Lonely Planet – of invaluable travellers’ guides fame – has a message board called the Thorn Tree. It’s populated by knowledgeable (or know-it-all) people who are happy to lend advice about where to go and what to do when you get there.

Last month, a user asked about Manchester. Snowflake_nz is moving from New Zealand next year and wanted to know more about the city. The response is worth reading, with strong opinions both for and against the city.

For example, see rogersanchez’s rant (reply number 3) about the city being a miserable sh*t hole that ranked number one in the worst places to live (not true) and Feebee33’s response (16):

“I have lived near Manchester for 32 years, went to Uni in Salford (lived next to Salford Precinct) and I have never been mugged/beaten/raped, so don’t let Roger put you off.”

General advice is to live in South Manchester (Didsbury, Chorlton, Withington) or the Northern Quarter, but definitely not Salford, Longsight or Gorton, to never drive and just ignore the rain – it isn’t going to stop.