Just wanted to chime in and say Manchester is a really great city. I'm from a very small, rural area in Michigan, so MCR was my first taste of "city life", and I love how it is like a small city and a big one all at once. The city centre is small enough that you can walk all around it in a few hours, but there are so many great things packed into it. It's always packed with people on the weekends and there are street performers, activists, charities, and generally always something to see. They have a lot of events, like the Christmas markets, and music events in the summer. You have the Trafford Centre just outside the city, which is a huge mall, and of course all the theatres, museums and art galleries, and you can see big concerts at the MEN arena.
My husband is from one of the rough parts of town, in Salford, and though I didn't mind living there with him, once my daughter came to the UK we looked for somewhere else. We now live in Rossendale valley, which is about 20 miles north of Manchester (sort of south of Blackburn, I guess) and it's the perfect fit for us. The housing is much cheaper than in the city, and it's very rural and pastoral nestled amongst the moors. We live in a small village where we know all of our neighbors and the high school is great, and we're right near the motorway so we can pop down to Mcr in 20 minutes to shop and visit family and friends. My husband used to work in the city centre and it's possible to commute from here, though the rush hour traffic is pretty awful.
There are some fantastic suburbs in Manchester, as others have mentioned, and if you can afford it I would definitely recommended checking them out. And just as an aside, all of Salford isn't bad, as Monton and Worsley were very lovely and picturesque. Like any place, there is some good and some bad. Good luck finding your perfect place, and welcome to Manchester!
