Advice on moving to Sheffield

[abrilsp]

Hello, I live in London with my two young children. I am planning to leave London (as they say for good), talking with a friend from Sheffield she highly recommended it. I've been looking about properties and they are much cheaper to what I am used to. However, talking to another person, she said that there's a lots of gangs and unemployment rate is very hight. I've looked at statistics and not sure about that thought.
The thing is my friend from Sheffield she is very young and doesn't have children so her needs they are not the same as mine. I am looking for a quiet and safe area (already done some research about best/worst areas), but I think the city is quite large.
I've never been there, waiting for the weather to give us a break...
If I can have some honest opinions on what is living there specially thinking about two young children.
Many thanks in advance and sorry for the long post,
abrilsp

Don't do it !! I'm from Sheffield and all my family live there, in different areas ranging from very poor to very good.. I hate visiting and wouldn't live there again if you paid me.
There are plenty of places outside london much much nicer and cheaper to live in !!

Just to add I moved over 11 years ago and never looked back.

I am from Sheffield too and moved back here about 7 years ago from Kingston-upon-Thames (so London-ish). I have to say I love it. I was brought up in a nice area & have moved back to the next door postcode. I have 2 small children (5&2) with a baby on the way so have some experience in things to do with little ones- though I'm sure other people have a bigger range of experience than me. I'd recommend looking at the S10 & S11 postcodes (as they are the naice ones) but also pretty much all schools are good (depending on what you're looking for) and there are plenty of great (private) nurseries & fantastic playgroups (though I have to say that as I help run one! ) any specific questions you have? Think I may have rambled on enough...

I live in Sheffield and like it very much. It is a very very popular and safe city

It si very close to the Peak District which is one of the reasons it is so popular. Masses of walks and things do to within 20 mins from city centre.It has a low crime rate, and is generally really a violent city. It has a massive student population, so is quite diverse with lots happening. It has loads and loads of fantastic parks all over the city, and tons to do for children.

It is quite a polarised city. One side is quite wealthy (is meant to be the richest area outside London) and is Cleggs's constituency . It was the students who voted him and and now will vote him out. It is generally leafy, pleasant, very very low crime and excellent schools. It also has incredibly high house prices. The other side is less wealthy, with not quite as good schools. There are a few bits which sort of sit in between these 2 areas which are OK. John Betjamin once described the suburb of Broomhill as the most beautiful suburb in the UK (or something like that).

Don't know about unemploment rates, but it is an old industrial town, and the biggest employers are the council and the NHS, so these areas will be hit by any public sector cuts. It has one of the best maternity and cancer hospitals in the UK.

It is a big old traditional Northern City with large teaching hospitals and 2 universities.

My experience o it, is completely different to your friends and the other poster. I grew up here, left went to M/C and London, but missed countryside and safeness of Sheffield.
Places to visit: Botanical Gardens, Endclife Park and walk to Forge Dam, Greaves park and petting farm, Millennium Galleries, loads of places in Derbyshire, Bluebell Woods at Ecclesall.....tons of stuff

generally not a violent city of course..........

We moved to Sheffield from the South East at the beginning of last year; after some initial misgivings, I really like it here. There are lots of events and festivals (literary, comedy, music), plenty of green spaces and parks, good transport links.

I have a baby and a toddler and they attend a very good private nursery and there is plenty of choice for other activities and groups as well.

We live in S17 and we've found our neighbours to be really friendly: a cross between middle-aged couples who have lived here all their married lives (and have been very welcoming to us) and young families; we're right on the edge of the city, so can walk into the Peak District but can also drive into the city centre in 15-20 minutes. The city centre feels quite run down but there are regeneration plans (some have been in the pipeline for years, though...). Your location will obviously really affect your perception of the city but I really love our bit of Sheffield and feel part of a community.

A word of caution: before we moved up I looked at property websites for Sheffield and thought we could afford a big house; when we moved here, I realised that the big houses in our price range were in areas I either didn't want to live in or would be impractical (for work reasons). Property prices are actually higher in south west Sheffield than they are in our old part of the South East. We could still afford a lovely house, though; and there are quite a few "do-uppers" around, although they are usually snapped up very quickly.

Thank you so much for all the posts. You really make me think, for me it's a big step and a scary one. Honestly I do not think crime is higher than london!!! You give me few postcodes that are very useful.

Kingston is a lovely area, I was meant to move there, but definitely I am leaving London. My other part of equation is going to the south coast. But sheffield is on my list. It'll help when I go there and see for myself. thanks again

Hope you make the right decision for you & your family. If you do decide to come "up north" then do try & find us!

let's see at the moment a bit torn. i'll keep researching, thanks for all your advice

I am from sheffield and now live on the south coast, there is no comparison. Sheffield has lots of gangs and can be an intimidating place to live, although if you pick the right side of town you wont have as much a problem with the gangs etc. But the south coast is beautiful and i am so glad that i can bring my child up here rather than sheffield where crime is rife in comparison to the stress-free living of the south.

Good luck with youre move wherever you decide to go.

Lizzie x

There's no gangs where I live . Nor any anywhere near..........

I also live in one of lowest crime rate areas in the country .

thanks again for all the replies. the thing is that I might live in a council property (or no) if so, choosing the postcodes you mention it's going to be a difficult or impossible situation.
The friend who advice no to go to sheffield mentioned about gangs, so she might be right.
I don't know it's a difficult decision. All I want is to live in peace with my children. thanks a lot

Sheffield doesn't have any more of a gang problem than any other UK cut, and in fact when there were the riots last year it was the largest town/city without any.

Sheffield like any city has rough areas but in general it is a low crime city and is very nice place to live.

Sheffield is a wonderful place to live. I moved south a little to derbyshire because of work 2yrs ago and would be back there like a shot if I could. S10,11 and 17 are best places to look. The people who are posting about gangs are describing a city I do not recognise at all (I am aware there are some rough areas but no more so than any big city and certainly miles less than London)

Def no gangs where I am, nor where I teach.
I guess in some postcodes you might have issues, but no more than any other city, if as much at all.
As katz says, in the riots, Sheffield was the biggest city not to be affected at all.

No gangs near me either!
I live in Beauchief in S8... generally cheaper then S11, but has a lovely villagey feel to it, everyone very neighborly, and we have lovely walks through woodland right on our doorstep.
I agree totally with Sleepless and Hula... and we have great sports facilities, and ( I think) more green space in the city then anywhere else in UK?

Hope you make the right decision for you

Wow any advice on moving from the USA to Sheffield UK?

Hello Merlgirl.

What would you like to know in particular?

Also - you may prefer to start a new thread of your own. People often read the first post and because it is dated 2012 they may not read further.

Hi

Are you moving for work? One of the Universities?

Do you have children?

What sort of budget?

Moving for a change of live. I have a daughter 12 she ice skates need a good school for her and a excellent coach. Need to know if I should stay in the USA or move to UK. I will need a place to rent about £800.00 per. month. Need a good church in a good community, help!!!

Hey

Hey

There is an area in the s5 postcode called Ecclesfield. Houses and rent prices are relatively low and it is close to a good school, Ecclesfield school, and has a very nice protestant church in the area well. Also, everyone who lives there is really friendly and has a real village, community feel to the place.If you want a catholic church then you only need to take a 5-minute bus ride and there is a church there. Ecclesfield also has a lot of parks in the area. About the ice skating, there is a place called ice Sheffield where your daughter can ice skate but I'm unsure about the level of coaching but I think it's quite good as I have a friend who has lessons there. As someone who has grown up in Sheffield, I can tell you it is a great place to both live and grow up. You and your daughter will love it here as there is so much you can do for leisure. There are inner-city music festivals (Tramlines is great) and both the city centre and Meadowhall (a huge shopping mall) are only 1 bus ride away from Ecclesfield if you fancy a little bit of shopping or your daughter wants a place to hang out with her friends. I recently left Ecclesfield school and it was great. The teachers love what they do and the support available while there is superb.