Moving To Derby

[smellykellys]

Moving to Derby with a 4 year old and a small baby and was looking for advice on the best places to live, husband would work from home but I would like to be able to get to the city centre for work by public transport as I don't drive.

Would like to know which are the most family friendly areas where we can meet new people and somewhere that has good primary schools to begin with and eventually good secondary schools.

Easy reach of parks, leisure centre's and other adult / children’s activities would be great to if possible.

Any help anyone can provide would be great as we are from London and know nothing about the area but to would like to try and build up some knowledge if possible before we visit Derby and begin looking for houses so we can concentrate on the most suitable areas for us.

What's your budget? Derby itself I dont rate at all, has had a big drug problem especially with Spice and Black Mamba and feels very run down, so steer clear of living near the centre. Mickleover, Littleover, Etwall, Belper, Duffield - any of those might suit.

I live in Derby and personally I think it's a nice place to live, it's not too big to be a nightmare to get around but it's a good enough size to have decent facilities. Some areas are worse than others, but that's the same anywhere.

At the moment there are only three council leisure centres open, Queens Street in the city centre, the Arena which is just outside the city centre on Pride Park (next to the football ground) and Springwood which is one of the suburbs, Oakwood. A new swimming complex is due to be built in the next few years although personally I wouldn't choose to live in the area it's in.

Oakwood is ok, reasonable range of housing, local shops and is about 20 mins into town on the bus, there's only one primary school though and the catchment is tiny so you'd be looking at schools in Chaddesden which is historically more of a social housing area. Spondon has some good primary schools and is mostly a nice area, it's a little further out but not by much. Mickleover, Littleover, Chellaston, Etwall, Duffield and Allestree are all nice areas and have intakes into good senior schools.

It depends on your budget really but there are some lovely places to live here

look at the thread i started "anyone in derby". were looking to move there fingers crossed. look up belper: thats where well be fingers crossed. fb pages for belper too.

Are still going to be having ties to London? If so then Breaston is close to m1 j25, regular buses to both derby and Nottingham (bus takes about 30 minutes to derby) , good schools, village feel, nice coffee shops, west Park leisure centre a couple of miles away (Erewash council - swimming/gym/racket sports)

We were thinking of Mickleover, Littleover, Chellaston and Allestree based on estate agent recomendations but not sure how much to trust what they say when they are trying to sell you something. We have around 400k or so and would like a 4 bedroom house going up to 5 bedrooms if we can afford it with a study to work from home and a good size garden for 2 children to play in.

Hardest thing will probably be meeting new people and making friends as we won't know anyone in the area.

We would probably travel to Watford / London / Cotswolds once a month to visit family also.

I think you're looking in the right places OP. Just be aware that Chelleston has both a nice bit and a not so nice bit. Will be pretty clear when you visit which is which!

Personally I prefer Littleover to the others on your list, it has its own small arcade of shops (including a good independent optician!) and a bit of it's own character. I can see why people buy in Mickleover though: bigger houses and wider streets. I think it's just down to personal preference. I don't know Allestree very well so can't comment there

As ladyspongecake says, look up her thread.
I moved from London up to Derby a few years ago and although I always found people friendly in London, once you got past the initial reserve, I found people to be really friendly and helpful up here, so don't worry about meeting people, as once you get into a few networks you'll be fine. Just learn to say "Aye up me duck" and you'll be well in 😀

Can you come up and look around? My recommendations are Allestree, Micklever Belper Littleover, Darley abbey too. Further out going east-wards towards Nottingham on the A52 look at the urban villages of spondon, borrowash, draycott, Breaston all these villages have a good community feel and shops and cafes etc Even look at long Eaton - all of these places have good bus routes to Derby. Look at ockbrook and Oakwood too

Allestree is a really nice area with Allestree Park and Darley Abbey Park nearby. There are some good upmarket pubs for nice meals out and you would only be 15 mins on the bus into the centre of Derby. The catchment high school is Woodlands which is well regarded. Can’t comment about the primary schools as don’t know anyone with kids that age in the area. Darley Abbey is my favourite area in Derby And isn’t far from Allestree so that might be worth a look too. Lots of gorgeous big houses and greenery round there - you would get something lovely for your budget.

Sorry I just read that you are coming up to look around