Manchester

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Think of Manchester and you’ll no doubt get a few results: Parkas, football, titties and loudmouths. Luckily, for the student who’s packed up their rucksack full of hope, there’s a lot more to the city than that. Manchester is a city that attracts zillions of students who are all seeking to upscale and swap home comforts for music, frolicks and risk of making lots of new friends.

Pubs
The pubs in Manchester cater for every type of suit, scrubber, mod and rocker in the city. Funnily, you will often find all of these dudes under one roof, without punch up or unpleasantries. The most common place to start your evening’s ale quota would be Deansgate. The pubs down there are hardly inspirational, with your usual Wetherspoons and Bar Med, but it’s cheap, central and accessible so it makes a good place to meet your new mates. If you fancy a bitter and a chat to the old salties, go to The Peveril Of The Peak- a weeny green pub that does a strong Landlord and a cracking Sheepdog. ‘Smile’ on a Saturday night at the Star and Garter behind Piccadilly station. This pub often operates on a one in one out policy, as it so popular with student fun seekers and the pub veterans. Think sergeant Pepper meets Marilyn Manson: the crowd is so diverse you are guaranteed to have a night that will open your eyes to a new fashion fad or turn you onto drinking cider and black. If you’re in the mood for a game of jenga and a cheap vodka Red Bull, head up to The Garrett, where board games and a big screen will keep you amused until the clubs open. For you students check out Oxford Road which is basically Studentsville! This is where the Union and the Academy are, as well as bars such as Varsity (cheap and good for the footy), Odder and Kro (more upmarket and trendy), the Font and the Big Hands (good pre- and post-Academy drinking).

Clubs
Manchester is definitely a city that caters for the student. The NUS card should be treated as a platinum Morgan Stanley, as it is the only way to get into most places of interest.  Jabez Clegg, Scubar and The Zoo are some extremely student friendly clubs while. The Warehouse Project is the most exciting club thing going on, with loads of bands and top DJs booked for dates underneath Piccadilly Station through the winter. Tramp is good trashy electro, Back2Front good techno, Friends and Family good hip hop and funk and Electric Chair is the night for soulful house - take your pick! Opposite the Aforementioned Garrett lies 5th Avenue. Smelly and skanky, the music code is indie and the beers are ridiculously cheap.  On a week night, you could easily get smashed off a tenner. An equivalent club is found in the form of 42nd Street, but the mood is less quirky and the occasionally misplaced goth will glower at you. Speaking of which, if you love your metal, or even if you don’t, the Saturday night all nighter at Jilly’s Rockworld will test your rawk to the maximum. Wear what you dare, get them poppers up your nose and snog a guy wil smelly dreads. Blurrrggghh. If you feel like dressing nice and having a knees up, go to The Tiger Lounge. Ok, it costs about 3 quid to get in, but you get dolly beads on entrance and wine is 6 quid a bottle. The music is refreshingly diverse, and nobody gives a shit if you want to sahshay like a can can girl across the floor. Velvet, grandiose and a hysterical night out, it should be on the checklist. The Gay Village also provides a cheeky night out, but be prepared to snog your mate to gain entrance to a few of the ‘stricter’ bars.

Venues
Venues are in abundance around Manchester. With the two unis providing unions with kick-ass line ups and the Carling Apollo a wee walk out of town, there is always something to do. Magazines like City Life and the classified section of Manchester Metro are Bibles for finding the right choice for a night out. Around the Oldham St area in the Northern Quarter lie Night And Day, Dry Bar and The Roadhouse which all have live bands and club nights almost every day of the week. If you fancy a quieter pint and a littler scale band, head for The Thirsty Scholar, which has a small set and The Attic upstairs where bigger crowds are drawn in. it’s also quite easy to get a slot here if you want to play yourself. Further down Oxford St is Big Hands, a small and busy venue that sells gorgeous raspberry beer and gives you opportunity to chat up a few boho’s!

 
 
Walkabout- unless you’re a wanker
Deansgate Locks- Unless you have daddy’s credit card
North- unless you enjoy crack and 400 bpm music
Anything with ‘sauna’ or ‘private’ on the door if you’re taking your parents for a drink.
 
 

Are everywhere! For cult and retro collections, go to Affleck’s Palace and Rock Boutique on Oldham St. But the Piece de Resistance for all pikey students who need underwear and socks- PRIMARK! At the top of Market St and next to Piccadilly gardens, it’s a haven for other stuff such as jeans and cheap umbrellas for keeping off the Manchester rain.  The Arndale provides all the bog standard establishments, The Triangle is a mecca for label junkies and should be avoided unless you’re screwing a footballer. The same goes for ARK boutique, although the sales are pretty mean.

Well there’s the obvious stuff like The Smiths, The Stone Roses, New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays and Oasis that have helped to make Manchester arguably the music capital of the UK. Lets just forget about Simply ginge and M People ok? Manchester attracts a huge music student population, and so they keep popping out from all over the place. Bands are on the streets around town, playing the unions and dodgy pubs. You’ll be craving the peace and quiet of your Ma and Pa’s in no time unless you love noise and crazy nights out. For new bands look no further than Nine Black Alps, The Longcut, Keith, The Deadbeats, The Beep Seels, The Courteeners, The Answering Machine and The Ting Tings.