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As a 46 year old Englishman, you would think that I would have visited Manchester at least a handful of times in my longish life, but, strangely, I have only ever managed to get there once, and that was about 25 years ago. I was, however, still flabbergasted at the difference in the city I had seen back in the 90s and the one that I was in now… it was barely recognisable as the same place.

These days Manchester is globally renowned due to its two incredibly successful football teams, City with their magnificent Etihad stadium and United with Old Trafford, or the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ as it’s known, both of which have won enough trophies in the last 30 years to satisfy any fan, but Manchester is far more than just the home of football. It is also a booming centre for business, the cultural heart of the North-West and a buzzing city that is going through a period of regeneration.

There is no denying Liverpool’s appeal as a destination for a fun weekend, but you wouldn’t want to live there, would you? Doesn’t it have terrible unemployment figures? Isn’t there a terrible amount of inner city decay?

 'The North' has long been characterised with a single four-letter adjective - 'grim'. It's a horrible little word that manages to offend just about anyone who lives anywhere north of Oxford.