Sheffield/Derbyshire living recommendations!!

[ally56]

Hi everyone,
Myself, fiancé and 13 month old are due to move to Derbyshire/Sheffield at the end of the summer. We currently live down south in Hampshire, and we wanted some opinions on where to live. We love the peaks, but also loved Matlock but then saw a thread that said it has a big drug problem?
We don’t know anyone who lives there so have no one to ask. Ideally we would like somewhere more countrysidey, little villages etc. We aren’t city people, and want our son to grow up in the countryside. Does anyone have any recommendations? Is Matlock a nice place to live?
TIA x

What’s your budget? What size house are you looking for?

Dronfield or Dore are nice on the Sheffield/Derbyshire border and close to the peaks.
If you want more countryside further into the peaks there is Hathersage or Bakewell which are both lovely.
Don't know much about living in Matlock but it's very touristy.

Belper (north of Derby and south of Matlock) is lovely and it has a train station.

Matlock is a nice little town with a sweet high street of individual shops and a big Sainsbury’s; it’s also where the county council is based so there are job ops there.

Wouldn't be my choice (tho I’m not aware of a particular drug problem) as it is very touristy and houses are expensive for what you get imho.

Do you want Sheffield end of the county in the Peaks? What is your budget?

If you want a village there are some in the Peaks but they can be very isolated (often cut off by snow) and a long drive to amenities.

Buxton is a very pretty town with an opera house and some of Derby uni based there. It’s very cold tho - highest town in England - so you’ll need your big coat.

Other villages that might work would be Yy Dronfield, north of chesterfield, or smaller places like Tansley or Crich or Wordsworth. Not sure how often houses come up tho. And it really depends how much ££ you have.

Check out Low/ High Bradfield, Dore, Matlock Bath, Hope Valley, Holmfirth, Hathersage, Eyam, Derwent Valley

You could pick somewhere like Walton in Chesterfield. It's the posh bit of Chesterfield but still very close to town by car, whilst also being a 15 minute drive into Matlock. Obviously other Peak District towns are easy to access from there e.g. Bakewell. Chesterfield also has great train links (or motorway access) to Sheffield, Nottingham, and Derby, if that's a consideration for the future. Chesterfield itself isn't super scenic, but it's very central to the Peak District. Chesterfield will also be cheaper to buy than all the little villages. You can get a nice 3 bed for under £250k easily.

Other nice places: Hope, Bakewell, Baslow, Hathersage, Dronfield, Ashover. Matlock is lovely!

Obviously when I wrote Wordsworth I meant Wirksworth haha. Nice little town with a popular secondary school and lots of cute shops.Property is £££ there tho.

@ally56 if you could give us an idea of budget that would help. I agree that the nicer bits of Chesterfield might be the shout if your budget is lower as Ch is handy for the Peaks and pretty well served (swimming pool and sports centre, good schools, not bad shops-wise) plus v quick to Sheffield on the train if that's where you need to get to. It's not a village tho!

Fulwood.

Cute village on the edge of Sheffield. Very rural and amazing countryside. Regular bus.

Or Lodge Moor, faces into miles of open countryside.

Both have access to great schools.

Thank you everyone! Our renting budget is £1400 2 or 3 bed, and then buying is £400,000 either 3 or 4 bed. We came to look around a few weeks ago but we were only there for 2 days, so didn’t get a chance to have a good look everywhere! Our other concern is things to do for kids, play centers, swimming lessons etc!

I'm a bit confused as you asked for recommendations for a small village/countryside but also play centres and swimming lessons! I think if you want both you've got to be on the outskirts of a larger town.

Well £400k will buy you somewhere nice in Matlock or Belper for sure. Probably not a 4-bed in some of the cuter villages mentioned tho.

But if you want swimming lessons and play centres then I would suggest a town rather than a village as they don’t have those sorts of amenities.

Where do you need to get to for work? If it is Sheffield then I would look in the Chesterfield/Dronfield area (or Sheffield itself of course) rather than Belper/Ashbourne.

Dronfield is cute. And cheaper than Sheffield or Derbyshire villages.

400k won’t get you much in the nicer places. Housing in pretty villages/rural parts of Sheffield isn’t cheap. It was the most popular place to move to in lockdown because of its proximity to tbe countryside. And prices rise accordingly and they were pretty high before this. Property tends to go on websites below the asking prices in Sheffield area. They tend to ( but not always) go higher. You often get bidding wars

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/S10.html Lodge Moor is next to country.

Parts of S11 are very rural. But not cheap

But that’s what 400k will get. Play centres etc in town and good schools
Mighr get more in Dronfield
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Dronfield.html

@Serendipity88no need to be confused. We drive, and currently drive 40+ minutes to get to things like swim lessons and play centres, just wanted to check there were some in the surrounding area as we’ve never lived there/known anyone who lives there. Hope this helps :)

@clarythats really helpful, thank you. My partner rotates due to his job so will be working in Sheffield, chesterfield and Doncaster. But that’s just part of his job so knows he will have to travel upwards of an hour sometimes just as he has had to do where we currently live :)

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow thank you, that’s really really helpful!

l did put in filters of 400k but they’ve disappeared.

Hathersage might fit your brief for countryside remoteness - does have an outdoor pool and a pretty active village life. But you'd have to compromise on accommodation.

Dronfield is a town (IMO) but very close to countryside, some decent walks esoecially around Holmesfield area. Has a sports centre and lots of activities. Has a train station. Decent schools. A good community. Your budget might get what you want in some areas of Dronfield. Also look at Holmesfield, small but near Dronfield to access facilities.

Dore/Totley are good communities. Popular with families as decent schools, near woods/parks/moorland and the prices reflect this. Various sports available (no pool) and community activities. Would certainly be at the top of your budget.

Fulwood/Lodge Moor are also suburbs. Lots of houses, nearby decent parks and woodland and easy access to walks, decent schools and good communities.

I'd personally not live at Matlock. Matlock Bath is like a seaside town without the sea on weekends and Bank Hols. Full of bikers which is fun to watch but I couldn't cope with the traffic living there. But look near Crich/Wirksworth - very pretty and rural but might not have facilities you want.

Perhaps look near Greystones? A more built up suburbs. Busy area. Good schools. But near lovely parks and woodland. Decent community. Again not cheap.

Nether Green is near country ( walkable) gorgeous primary,

Again not cheap though. Backs onto Bingham Park/Firge Dam which are amazing places for kids. Lots of country.

Bents Green and Ringinglow are lovely too. But again not cheap.

S11/S10 ticks your boxes, but is pricey.
For working in Doncaster, it would be helpful to be near the M18 or M1, which really means the east of the city. Possibly consider Penistone (technically Barnsley) or Outibridge for motorway access.

I'd personally not live at Matlock. Matlock Bath is like a seaside town without the sea on weekends and Bank Hols. Full of bikers which is fun to watch but I couldn't cope with the traffic living there. But look near Crich/Wirksworth - very pretty and rural but might not have facilities you want. We spent at least an hour trying to get through Matlock Bath on Sunday. There were crowds of bikers (they weren't being being anti-social or anything just a lot of them), camper vans parked on the pavement across double yellow lines for a canoeing event and road works thrown into the mix. It's lovely in itself but on a sunny spring or summer day - avoid!

There is a drug problem in Matlock and Buxton and in many of the picturesque Peak villages particularly those with a train connection to Manchester. Probably not visible to the naked eye and not restricted to less affluent residents but I know someone working with young people with drug problems. Something to consider if you have children.

If you could go to 500k you’d get more on the edge of Sheffield.

I live in S10, 2 mins walk from country. Local secondary got outstanding in every area in November. I live in a 4 bed semi. It’s worth about £550.

This is all really helpful, thank you so much everyone! I’ve not heard of some of the places mentioned so it’s been incredibly useful! Thank you all! :) x

Drug problem 😂. No more than anywhere else in the country.
I wood recommend Chesterfield and any surrounding villages-notably Holymoorside, Old Brampton, Cutthorpe, Walton, Wingerworth might be worth a look.
or if you want more rural, Eyam, Hathersage, Hope, Ashover.
I like Matlock. It’s lovely but as pp have said very busy in the summer. For this reason also swerve Bakewell and Ashford in the water.

Culture wise Hathersage is more city/country, nice swimming pool, riding etc, walks but stone’s throw from Sheffield, nice restaurants, lots of day trippers.
More into Matlock is more deepest country mentality, Matlock bath has the motorbikes, is stunning but has a definite culture of its own. I lived near Matlock as dh worked there and the scenery is incredible but with young kids I found it hard. We moved back to the city.

If price is an issue, bear in mind that house prices drop as soon as you leave the Peak District national park. There are some lovely areas just outside the border. I live 2 miles outside the actual park and house prices are much lower.