Manchester’s alright. Like other cities, it has its share of true scumbags and grotty bits.
I quite like the Manc ‘attitude’. At least it’s a city with an identity. It’s often been somewhat cooler than many cities of comparable size and importance (Sheffield, Leeds, Les-tah, Newcastle). I suppose Liverpool and Bristol would run it close in terms of culture and sporadic music scenes.
It does have a noticeable city centre Spice problem, though. Piccadilly Gardens is notably worse in that regard than big city centre gateway areas in other cities I’ve been to in recent years (Liverpool, Birmingham, London). Not really a good look for the city, given how many visitors arrive at Piccadilly and walk down towards Market Street.
