Making friends in Manchester is easy

Manchester is known for many things: two premiership football clubs, a vibrant nightlife including the legendary Haçienda, the city where programmes including world's oldest and most watched television soap opera Coronation Street is made and bands like Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Oasis and The Smiths originated. But a new piece of research has revealed Manchester to be the friendliest city in the UK and the best place to make new friends.

The study was conducted by CitySocialising, a social networking and events company which aims to kick start the social lives of young, busy professionals. The research involved 15,000 people in cities across the UK.

The research revealed:

• Manchester was voted the friendliest city in the UK followed by Glasgow and Leeds. London came last.
• It was voted that making friends in Manchester was 2nd easiest out of the UK’s major cities, Brighton was 1st and Glasgow was 3rd. London was last.
• Manchester is the 2nd flirtiest city in the UK with 47% of people questioned admitting to flirting with a friend’s partner. Brighton was the flirtiest city with 64% and Leeds was the least with 11%.
• People in Manchester had more friends than anyone else. On average 30% of those questioned had 10 or more friends.
• 52% of those questioned found people in Manchester very friendly.
• 57% of those questioned said the best way to meet people in Manchester was at work or at university and the worst place was the gym.
• In terms of best places to meet new friends, 67% of people questioned said Manchester’s bars and clubs.
• Specifically, Manchester’s Deansgate Lock bars, The Printworks and Sankeys were considered the best place to meet new friends.

Sanchita Saha, founder of CitySocialising and queen of the UK’s social scene said:

“Manchester is clearly full of people who value spending time with friends. It’s vibrant scene provides ample places to socialise with friends but it seems that the city’s young professionals are seeking an easier way to meet new friends in the city. This is precisely why CitySocialising launched a service in the area, to help connect like minded Manchester professionals in the city who are seeking to make the most of Manchester’s great bars and clubs with new friends.”

To find out more for yourself, log on to Citysocialising.com.