Norwich or Sheffield? Help please!!

[tireddd]

I have lived in Norwich for a few years now and I've found myself with a new (fixed term) job up in the midlands. I'm currently deciding where to buy as it's cheaper than renting. I'm not sure yet how much I'll be able work to remotely but given the nature of my job, it will be a fair bit of the time. It is, however, a very long commute from where I am now and I'm therefore contemplating moving up and buying in Sheffield...

I just wondered if anyone had experience of living both cities and how they found it/moving up there from here? I feel so settled in Norwich so I'm reluctant to uproot myself. I've been to Sheffield a few times a few years back and again more recently, but it just felt so bleak and run-down, especially the city centre... Am very keen to hear other people's experiences of the city as a whole please and what you would do!!

Background info - no children/dependents, but I'm looking to settle and put down roots...

I’m from Yorkshire, exiled in Norfolk. Stay in Norwich

People don’t move to Sheffield for the city centre. They move for access to the Peak District.

Most of Sheffield is lovely. Green, independent vibe. Some stunning suburbs.

Dss went to Norwich from Sheffield. Ha hated the flatness and lack of access to the hilly countryside.

Sheffield one milloin per cent

I’ve lived in both cities. I’d move back to Norwich in a heartbeat but not Sheffield. There are some nicer areas but it was quite crimey and run down. Norwich is just lovely imo

@pomers why have you been exiled?!

I've lived in both. I much prefer hills, but Norwich would still win every time.

thanks @Longma - is it more expensive the further you go out for buying/renting?

And when I visited a few years back, I thought the city centre felt quite vibrant so it was a massive shock when I went recently and found it so sad and sorry looking. I know they are planning on redeveloping parts, but it caught me off guard!

@ShowOfHands is there any particular reason why?

And I also like a good hike and hilly walk, but I also love the unique coastal beauty of Norfolk!

Thanks @ArseInTheCoOpWindow - the Peaks was my rationale for Sheffield above all other northern cities! But as a non-driver, I would need to access the city centre a fair bit for the station (commuting etc) and shopping...

I used to work in Sheffield but didn't live there. Like many people moving to the area I lived on the edge of the Peak District but in Derbyshire. Unfortunately the commute in and out wasn't pleasant. It was quite a while back so I'm sure the traffic would be even worse now. I'd probably stick with Norwich.

Sheffield is a big city it VERY much depends on where you mean in Sheffield. If you can afford Millhouses and surrounding yes, if you're talking some other areas no. Geographically Isn't Norwich very isolated? If you don't need to get to places stay in Norwich, if you need to travel then Sheffield may be a better option but be very wary of whereabouts.

This sort of says it all

How long is your fixed term contract for? I wouldn't move for a fixed term job regardless of where it was.

Where is the job? You say midlands but Sheffield folk consider themselves northerners so is the job in Sheffield or is it actually in the midlands (Derby, Nottingham etc)?

The commute in this part of the country can be make or break. I've commuted from Rotherham to Derby before and it's not a great drive if there's an accident or traffic.

Where is your job? Sheffield isn't the midlands so the commute might be hell. Also Sheffield is hardly as cheap as it used to be. It's a great city with a lot going for it, the city centre is hit and miss but it's hard to see how you can go shopping there as so many have closed. I go to visit family having grown up there and we often stay in the city centre and have a great time but some parts are awful, some nice and it's a safe place. There are lots of nice places in Sheffield but it's a big city so not easy to get out of it to work each day.

Live in Dore or Totley.

Got a cute little station. Right on the edge of the city near the peaks. You can catch a train into Sheffield or out to Hathersage, Hope , Castleton etc in the peaks.

Expensive though. But all the nice bits are. It was the most popular city to move to in lockdown. This has pushed house prices up.

S10, S11 and S17 are the ones on the edge.

I lived in Norwich and Sheffield, much prefer Sheffield but everyone is different. Sheffield is a large city and has some very affluent areas and some very deprived areas. As others have said it's got the Peak District and is a very green city with some great spaces. I also think it's a very friendly down to earth place. I'd check out your commuting times, prices and how busy the trains are. Sheffield only has one main station (not like eg Manchester) so factor in getting to the station too and if you'll need buses to get you to and from. And as an aside, Sheffield is definitely in the north and folk will be a bit insulted if you call it the midlands!

Thanks @noctilucentcloud - the commute is definitely something I need to factor in and think carefully about. My job will be in the Midlands but not in a city I could see myself living in long-term every living. Commuting from Sheffield seemed like a decent compromise on paper when I was trying to narrow things down in terms of picking somewhere to potentially settle for the long-term. Plus I have visited it quite a bit a few years ago so had some sense of it unlike other Northern cities or other cities in the Midlands iyswim.

thanks so much @ArseInTheCoOpWindow and wow, Totley and Dore are pretty, but expensive - far more than I anticipated...

I've started doing some tentative searching online at houses and there seems to be a massive divide in prices for the 'nice' areas and the 'not the so nice' ones...

Yeah Sheffield is pretty split. In general the more expensive bits are in the west and less in the east - historically it was because of prevailing winds and which side got clean air versus dirtier air from the steel works.

The job is 3 years and I have no idea where my next role after that might take me which complicates things, but it is common in my sector... But I'm itching to put down roots after moving around quite a bit (mainly because of the housing/rental crisis). I'm in a position where buying is a better financial decision than renting hence thinking more long-term as wherever I buy potentially being somewhere I might have to rent out if I need to move for say my dream job in a few years. I'm also thinking about my long-term security as I don't to be renting forever...

It feels like trying to look into a crystal ball in terms of making the best decision for my future atm lol, but thanks everyone for the suggestions and advice so far - it's making me consider things I hadn't even thought of!!

Sheffield was lovely for me but I lived in Dore. A lot of Sheffield is an absolute dump, sorry! Simply not comparable to Norwich (currently live in NW Norfolk)

What's your budget? That would help, we could suggest some areas/

That's really interesting, I didn't know that! Someone told me the other day about the significant divide in life expectancy depending on which part of the city you live in and I found it really shocking

Where is the job? Some of the villages just outside Sheffield are very nice.
My grandparents used to live in Wadsley - not I think the most fashionable but certainly pleasant enough where they were and not far from open countryside.