Stockport is a developing area that has excellent transport links and is a place that is generally affordable, and it is definitely a place you should consider living in when you come to Salford.

When you search for private accommodation, it’s very important to read our guidance or speak to our University support teams before you hand over any money or sign a contract. Find out more about finding private rented accommodation in Salford.