'I told 40,000 people not to move to Manchester city centre'
manchestereveningnews.co.uk"If you are thinking of moving to Manchester city centre - this is your sign to not move," presenter and influencer Saskia Marriott tells her thousands of TikTok followers as she recounts her experience of hunting for a one-bed flat in the heart of the city.
Saskia, 26, has spent months searching for somewhere new to live after the rent in her current Salford flat increased by 50% in just two years.
She says she has a good budget, an above-average salary for someone of her age, no pets, no children, and no parking requirements. "I'm not a fussy client," she says in her TikTok video. "Yet I am so struggling." Property experts say Manchester's rental market is experiencing a 'unique' pressure, as delayed construction due to Covid, countrywide economic forces, and huge population growth in the city work together to create a 'feeding frenzy'.
It's an endorsement of Manchester's desirability as a place to live and work - but for some those on the ground, the situation has become 'ridiculous'. READ MORE: Coked-up dad screamed 'give me the f***ing money' and went on bizarre rampage while waiting for a large doner kebab Saskia, who has a TikTok following of 43,000, told the Manchester Evening News she started looking for a flat in early February, and had 25 viewings booked between then and the beginning of March.
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