So Just How Lucky is Manchester?

Everyone who lives in the city knows it already. And it’s also official thanks to the findings in three different surveys. Manchester really is a lucky place to live, and Mancunians are equally lucky to be able to live here

"Four Leaf Clover 068" (CC BY 2.0) by cygnus921

It’s a no-brainer really. Whether you’re a culture vulture who likes to hang out at places like the Royal Exchange or Home or a football fan whose heart lies at Old Trafford or the Etihad, you’re in clover. And if you want to spend your spare time exploring the city’s rich heritage then there’s everywhere from the Science and Industry Museum to the multi-award-winning People’s History Museum.

So let’s kick off with just how lucky Mancunians really are. Well, they may not be the UK’s absolute luckiest in terms of lottery winners - that honour falls to the residents of Cambridge - but in a survey carried out in 2018, Manchester ranked 9th luckiest city in the UK. And while you’re celebrating the good fortune of our own fine city, spare a thought for those poor folks of Exeter who came bottom of the 58- strong list. 

"Manchester" (CC BY 2.0) by enekobidegain

Turning to how exciting a city it is to live in, the listings magazine Time Out runs a City Life Index which placed our city in 7th place overall, well ahead of international rivals which included Berlin, Barcelona and even San Francisco. The judging was made on many criteria. Using information drawn from surveying over 15,000 people in 32 locations, it quizzed participants on food, drink, friendliness, affordability, happiness and liveability.

Among the surprising results the survey threw up was that Manchester’s the tea-loving capital of the world with fewer residents than anywhere else being able to imagine surviving 24 hours without enjoying a proper brew. The survey didn’t say, but maybe people also love their brews so they can consult the tea leaves to see just how lucky they’re going to be.

One rather less surprising finding was that Manchester also leads the way in terms of friendliness. 72% of people believed it’s easy to make friends and expand your social circle. In London, the figure was just 43%. Anyone who's endured a commute on the tube surrounded by blank, unsmiling faces will know exactly what lies behind the latter stat. 

The third and maybe the most authoritative of the surveys comes from The Economist magazine. Like Time Out, every year they publish their “Global Livability Survey”, which looks at all the cities in the world and ranks each one on, well, livability. It takes a number of aspects into account including stability, healthcare, culture, education and infrastructure. In 2018, Manchester topped the table of UK cities and came 7th overall in the world.

When it comes down to it, Manchester is a fortunate city indeed, even if it’s had to make some of its own luck along the way. But maybe we should leave the final word to one of our most famous sons, Ian Brown, who famously declared that it's "the city that has everything, except a beach".