Being a postgraduate student in a new city is exciting, but it can also be a lonely one. At least when I returned to Manchester to study it was for me. I had no interest in the student LGBT+ activities I’d enjoyed in my undergraduate days, and lived alone rather than in halls and so enjoyed none of the immediate community with which new undergrads are embraced. While the University of Manchester is full of queer people, we’re thinly spread, and for those of us expecting to find community here, that separation from those with similar experiences to us can be tough. Don’t get me wrong, straight people are great, but for queer people it can be hard to feel at home until you ‘find your tribe’. So where did I find mine?
Manchester is one of the world’s great sporting cities, so I thought, “why not try to meet new people and get fit at the same time?” Like many other queer people, school sports had long put me off organised exercise, but I was surprised how easily I found welcome and friendship in Manchester’s inclusive sports groups. Sport may not sound like the most fruitful avenue for making friends, but mixing with people from all walks of life and working together with them as part of a team worked for me, boosting my fitness and energy levels and moderating the stress of study. I joined the Manchester Frontrunners, but the city has active LGBT+ sports clubs across a range of activities. Pride Sports has a comprehensive list of LGBT+ friendly clubs including hiking and climbing, football, both rugby codes, and water polo team.
Of course, Manchester isn’t only celebrated for sport, but while the city is rightly famed for its nightlife, not all of us enjoy bars and clubs, and though I do, they weren’t conducive to an intensive period of study. But Manchester’s culture isn’t just “going out”, but also its artistic and community life, and the queer community takes an active part in that scene. From choirs like the Lesbian and Gay Chorus, Proud Chorus or Sunday Boys (an inclusive choir for all low voiced singers), to events like queer quizzes, book clubs, arts festivals like Queer Contact and even LGBT+ affirming religious communities, Manchester provides safe spaces for queer people to find community within whatever flavour of culture you prefer.
A final option I explored was meeting those who shared my personal values through. Manchester has a number of charities with deep roots in its LGBT community, and they’re always looking for volunteers. Manchester Pride in August is inconveniently timed for Master’s students, but one of my top Pride experiences was soberly trawling the bars of Canal Street to raise funds for charity. I got to give back to the community, meet interesting people and still get up at 9am the next day to work on my dissertation. The LGBT Foundation, Albert Kennedy Trust and George House Trust all offer fundraising and voluntary opportunities for many different skills and interests, and all could help you meet the people that will make your time in the city richer and more fulfilling.