Advice on affordable, family-friendly and diverse areas to live in Nottingham

[Rosaline77]

Hello all,

This is my very first time positing on mums net well posting on any thread . I’m desperate and need some advice please .

I am black African female and looking to move to Nottingham . This will be a big move for me as I don’t have any family or friends but I just want to start afresh in life and I need to buy affordable house . I am currently in Essex but I want to sell my flat and move to a house .

I have two boys one 15 and one 19 . My older may not come as he has a job in Essex . I am just at a point in my life now were I need to factor my needs in . I would love a house with a garden etc .

I don’t want to be in any area which is racist , or rough . I would ideally prefer to be in an area were people are friendly , were there is a community feel ( I feel that is lacking in so many places so that might be hard ), were there are some blacks and different ethnic groups . I want my boys to feel comfortable and I want to too . I would also be looking at starting my child minding business so imperative I have the space .

i currently work as a Nursery Room Leader so will want jobs in that role until I set up my business .

Just wanted to get peoples opinions who live in Nottingham and recommendations of good areas and areas to completely avoid . My head is a bit all over the place . If there are other parts that you can recommend that will be good . I looked at Milton Keynes but not sure . Luton ? My head literally all over the place all I know is I need to sell and buy a house .

There is a large Black African community in MK and it's a family friendly place but it will be far more expensive than Nottingham, I would have thought.

Nottingham is a very diverse city. It's a long time since I lived there so my info on areas isn't up to date but I'd say avoid Bilborough and areas around there.

I grew up in Nottingham. What’s your budget? There are lots of nice areas there, and it’s great for teens as so much to do.

What is your budget?

I live in Nottingham and love it. As pp said so much depends on your budget, if it’s fairly healthy, I would suggest Wollaton, Bramcote or Beeston. To be fair this is the side of the city I’m familiar with. If your budget is quite tight, I would say Radford, Hyson Green, Sneinton . Nottingham in the main welcomes diversity and multicultural communities.

Yes, those are all nice places. Is Bramcote diverse? I went to the festival thing there a couple of weeks ago and the only person I saw who wasn’t white was one security guard. I particularly noticed the lack of diversity. Wollaton is diverse because of the hospital but that also makes it expensive.

Thank you so much for all your responses.

I did look at MK and yes you can get a lot more in Nottingham . My budget is maximum £200,000 .

I saw a property in Wollaton park for under that price . I would now look at the other areas mentioned and will avoid certain areas . Brancote doesn’t sound diverse though and I need diversity as well as friendliness .

Thank you .

There is a ton of racism in Wollaton. Stick to MK, definitely.

OP, I don't think you'll get much for 200k in MK.

You could try Sherwood or Sneinton . There is also Forest Fields and Basford. Those areas didn't have a great rep a while back but I think they have improved. Definitely a really diverse area of Nottingham.

Radford and Hyson Green although diverse are pretty rough areas. Basford I think is improving.

I’d personally be considering Beeston / around QMC if you can afford it as there’s a huge waiting list on the university’s nursery, plus the big hospital is there too, plenty of staff needing childcare!
best place is west Bridgford but it’s don’t think you’d get much for your budget. Ruddington is also nice, again may be a bit too pricey- good luck!

Beeston is near the university so it has a more liberal and international community than some other areas. I recommend it.

Another vote for Sherwood. Lots of families, lots of different cultures, and a very quick commute to the city!

This looks like a decent house in walking distance of the hospital and the university.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89744337#/floorplan?activePlan=1&id=media1&channel=RES_BUY

To add- definitely definitely not Bulwell.

DD1 works at the university and lives in West Bridgford. It’s lovely. Whenever I visit I think “I could live here”. Lots of lovely independent shops and restaurants. Great bus service.

Yes, we would all like to live there!

I did when I was in my early twenties before I had to spend all my money on children.

That's on an estate with quite a lot of deprivation and social issues. There are definitely much nicer places to live in Nottingham.

Ahh ok, I thought it was good for the price. The OP is going to need two bedrooms and a bit of space for her childminding so I was definitely focusing on that.

I like Sneinton. The houses have lovely bones and are huge. We find ourselves heading there a lot of weekends for bread making at the windmill, the market, and the city farm.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/172879541#/?channel=RES_BUY

Thank you so much to you all for all the information and for even looking at properties for me putting my child minding business into equation too you are all fab thank you . I was not expecting this and it’s helping me a great deal .

I did giggle when I read about west Bridgeport and not being able to afford it due to children and everyone else wanting to live there . I did look at west Bridgeport and did love what I saw but it is quite pricey . I could increase my budget but trying not to do that .

Some other forums speak so negatively about Nottingham I did get worried especially as I have boys but I also know nowhere is perfect . It’s a big decision moving that far away . I did look at MK again and Hertfordshire including Watford . I need to make a decision within 2 weeks but have to bear in mind that I will only be able to get a flat in those areas and so I’ll be limited with my child minding business. However I won’t be that far from family and friends . Ok so have narrowed the areas for Nottingham to

1. Beeston
2. Sherwood
3. Sneinton

Areas to avoid

1. Bulwell
2. Radford
3. Hyson Green
4. Wollaton ( it does look so lovely but I don’t want to be in an area which is perceived as racist ) The house was lovely for 189995 )

Thank you all .

I don’t think Wollaton is racist. Loads of people who work at the QMC hospital live there and so it’s diverse enough I would say. It’s definitely a nice area. My (black) dc went to sixth form college in Bilborough which is not a great area itself but made plenty of non white friendships who live in wollaton. I wouldn’t rule it out.

When was that? Wollaton is most definitely openly racist! If some Wollaton kids go to Bilborough college and are self preserving and polite in a diverse not great area, that means nothing about their real views and their families views.

It was last year. The youngest finished this time last year.

I can only speak from personal experience that I haven’t ever found Wollaton openly racist. I’ve worked in the area for a year (in a school), I’ve socialised there and my dc have friends there.

I do know the ‘real views and their families views’ of any person, wherever they live.

You have a different opinion than mine and that’s why we are sharing our knowledge here to help the OP.