[Joydivison82]

Just had a little argument on facebook.

It seems than some of my friends think GM dosn't exist and that Manchester is in Lancashire. I was born in 1982 and I don't think of myself as Lancasterian in anyway. I am a Manc that lives in the old Lancashire/Cheshire border. To me Sale and Altrincham is 100% a suburb of Manchester, even Alderly Edge feels it is even though I know in Cheshire proper.

I personaly would like to see the entire Greater Manchester area (excluding Wigan) become a city in its own right. It would stop the sillyness of people quoting Manchester of having a population of just under 400,000.

I would still want to retain the LAs so Trafford would still be Trafford it would just be a part of the wider city.

Essentialy I would change the marketing of Greater Manchester rather than the politics.

What do others think?

I get quite annoyed when people talk about them living in Cheshire when it turns out they live in Heaton Moor just on the border of Levenshulme or Burnage .

 

[DiscoSteve]

River Mersey / Tame is the 'proper' border between Cheshire and Lancashire/Manchester - so therefore I live in Cheshire

 

[Joydivison82]

But its crap, its like saying you live in Surrey if you live in Fulham.

Sale was in the old border but its no more Cheshire than Openshaw is.

 

[WatcherZero]

There are some that believe that when the county council was abolished the county was which isnt true. But yeah from time to time you do come across those that think their in Lancashire or Cheshire, for some its not a physical location however its a cultural one, I live in GM but im a Lancastrian.

 

[kids]

Greater Manchester isn't manchester in any universe. go tell a wiganer that they're a mancunian and find out.

london is different to manchester/greater manchester isn't in any way comparable to greater london.

 

[Joydivison82]

I suppose if you live in Oldham or Bolton you might have a Lancashire connection. I live in Chorlton just by the Sale border but I have no connection with Cheshire at all. I am pure Greater Manchester. I am just as manc as a Salfordian as far as I am concerned. Heck a lot of Salfordians live closer to the city centre an I do!

 

[Joydivison82]

Greater Manchester isn't manchester in any universe. go tell a wiganer that they're a mancunian and find out.

london is different to manchester/greater manchester isn't in any way comparable to greater london.

I can understand a Wiganer not feeling like a Manc, its far too far and shouldn't be in Greater Manchester. But Stockport and Oldham there is no cut off point it just continues.

Of course you can be both a manc and a Stockportian. You can have your own identity within GM. I am a Chortonite for example.

But a Stretfordian saying they are not Manc if they were born there is just silly. Can any of us really argue that Morrissey isn't a manc for example?

 

[kids]

yes but there's a difference between saying that stretford might be a part of manchester and saying

I personaly would like to see the entire Greater Manchester area (excluding Wigan) become a city in its own right. It would stop the sillyness of people quoting Manchester of having a population of just under 400,000.

my own personal opinion is that manchester really only extends as far as its ancient parish does.

i mean who gives a shit. once you leave the city centre the areas are pretty anonymous anyway. saying manchester has 400,000, 200,000 or 2,000,000 doesn't make the city centre any less significant a place.

 

[VoldemortBlack]

JD, I see what you're saying, but Manchester isn't comparable with London. In London, people WANT to be seen living there, they just like the sound of saying "I live in London". It has a larger 'pull' than Manchester.

It annoys me sometimes as well, but (historically) Manchester's a part of Lancashire. Trying to get RID of that heritage would be like trying to wipe the Town Hall or John Ryland's Library off the face of the Earth.

 

[oakman]

I live in Sale , and literally a stones throw from the " historic border " as it says on the sign on the bridge over the Mersey . I have always been a proud Manc who lives in Cheshire , but kind of always thought Manchester was in Lancs , all though it is really its own area now as Manchester City . I think Alderley Edge is too far out to be Greater Manchester though , just a posh town in Cheshire ! I bet no one who lives there considers themselves a Mancunian or as even living in Greater Manchester ! It always amuses me that people who live miles and miles from London , and probably never go into the city from one year to another still call themselves a Londoner ! Anyone know how far out the city the borders of London are ?

 

[VoldemortBlack]

I live in Sale , and literally a stones throw from the " historic border " as it says on the sign on the bridge over the Mersey . I have always been a proud Manc who lives in Cheshire , but kind of always thought Manchester was in Lancs , all though it is really its own area now as Manchester City . I think Alderley Edge is too far out to be Greater Manchester though , just a posh town in Cheshire ! I bet no one who lives there considers themselves a Mancunian or as even living in Greater Manchester ! It always amuses me that people who live miles and miles from London , and probably never go into the city from one year to another still call themselves a Londoner ! Anyone know how far out the city the borders of London are ?

Well I've always considered the M25 to be the border, which is about 15-20 miles out in all directions. But people as far out as Southend-on-Sea and Reading consider themselves to be Londoners!

 

[nick hall]

O.k. I live in Saddleworth. Will someone please tell me where the hell I am.

 

[hussla]

I agree with Voldermort,I grew up being told im from Lancashire & still feel that way.We are historically lancashire & shouldnt forget our heritage (remember Lancashire cricket club is in Old trafford).I probably shouldnt as i grew up in wilmslow which is Cheshire but my parents are from near the city centre hence the whole lancashire thing!!.

 

[Joydivison82]

I think an age issue is apparant here. I know several younger people who are from proper Bolton and consider them selves very much Mancunian where as many other people in Bolton think of the town of as pure Lancashire.

The truth is some where in the middle. I don't want to deny peoples heratage but there is currently so much confusion of what exactly Manchester is.

I personaly think of Manchester as this. Notice the exclusion of Wigan but the inclusion of parts of Macclesfield.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Manchester_Urban_Area

 

[kids]

99.9% of Boltoners will think that they live in Bolton. and not because 99.9% of Boltoners are old but because Bolton is just a different place to Manchester. You cross countryside, rivers, motorways, even another city to get from Bolton to Manchester. it's just insanity to say it is Manchester. They even speak differently for christ sake.

Influenced by Manchester. Yes. Part of its hinterland? Definately. Full of mancs? absolutely not.

 

[Marksy_1]

I think it can be a generation thing also - i live on the Eccles/Swinton border, about 4 1/2 miles from the city centre and class myself Salfordian born and bred and i also think of myself as Mancunian, becasue at the end of the day Manchester and Salford are to interlinked to think anything else...but there are local people where i live who say they are plainly Salfordian and won't accept that they have anything to do with Manchester even though they spend most of there time there!!

Some other older people say they live in Swinton Lancashire!?...and have nothing to do with Salford or Manchester at all! talk about living in the past!!

So in the end of the day i dont think it matters - its how you feel and you can't change what others think anyway.

 

[Joydivison82]

But they are placed by GMP, protected by GM fire, served by GMPTE etc.... Why can't Bolton be a seperate town in a wider town? I mean Chorlton and Withington were once seperated by countryside from Manchester and until 1904 technically were not even in Manchester.

I am not saying Boltoners are mancs, but there is no reason why Bolton should not be considered apart of Manchester.

What about the case of Stockport? Its clearly its own town but also very clearly apart of Manchester. Although of the Stockport lot consider them selves as apart of the Cheshire set even if they are on the wrong side of the Tame!

 

[Joydivison82]

I think it can be a generation thing also - i live on the Eccles/Swinton border, about 4 1/2 miles from the city centre and class myself Salfordian born and bred and i also think of myself as Mancunian, becasue at the end of the day Manchester and Salford are to interlinked to think anything else...but there are local people where i live who say they are plainly Salfordian and won't accept that they have anything to do with Manchester even though they spend most of there time there!!

Some other older people say they live in Swinton Lancashire!?...and have nothing to do with Salford or Manchester at all! talk about living in the past!!

So in the end of the day i dont think it matters - its how you feel and you can't change what others think anyway.

Its that mentalility that annoys me, I completly respect a Bolton person might feel a strong bond with Lancashire, I don't want to change that however I think they also need to realise the benefits of being connected to Manchester.

I have a friend that lives in Rossendale and he considers himself to be very much apart of Manchester. If people asks where he lives he will say Manchester, even though he speaks with a broad Lancashire accents and dosn't like the Smiths :lol: In his case I think its cool factor though. More lcoally he will say he is from Rossendale.

Salford is a strange one due to its long history and the fact it shares some of Manchester city centre.

 

[Marksy_1]

Salford is a strange one due to its long history and the fact it shares some of Manchester city centre

Yes it is a strange one and it annoys me how someone living in Adelphi or Greengate, can say they have nothing to do with Manchester and they live 1/2 mile from Deansgate! I think it goes back to the late 1800's when Salford and Manchester gangs used to hate each other and knock the crap out of each other with belt buckles!

Think with the city centre spilling over into Salford in recent years peoples views are changing...

 

[VoldemortBlack]

I think it's a mix between education, generations and transport links.

If people aren't educated to know where they live, what their area's history is, then they'll be confused by where exactly they live in the first place.

Older generations do seem to be the ones who are 'proud to be a lancashire lad' etc, whether that has anything to do with the war and the Lancashire Fusiliers I don't know. Younger generations just like to thrive off whatever town or city is closest.

Transport to the metropolitan 'hub' is essential if the city in question (Manchester) wants its' surrounding towns to consider themselves mancunian. Sadly, at the moment, transport in Manchester is rather dismal.

I'm anticipating the arrive of Metrolink in Rochdale, because that town is indeed a very distant borough of Manchester, and once it finds out that the Manchester Metrolink has arrived there, the residents will soon realise what great city they're part of