Moving to Doncaster... help!

[Kayleyt]

Hi everyone. Firstly apologies if I’ve posted this in the wrong area.
I’m moving to Doncaster from Scotland and have no idea on areas. My budget is approx 130-150k for a 3 bed house. I have a 2 year old and starting to think about primary schools now so being near a good primary school is high on my list of priorities.
Any help at all appreciated, thanks! x

Are you working so need access to centre, A1, bus routes etc? Do you want to be in built up area or more countryside? There are lots of smaller villages around Donny that are lovely. Can you post any more about what you need?

Apologies yes I should have included more info.
I will be starting work when I move there so as yet don’t know where that will be but access to Doncaster would be ideal, and up to maybe 20mins drive. Also bit of a random requirement but I’m very much into fitness so we need to be up to 15mins drive from a commercial gym.
I’ve seen there is a lot to do in Doncaster for preschoolers so that’s brilliant!
My partner works away through the week so it would be ideal to be near motorway access but not a deal breaker.
Since originally writing my post I have discovered that a lot of Doncaster is in flood risk areas! I really wouldn’t like to rent/buy in an area that is at risk of flooding so that’s really important too.
Thank you so much for any help given at all!

Try Sprotbrough, Scawsby and Scawthorpe, they are North Doncaster and all close to the local Xercise4Less, then there are areas like Branton, Auckley, Hatfield, Rossington which don't have bad primaries however unsure about the gym!
Places to avoid - Stainforth, Hexthorpe, Carcroft, Woodlands (However some areas within Woodlands are okay as is Adwick-Le-street)
I have lived in Donny for just over 10 years and have also worked in many of the schools in/around Donny as a supply member of staff :)

Tickhill, Bawtry, Auckley, Bessacar are good spots but Im not sure what you would get for your budget.

Agree with Bunny - if I had to live in Doncaster I would only live in one of these areas, the rest is grim tbh

If I had to live in Doncaster it would be Sprotborough, Beatty, Bessacar and Tickhill only. The rest not a chance. But you will struggle in those areas for your budget I think.

The rest isn't that grim, I live in Wheatley and it's not bad at all and spent a lot of my time in Balby which has nice spots. What's "grim" from the outside doesn't mean it's that bad all the way through. Most of the time it's just a selection of streets that are the rough "hotspots", even Bawtry and Bessy have bad bits. The places everyone else has listed are indeed the nicest, "poshest" areas but it doesn't mean everywhere else should be ruled out just because people label it as something its not as a whole. As I listed above those are the main areas to avoid, I also forgot to add Edlington and Mexborough to that list.

I don't know Doncaster very well, but I live at Manvers in Rotherham which is about a 30 minute drive to doncaster town centre and has a decent road network. You woild get a new build 3 bed for your budget around here.

Primary schools are good to outstanding, and while the local comprehensive is just struggling a little at the minute due to pld head retiring I am sure it will improve soon. It had the best A level results in the borough and is still imo a good school.

The manvers estate is set on a manmade lake from the old quarry, backs onto the trans penine trail and a nature reserve and there is a little town centre just up the road. It's central, lots of lovely countryside a few miles away and is has good road and also rail links.

It's probably not as nice as sprotborough, but probably nicer than what you could afford in Doncaster itself.

Rotherham town centre and aome3bits of Rotherham are rough, but we moved here nearly 4 years ago and we love it. Kids doing well at school, lots of things going on and lots to do not too far away. Some nice parks within walking distance and some beautiful ones a 10 minute drive away.

Hey everyone. Thank you all so much for your messages, I appreciate every single one of them!
Feel a little bit worried now though to be honest. Tickhill/Bawtry/Sprotbrough are certainly out of our budget for a 3 bed and as a few of you have mentioned the rest isn’t particularly ideal. My friend mentioned Scawsby but I’ve seen it’s right next door to areas that people have said is a defo no-go, so unsure as to how suitable Scawsby is too.
When people are saying these areas are “bad” what are we talking? Like chavs etc or worse such as knife crime etc?
Thank you all once again, it’s almost 300 miles away from where I live now (though I am actually a West Yorkshire lads originally) or id just pop round to view it myself! Really appreciate all your help.

I would look at areas not too far from the new Great Yorkshire Way which gives fast motorway link, that includes villages by the airport (not a busy airport!) such as
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67877644.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56520723.html

Retford is popular, has a Doncaster postcode and is only a short train hop away
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61187507.html

I don’t know what it’s like where you live - you might think Doncaster is fine! I live in a small town nearby, went into the town centre a few weeks ago and felt really unsafe - not just a lot of homeless people, but a lot of people clearly drunk/on drugs.

(Doncaster town centre, that should say - the town centre where I live is actually quite nice)

There is a lot of anti social behaviour, people drink and drug affected anytime of the day. I think getting stabbed would be unlikely unless you upset the wrong people. But then even the rough parts will have some nicer bits. My Gran used to live in Warmsworth and i always thought it was a lovely bit of Donny but then people are saying now its gone downhill. There are plenty of places near Doncaster without having to live in Doncaster. You could commute from Worksop, Retford, Rotherham, Sheffield, Chesterfield.

Thank you all so much for your advice. I may have to look further afield then. To be honest I don’t mind a few chavs (probably will have to accept it with my small budget) but don’t want to be around a lot of drug use and antisocial behaviour.
I will have a look at some of the places further afield people have listed which are slightly further away. Though I used to work near Sheffield years ago and I know that is much the same... parts of it lovely and parts of it not so much! Thanks for all your help so far everyone!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66256348.html

I dont know how to do clicky links but I found a house in Sprotborough for your budget.

Thank you Bunny! I had seen that one the other day but looked on the map and saw it looks more Bentley than Sprotbrough but I could be wrong! It looks really close to the retail park that Xercise4Less is on so I had figured it probably wasn’t proper Sprotbrough if you get what I mean, but I could have got that totally wrong?!

@Kayleyt the property that @Bunnybigears suggested is definitely Sprotbrough, and quite a nice part too.

Oh well then that’s great news thanks! There might be hope yet then as id seen a couple of that little stretch there. Is Scawsby ok too? That’s not far from there.

Yes! And Saltersgate Primary (in Scawsby) has a good reputation too.

Perfect thank you! I’m going to focus my attention around Scawsby and Sprotbrough then. Thank you to everyone who left a comment, it has been so helpful!

I thought I’d do an update for any future readers and posters who might be interested to know what happened.
I ended up moving to Scawsby, on the boundary to Cusworth. It’s a lovely area and the Nursery my son goes to in Sprotborough is perfect! After living here for 3 weeks I do understand what people were talking about RE the town centre. It is very “rough” but that being said I’ve found loads of lovely areas on the outskirts... I just try and avoid town where possible. I’m currently renting and in the process of finding a property to purchase and hopefully my son will go to Saltersgate Primary as we are in the catchment for that. Thanks for your help everyone!

Hi all.. I'm after moving from Ireland to Doncaster and I'm so lost.. Trying to find best place to rent and what areas to avoid.. I feel so overwhelmed atm.. I was born in UK but moved to Ireland when I was 11.. 2 days iv been in the town trying to get sorted as in rent house get national insurance number find schools. And iv still nothink in place.. Help plz

Hi Kayleyt, Just thought if you could tell anything about experience as moving to Doncaster is still unsure for me. How do you find the place now with do many negative reviews.