study in Manchester
The largest student population outside London, a genuine graduate job market, and the lower out-of-London visa requirement — the most common answer to 'London, but cheaper'.
Manchester is the default alternative to London, and it earns the position. It has one of the largest student populations in Europe concentrated along a single corridor south of the centre, which gives the city an unusually young character and a dense, cheap infrastructure of housing, food and nightlife built around students.
What it is famous for — music, football, and the industrial history that produced both — has translated into a real creative and digital economy. Media, broadcasting and technology employers have moved north in numbers, and the city has the strongest graduate market in England outside the capital.
Financially it is a straightforward win over London: the same lower visa requirement as everywhere outside the capital, and rents that are a fraction of it.
Two large universities and a specialist arts institution, all within walking distance of the same student corridor.
The University of Manchester
One of the largest single-site universities in the UK; engineering, materials, medicine, business and computer science.Manchester Metropolitan University
Applied and professional; nursing, education, business, design and engineering.University of Salford
Adjacent to MediaCity; media production, health sciences, robotics and the built environment.Manchester is far cheaper than London on every line — rent above all — while carrying the lower out-of-London visa requirement. For most students this is the single largest cost saving available in the UK without sacrificing job-market access.
Against the other cities we cover in the United Kingdom, Manchester is mid-range. That is our reading of this country’s own spread, not a published index.
The maintenance money you must prove for a course here is £1,171 per month, for up to 9 months.
The practical texture of the place — what a week actually looks like.
Climate
Mild and famously wet. Rarely very cold, rarely dry. A waterproof coat matters more than a warm one.
Getting around
Metrolink trams, buses and local rail. The student corridor along Oxford Road is walkable and heavily bussed — many students never need a car or a train.
Housing
Plentiful and cheap by UK standards, concentrated in Fallowfield, Withington and Rusholme. Shared houses are the norm from second year.
Working
20 hours a week in term time. Retail, hospitality, care and warehousing; a deep market for a city of this size.
Community
An established Nepali and wider South Asian population, with grocers, restaurants and places of worship well embedded — Rusholme's curry mile is a landmark.
Getting elsewhere
An international airport with direct long-haul routes, and fast rail to Leeds, Liverpool and London. Better connected than most non-capital cities.
Manchester is outside London for visa purposes, so the maintenance requirement is £1,171 per month, for up to 9 months rather than the London figure.
The same course in London would require £1,529 per month, for up to 9 months instead.
The Graduate visa — two years of unrestricted work after your degree, three after a PhD — is a national scheme and identical here. There is no post-study penalty for choosing Manchester over London, only a lower requirement to enter and a lower cost to stay.
Manchester is one of 5 cities we cover in the United Kingdom. Tap any pin to compare — the city you pick moves your total cost more than almost any other choice you make.