Amazing!
- The sunsets 2. The freedom 3. Access 4 . Diversity
My husband and I moved into a flat in Salford Quays, in 2016 with our youngest daughter, Millie. It was a downsize so we moved in with minimum furniture and life baggage.
The flat had been let, it was painted and everything was in good working order so we decided not to rush and change things straight away. We did buy a large dining table and chairs as cooking and dinner parties with friends had always been our go to rainy day pleasure.
There was a choice of 2 flats when we moved; morning sun or evening sun; opposite sides of the building. We chose evening sun as we both worked full time, and liked the idea of 'wine on the balcony with sunset' It didn't disappoint. Eight floors above a shopping area, the sky is huge and the sun sets with a spectacular display of warm tones that filter into the living area. I will never tire of watching it or racing to the window to try to get the perfect photo.
After a few months, I decided to capitalise on the sunsets and repaint the open plan living space with a pale yellow. It took me about 4 hours. Just 4 hours.
In the previous 2 years we had repainted and decorated a 3 bed detached house ready for sale. It took all of the 2 years, and walls had to be filled before painting, carpets were replaced, and windows! 10 sodding windows to paint and 8 rooms + a hall stairs and landing. Not to mention the gardens; back and front.
Here, in this flat, thee are 5 rooms including 2 bathrooms which are completely tiled. There are 3 windows. There is a wooden floor in the main living area. Also, the walls are flat and painted. I swear, I could re-paint the whole flat in a weekend. We, as long-term lease holders, are not responsible for the front door or windows, we are only responsible for the interior. Have you any idea how much freedom that gives?
No more worries about gutters, lose roof tiles, gardening, outside brushing. Honestly every weekend is a choice rather than a chore. It's so freeing.
So, what do we do with all that free time? Explore. The city centre is a pleasant walk from Salford Quays either by the canal, or along the river and trams are every 12 minutes if the weather is bad. We have re-visited museums and found a few new ones. We are regulars at the theatre and as a Salford resident, we enjoy the occasional £10.00 tickets for various shows offered over email from The Lowry Theatre; and the best bit is the walk home; maybe 30 seconds? We also enjoy the various events and festivals that happen regularly, here at the Quays, and in the city. It's so convenient for access.
When we moved into the city, the flat came with 1 parking space, so I gave up my car and bought a bike. Thankfully, my job is a 10 minute cycle ride away, so this suits and I try to use my bike for everything locally. Of course, as the city is flat, It's not particularly challenging, so my interest has grown and Mathew and I have taken to cycling most weekends. From this position next to the city we can take bikes on the train to almost anywhere and cycle home. Last year we challenged ourselves to complete the Manchester-Blackpool charity ride and it was fantastic, though exhausting.
I love Manchester city centre. I have taken a keen interest in it's growth over the last 15 years and watched all the new apartment blocks going up, areas redeveloped, green spaces created, new eating 'destinations' and cycle lanes everywhere. I feel safer cycling in the city than I did in the peak district. It's interesting watching a city completely re-invent itself. The shopping destination of old is gone, and it's now a centre for hospitality as more and more people move here. There are restaurants opening, seemingly every week, so competition is fierce; we rarely eat at the same place twice, and their are many apps offering dinner deals midweek. This also opened our eyes to the open mic scene, poetry, music events are available almost every night during the week, and again, it's all so accessible.
The sense of diversity is also apparent in the block we live in. I imagined our building would be filled with students, but our building is 60% owner occupied, so the people here are all ages, from different countries, doing very different jobs, from different backgrounds; you couldn't have a more eclectic mix, and conversation is interesting and diverse.
In suburbia, we tended to move in a progressive way; a better job meant we could get a higher mortgage and we needed extra room for the children. But everyone else around you is doing the same, so when you land in the detached house on a hill with a garden, the people around you are generally in the same stage of life, which is great for the kids and very social, but nobody is doing anything different. We were all washing cars and cutting grass every weekend. It's a bit 'Stepford wives'.
Now our priorities are so different. We have realised bigger is not always better. Our home is adequate; there is a place to sleep, a place to cook, a place to eat and a place to relax. I mean, what more do we really need? Our home is really just a base, but it is quite a beautiful base, and the walls are solid, and the building has a high standard of finishes, which make it all the more an enjoyable place to sit and watch the sunset with a glass of wine.
If you'd like to understand why we moved from the peak district, you can read that post here.