Hamburg vs. Manchester (UK)

I was just curious what life in Manchester might be like, and if any of you think it might be better than Hamburg in terms of entertainment options, socializing, job prospects, and integration in general?

I was vaguely interested in France (Lyon, Rennes, Montpellier) but I think the language barrier might be too tough.

Hi Mal
Have lived in both and would say that both are fun . Manchester has great bars and nightlife, as does Hamburg. Hard to say which is better.

Cheers

Ben

Hi

Manchester is certainly better than your other options and Hamburg for job opportunities as finding work is pretty easy (quite a bit of IT, finance and media work going as well as the usual). It's a very friendly city, with a lively nightlife (3 universites means a huge amount of young people). There's lots of live music, theatre, good shopping, a great art house cinema etc. It's also really close to some gorgeous countryside. I moved to Manchester a year ago solely for job reasons and had distinct anti-Manchester prejudices having grown up on Merseyside, but I have to admit it's a nice city. Very multicultural and after the IRA blew up the city centre, it's all been done up and looks really good.
But I also like Hamburg for similar reasons. I think Manchester is probably easier to meet people and find work but otherwise honours are probably equal.

I live just outside Manchester and I love it. I work in the city centre and love that to! The nightlife is great, the people are friendly. I havent lived in Hamburg so I cant comment there. But you could do alot worse than live in Manchester.

I'd choose Manchester. Great atmosphere, friendly folk, lots of jobs going, loads of shops. A minus side is the chavs, as with any UK city at the moment... Hamburg is a nice city too but I didn't spend enough time there to "gel" with the people so to speak. No I'd definately go for Manchester.

I'm from Manchester, well, there roundabouts, and also went to uni there so my opinion is rather prejudice I'm afraid as I've only been to Hamburg once in my life!! But I do like Manchester.

And if you don't get Boddies, you just get bitter

I lived in Manchester for 34 years and liked most of it. Until the IRA blew it up!
Great night-life, umpteen thousand students (and student bars!).
In parts nice buildings, important history, good arts, etc.
I didn't live in the city, but about 10 miles to the south in the leafy suburbs. I think Craig refers to that as the 'posh bit'.
Yeah, right under the Mancheater Airport approach! Smack-bang under the wheels we were!!!

Down side: I must admit that some parts of the city were on the avoid at all costs list (a.k.a. Moss Side). But, if you didn't get a flat tyre at night, you would be OK.
I suspect those problems may have been targetted with policing. I just put that down to modern city living.

I suspect you could say much the same about areas of Hamburg although I do think it's a bit larger than Manchester and has more possibilities for shopping, etc.
Knowledge of Hamburg is in terms of minutes from a couple of day trips, so I don't know what it's like to live there. Very nice around the harbour!

But the Manchester Ship Canal is getting 'greener' by the second, I saw North West Tonight the other day and they were saying how the salmon must be going through there again.

Overall it's a pretty tough choice - although personally, I can understand more people in Manchester than in Hamburg!!!

Shrink-wrapped in container ships...?

It makes Manchester sound miles better than Hamburg, but Im sure its not quite as good as that.

One plus in favour of Hamburg over Manchester must surely be that there aren`t any chavs in Hamburg. Or are there? Is there such a thing as a german chav? If so, how do you spot them, what do they look like, what do they wear?

I'm not sure what they'd look like (probably mullets and moustaches), but in keeping with the neue Rechtschreibung, surely it would be spelt Tschaw...?

Id guess: white sneakers or slip ons, those very light pastel pinkish polo neck t-shirts (and thats the men) or white longsleeved cotton tops, or else a yellow and green t-shirt with "BRAZIL" emblazoned on it. Possibly also white jeans, especially the ones that only reach down to before the ankles. Bling as well, (thats jewellery to you) just like the UK counterparts. And of course a sun studio suntan. What else...

Hi
I have just moved to Hamburg, Manchester is where I have moved here from its a great city plenty of nightlife theatres etc...
there is usually plenty of work depending on what u are looking for telephone contact centes are usually well in demand for customer services and sales reps.
I like Hamburg I only moved here three weeks ago I like the fact that its a 24 hour city and the transport is very good here and also 24 hours so better than Hmburg I dont know but if u want any more advise on Manchester or surronding areas im happy to answer any questions u might have!
apart from the football teams!!! (i support Liverpool) Mnachester is a fantastic city with plenty of great shops too!!
katie

Hamburg a 24 hour city?!? Well I guess the bars maybe stay open a bit longer, but ... certainly not the shops.

thats true finding the 8pm close for supermarkets a bit of a culture shock and IKEA!
but then the high street shops (minus the trafford centre) close at 5.30 so we get them a bit longer here!
im struggling to find a job here, my previous experience was in customer service for ba but i got a tefl before i came out and was hoping to find something teaching english any ideas?
are u from Hamburg? what sort of things do u reccomened to do here?
Katie

Shops in Manchester close at 5:30?!?!?!? I thought Germany was backward.

Im from England, but lived in Hamburg for a year.

What do you mean, what sort of things to do?? Freetime-wise or work or what?? Plenty to do, depends what you are interested in!

As regards work. Coming to Germany to look for work right now is not the smartest thing to do. Germans these days are now becoming Guestworkers in England and elsewhere. Unemployment is around 5miliion, and worse in the north than in the south. The economy here is no longer booming - the wirtschaftswunder days are well and truly over.

But, things may be - slowly and modestly - picking up - a bit. But we are not in any case going to see any big boom or any big reductions in unemployment here. There are too many things going against Gremany`s favour these days. I believe there is a ZDF programme on this weekend about precisely this problem. How jobs are now being exported to China and elsewhere. sorry to sound so downbeat, but Im just telling it like it is.

I suppose jobs, secure jobs, are to be found in the "caring" professions here - especially anything connected with old people. Nursing homes, health care etc. They cant globalise those, and the number of old people is set to increase over the coming years.

Otherwise, maybe tefl esp. in eastern Germany, but its low paid and not the best way to make a living. Good luck.

Manchester ???

Why not pop acros the pennines to Leeds ? Now there is a real city !!!

Caroline (in a controversial mood !)

thanks for the advise, It was because of my fiancee i moved here actually he works for DESY guess i will enjoy loads of free time!

I come from Manchester. It´s a great city...lots of night life...great shopping...The only problem I can think of is that in comparison with where I know live the weather can be a bit grey. But hey its where I hope to go back to in a few years :excl:

Hamburg is actually one of my favourite German cities - I would like to live there myself if it didn´t get so bloody cold in the winter !!

As far as Germany is concerned I am a southerner !

Caroline

Hmmmm. HH v Manchestoh? Having spent the first 24 years of my life in Manchester and only the last 18 months in HH, I do feel I would have to spend a little longer here before I made that call.

However, I do feel very much at home here and feel that the 2 towns have a lot in common. They're both very down-to-earth places with real people. People work hard and play hard. I do think tho that HH has the edge on late night venues.

If only shops would open as long as the UK.

I spent the first 20-odd years living just South of Manchester
(stockbroker Bramhall otherwise known as the debtor's retreat).

Studied at Manchester University - then the University sent me out to Hamburg
(the term "DESY" has been mentioned before...). I live just inside
Schleswig-Holstein NW of Hamburg - for 25 or so years.

In early days used to go into HH to eat out quite a bit - now with a
family we havnt "been to Hamburg" for years. Last time
we all went in as to "Minatur Wunderland". Eating out in
general has got expensive here

After all these years I find I dont know Manchester any more.
Actually one gets that strange feeling of "not being at home"
when returning to the UK on rare visits.
But I dont "know HH" well either. Too busy doing other things.

That doesn't surprise me - have never lived in Manchester but have been there for visits quite often, and have the feeling even if it's only 6 weeks since the last visit, there's always huge new buildings.
Seems as if the city is growing like weeds

That feeling "not being at home" was without going into Manchester city centre.
It starts at the airport & carries on whilst walking around small town.
I can eat my way through the supermarkets though!

@ HEM As another ex-Bramhallian i know what you mean, whatever happened to the Vic ? Bloody wine bars everywhere now

@Bluedave - now I remember then even pulling down the Tudor Cinema
which was replaced by the first supermarket in the area "Fine Fare"
I think it was called. It was claimed that Ronnie Barker appeared on
the stage there once... I actually drove through Bramhall back
in April whilst on a visit helping my mother move out of house
into elderly persons flat (in Knutsford area). I still have ONE
friend left in Bramhall!

tsk, all these replies saying that manchester is nice - what a load of cobblers
if england had an arse it would be manchester
rains all the time, it's grey and miserable, most of the the locals are complete toe-rags and it's miles to the countryside.
That said, there's loads going on if you are a student and the uni has a good reputation. Good airport too.
But go to Hamburg for God's sake

Good airport? Well I was amazed to find that the old runway had the profile
of loch Ness's monster. Undulating to put it mildly. Last flight in (April) the
captain (a friend of mine) fairly plonked the plane down. Given the
profile of RWY he didnt have much chance...

I'd hope that the newer (southern) runway is a bit flatter

Nothing wrong with Ringway apart from trying to get through security with twats who never fly asking dumb questions like " oh, do i have to take my jacket off "

I am of the view that ALL airports should have 2 queues consisting of once a year muppets and frequent flyers / business travellers line ( don't mean the lizard loungers )

You must have lived in the city centre then. The suburbs of Manchester are green and leafy. Or are you just repeating stereotypical imagery of a rainy northern town and car-thieves?

Re: Manchester being the arse of England. Have you ever been to Birmingham?

Most major cities are miles from the countryside as far as I know.

good point about birmingham but they've done it up a bit - canal part is fine now, millenium square, selfridges, etc.
but wolverhampton, now that place really is the dreggs

Can agree about Wolverhampton. Spent a week there one night!

Only ever driven through Wolves and been to Molyneux a couple of times but my worst place personally that i had to stay was Mansfield, ultra depressing.

Oops, have i just dissed your 'hood br ?

This reminds me of the following: Many (very many) years ago there was a
letter to The Times (or similar):

Quote

Dear Sir,
Mancunians are interested to learn that Birmingham has become England's
second city. Up to now we understood this position was occupied by London.
Yours etc...

Unquote

Sorry but I think you cannot compare Manchester and Hamburg at all. Hamburg is far bigger than Manchester and due to its huge harbour (second biggest in Europe) it has always been a gate to the world and to other cultures and is therefore a very open minded city. Hamburg has the ighest rate of millionaires in Europe living in posh and very scenic areas like Blankenese, Elbchaussee Eppendorf... Hamburgs has a very pleasent architecture, although midieval buildings are hard to find, lovely and impressing architecture from 19th/20th century can be found a lot. The impressive townhall with the pittoresque Alsterarcades and premium boulevards like Jungfernstieg, Neuer Wall, Ballindamm etc gibve the city acosmopolitain and very pleasent prosperous touch. The twin lakes of the Alster make Hamburg something very special. There is nothing better than relaxing on the Alster or the river Elbe down at Süllberg Blankenese.

Shopping is fantastic in Hamburg. The shops are closed on sundays-ok, but they are open until 20.00 during the week . Posh shopping arcades in the ABC-area, lots of popular departmental stores (I mean real department stores with a huge variety not something like debenhams, kendals or grannys marks and spencer) on Mönckebergstraße (famous Karstadt and Galeria Kaufhof as well as Europes biggest technical store Saturn) and Hamburg premier department store "Alsterhaus" on world class boulevard Jungfernstieg. (ok , theres a selfridges now in Manchester...)

Manchester central square "Picadilly square" compared to Hamburgs central places like Rathausmarkt, Alster, and so on is a nightmare. The city centre is dominated by this artificial Arndale center, a massive overdose of awful Marks and Sparks, Top shop, Tesco Metro, boots, debenhams, and other chains which really lack a bit of charm... in contrast to a massive varierty of individual and charming stores in Hamburg.The square in front of main train station is not really nice and a lot of run down areas can be found withn the city centre. I used to live in Altrincham which was ok- but just as littered as the whole city . Even the private gardens of house owners were full of plastic bottles, cans and ubbish from the take aways. The transport system was a confusing mess though and don't trust every taxi driver!!!
The people in Manchester were friendly and helpul and it was easy to make friends-that made me feel like home.

Hamburg versus Manchester?? HAMBURG !!!