Sheffield Knowledge Required

[Sportbilly]

Hello All, We're are a family of four living in leafy Staffordshire who are planning a move to Sheffield later this year.

Just wondered if any people from Sheffield can advise accordingly.

We've not enjoyed living rurally, and are hoping to find somewhere in Sheffield a bit more lively with more family stuff to do.

Our ideal requirements would be.

1. Somewhere on or close to the supertram network.
2. The area shouldn't be too quiet, and should have decent family amenities (shops, restaurants, gyms, cinema etc) within close proximity.
3. We'd be looking at a budget for a 3 (4 if affordable) bedroomed house of between 300k and 350k, and could push to nearly 400k of we had to.

Based on those criteria I'd thought about the area around Crystal Peaks on the south side of the city, or perhaps the Walkley or Hillsborough area in the NW.

Norfolk Park also looks transformed but I suspect this still has a bad/dodgy underbelly?

Any comments on the areas above, or any suggested area, would be welcomed.

Thanks, that was my worry about the area around Halfway/Owlthorpe.

Yes, don’t do norfolk park!

Meersbrook is a great area for families. Lovely park and lots of independent cafes, bars and restaurants around, good schools too. Its not on the tram network but there are frequent buses into town.

Definitely need to check the map again, I think I'm confused between Heeley and Norfolk Park.

Rivelin valley is just a bit away from Hillsborough and is lovely, Stannington too.
Crookes is OK.
Eccleshall is good.
Totley and Dore pricey but good.
I like the area around Graves Park but don't know it well.

Norfolk park is Granville road area, near Wybourn & Manor Top.

Heeley is chesterfield road, arbourthorne & gleadless valley side.

Beighton?

Graves Park itself is lovely and the houses around it look nice.

S7, 10 & 11 would be your best bet. Not near super tram but on convenient bus routes. Tbh I find public transport quite reliable.
You'll want to be near a good secondary so have a look at where still has places for y10 as lots are oversubscribed. That might help narrow down you options.

Definitely don't want an area that's too white, middle aged British. That sounds weird as I'm a white middle aged British person, but my wife is Polish and one thing we don't like about leafy Staffordshire is that it's absolutely white British and totally not cosmopolitan/diverse.

The tram network was built with EU funding back in the mid-90s which stipulated the areas it went through to stimulate growth and provide good transport connections. A lot has changed since then.

@Sportbilly If your son is severely autistic and you're possibly thinking about a special school for September, you need to speak to the local authority asap. Special school places are enormously limited and children are having to wait years before getting one.

Thanks. Bit of a scary thought.

You answered the question I was going to ask, why does the supertram only cover part of Sheffield.

I really like it though, great way to commute and so much better than the buses

Another 'No' to S20 then.
Do contact LEA asap if you need a special school place.

How about Middlewood. The tram goes out (just) to Middlewood. It's the end of the Hillsborough route and close to countryside in the other direction, there's definitely a mix of people, and some very nice property too.
Alternatively, how about Grenoside. Again, just the outside of Hillsborough but next valley north.

Sheffield is an excellent place to bring up kids and has some great university opportunities for the future if this may be useful.

I know Hillsborough well and it has a lot going for it. Improving high street with some good independent cafes and shops at one end. Seems quite split in two now with the other end being your Home Bargains, B&M type shops. It all felt a bit run down for a long while, but it's definitely been getting better over the last few years. Excellent park, leisure centre, gyms, loads of activities going on....great place for raising kids in my opinion for the sheer ease of access to all kinds of activities.

Tram is excellent into town, train station, meadowhall. Bus services are constantly being cut in Sheffield, the tram seems a safer option to base house buying on. Like someone mentioned upthread, look further up towards Middlewood too, some lovely streets around there. Your budget will get a great house in Hillsborough, it's a good value place to buy, although getting pricier.

Easy access to the countryside. Rivelin at the end of the tram line. Five minutes drive gets you out to the Peak district.

Cons - it's not a particularly diverse area, there are definitely more diverse and interesting areas in Sheffield, but it is probably much more so than Staffordshire. And there are definitely 'nicer' areas elsewhere in Sheffield for sure. But it's a decent area, with a lot going for it.

I would look at Hillsborough/ Middlewood / Walkley - I think it's definitely on the up around there, close to tram. I know lots of families around there. Of course, Ecclesall / S10 / S11 probably tick your boxes (apart from tram, but good transport) but your budget might struggle, housing market can be crazy in those areas.

The area around Graves Park is fab, a relative of mine had a house in Beauchief and that was lovely.

If you want the benefits of urban living, as opposed to being able to commute into Sheffield, I probably wouldn’t go for Crystal Peaks/Sothall. It’s a perfectly nice area but it’s the sort of area where you tend to drive to kids’ activities and retail parks and so on. Somewhere like Beauchief would be within walking distance of nice cafes and parks - Graves Park is superb.

The bus network in Sheffield has excellent coverage. And buses reach nicer areas than the trams - I think the disruption of installing a tram network meant it’s not as extensive as it could have been, and others are right that many of the areas connected by the trams are rougher. The west and south west suburbs are the most “desirable” but there are some lovely parts elsewhere. It’s an amazing, friendly and very leafy city.

Hillsborough and Walkley are lovely. Students and also general population so a good mix of people. Meersbrook and Heeley also nice along similar lines. Ecclesall Road over priced but if you can afford it a nice place to live.

What about Chapeltown? It has a railway station.

Hello. I live in Hillsborough and have some so for 6 years. We love living in this area. It’s changed a lot in this time. We really love all the local amenities. It’s becoming more diverse but it’s not as cool or trendy like nethereedge or s11. When we bought in 2019 we looked all over Sheffield but we got so much more space for our money and at the time we didn’t drive so public transport was important for us. There’s been lots of new restaurants/cafes popping up as well as Rivelin co which does lots of local activities. We have a now nearly 3yo and I’m due again soon. There’s lots of local playgroups and the park, playground and library are great! The park can be a bit dodgy at night ie the lights don’t turn on some bits of it and I would personally avoid those bits. we’ve never had any trouble personally though.

If you have any questions let me know.

And then of course there is Tramlines in Hillborough 🎸

Another shout out for Middlewood. Wadsley Park Village is in your budget, which has a nice community. Hillsborough Park and shops are walkable. Cafes are getting more fancy.

I would try the town end of Ecclesall Road / Sharrow / Broomhall. They tick all your boxes and it's not far to walk into town and get the tram.