Relocate to Derby/ Derbyshire- Advice?

[Forfamily]

Hi Everyone!

I hope you and yours are safe and well.

We are a family of 4, we have two DDs 4 and 6.5 years, and are currently looking into moving out of the Bromley area to the Midlands, possibly to Derbyshire.

We are looking for a change in lifestyle but also don't want to be out in the "sticks" as one of my fears are moving out of London not knowing anyone and becoming very lonely and sad. I am a very social person and have great friendship grps here as well as my girls.

We are looking for a cosmopolitan/diverse area with good transport links to visit, good schools, good sense of community/friendly, things for us to do as family on the weekends, good parks and not too far from shops/supermarkets.

Could anyone recommend where to look into/where to steer away from?

It'll be great to get any help, advice/ suggestions.

Much appreciated in advance!

Come to Nottingham. I can find nothing wrong with it. I live somewhere called Wilford which is a kind of poor woman's West Bridgford. It has everything on your list, it's a few minutes to school, supermarkets or the city centre or out to the riverside/countryside in the other direction. It's easy to get over to Derbyshire on a weekend, DH was at Wirksworth yesterday.

We used to live in South London and after a spell of country village living it's great to be back in a city but of a much more liveable size. It's proper diverse too.

Derbyshire and 'cosmopolitan' don't really go together. Try Nottingham?

There are some lovely villages in Derbyshire, some with quite an artsy / bohemian element, with art festivals / trails (e.g. Wirksworth) but in a 'small town / village (where everyone happens to be white)' way. Some wealthy commuter villages e.g. Duffield. Some quite unlovely ones too - the strip between north Nottingham and the edge of the Peaks is ex-colliery villages, quite run down and very 'local'.

Of course Derby is more diverse and it does have a theatre, shops etc but I'm not sure it's all that buzzing.

I wonder about the social integration and multicultural aspect and whether it's as much a class thing. So as a MC family from London you might fit right in to the 'nice' villages, which will have lots of other MC incomers.

If you're looking eastwards to Nottingham, Beeston is a nice town on the Derbs side, for easy access to the Peaks.

If cosmopolitan, with really easy access to the Peaks, is what you want, Sheffield is great. It does have a different vibe - it's in the north, not the midlands.

@ElizabethMainwaring

Derby has more trees than any other city. Central Park was based upon Normanton Park.

The Arboretum Park in Normanton is seriously not quite as lovely as it would have been 50-100 years ago. It's a meeting place for drug dealers and addicts nowadays. Full of needles :( I worked in a school beside it and the caretaker had to do a recce of the grounds every morning to pick up needles that had been chucked over the fence.

Darley Park is beautiful, as is the residential area around it.

Derby has quite limited nightlife but a lovely independent cinema/cultural centre though.

How do I delete a comment please?
Wrong thread!!

We've done that for you @MamaLion1319

Thank you all so much for your responses.

We have now been up to Derbs a couple times (just driving around not leaving the car) and feel quite positive.

One of the areas we would like to know more about is Allestree. There seems to be a few good schools there.
Could anyone tell me more about the local community, is it friendly? Safe? Are there 'nicer' parts?
Many Thanks

I live a few miles outside Derby but I know from friends that Allestree is a really nice area. Within derby it's a popular sought after place to live . It's near several parks - markeaton and allestree park and darley park is not far away. I know the secondary school is good and St Benedicts catholic school too. There's the park farm shopping centre and easy access to derby city centre and good transport links out too

I found this www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/heres-people-think-allestree-best-2880799.amp
It might be useful to go on any Facebook spotted derby groups or there might an allestree one to get info too

Allestree is regarded as one of the best suburbs in Derby. I believe it’s safe and is a nice community (my friend lives there).

If you wanted something slightly different, look at Belper. It’s a lovely little town about 10 minutes drive up the A6 from Allestree. There are lots of independent shops and restaurants and there’s always lots going on; a great community spirit.

Been a long time since I lived in Derby, but I always thought Allestree was fairly soul-less, and not as middle-class as it thought itself. What about Mickleover or Littleover or further out Duffield?

Allestree and Duffield are considered the best suburbs (and more expensive). I think it's Mickleover that's soulless (but good if you like Golf - a good course there).
Littleover is nice if it's around the High St (it's quite large), not as upmarket as Duffield/Allestree - but feels more like a part of Derby town, much quicker to get to the shops in the centre and the train station. Allestree has an almost 'country' feel. A nice farm there as mentioned by pp.

oh and it definitely safe, as is Duffield.
Overall Derby is pretty safe compared to similar sized towns, but most suburbs are 'very safe'.

"Allestree has an almost 'country' feel. A nice farm there as mentioned by pp."

Lol. A country feel? They must have bulldozed the endless estate houses since I was there! Are you sure the farm pp mentioned wasn't Park Farm the shopping centre?!

Allestree is a big suburb and has some posher/nicer bits, same with Mickleover and Littleover. The OP should be able to spot that all of the afore-mentioned places are mostly to the west and north side of Derby - bar say Mackworth.

Allestree really isn't that nice. It has nice bits, but in the main is a huge wimpey estate with the park farm shopping centre in the middle of it.

Generally the 'nicer' parts of Derby Are Allestree, Mickleover, Littleover, Quarndon. The city centre has been deteriorating for many years now, since the Intu centre was built, which killed the town centre itself. There are a lot of drug problems within the city suburbs, and that can be seen with a quick walk through the town centre. I think the deterioration of the town centre has had a knock on effect within many of the suburbs too. Derby is definitely not cosmopolitan.

Some of the smaller outlying towns are much nicer - Duffield, Ashbourne, Wirksworth, Melbourne.

If it's cosmopolitan and diversity that you are after, then I think Sheffield, Nottingham or Warwick would be a much better fit.

Agatha I did mention Duffield (really it's next to Allestree) and dthat's much less cosmopolitan than the more central Derby or nearer suburbs.
Not sure what you mean by mentioning Allestree again as the nicer part - it is considered nice, I had friends move their especially to have a nicer quietr life with small DC and they mentioned a farm with llamas that the kids enjoyed. Maybe they didn't mean a farm that's open to public but they had access to it somehow.
I think you are way too hard on Derby - drug problens are EVERYWHERE, but nothing beats Lonsdon or more poor town in the North as it happens.
Derby is doing well enough due to Toyota., Rolls-Royce and Bombardier jobs - I think it's nice to see younger people still having that work ethic and job opportunities there unlike many other town that are dreary ith no 'pulse'. There is renovation of the first Silk Mill going on, ther is a good art museum and indep cinema/exhbition space - for a smallish town centre it's alot more comared toothers. Sheffiled is abig city so doesn't compare - and it has much bigger student population.
Intu centre is actually very good - it's not shabby like many big centres. There aer now a few good indep cafes in actual town, appeared in the last couple of years. They aer trying. It just never goiung to be really bussy due to population being quiye small and a big pesioner population in suburbs.
I say all this as a Londoner who travelled around the UK a lot and lived in Derby for a few years.
There is also def a big mix of nationalities - they don't mix as well as it happens in big cities, but they are friendly to each other in most cases, I find there is a lot less tolerance in parts of Surrey and Kent! Obviously there are always idiots everywhere.

sbplanet there is well known gold course there - that tends to give a country feel, and a country-style (non-manicured) park with a lake. I don't know all of Allestree, I did say 'almost' country feel - estates are everywhere nowadays but being so close to open countryside and the above is the difference from some other suburbs.

*golf course

@CatAndHisKit
Toyota, Royce's and Bombardier are going to take a huge blow due to covid. Derby jobs are going to get a big hit.
The town centre used to be great, but Intu has ruined it.
Even Bennetts (the world's first ever department store and a jewel in Derby's crown) has closed down.

CatAndHisKit I take your point that there are worse places to live, of course there are. However, I grew up in Derby in the 60s and 70s, and lived there off and on until a few years ago. Believe me, the Intu centre, or Westfield as it was originally, destroyed the city centre. I don't think there are many Derby locals who lived there before who would disagree with me. St Peter's St and the roads off there used to be the hub of the town/city centre and absolutely thriving. Now they are dead and unpleasant to walk through. Lots of 'spice' users on that street now, throughout the day and especially in the evenings. Derby used to have a brilliant nightlife scene a few decades ago but it's very poor in comparison now.
There are initiatives going on, and the area around the Silk Mill is being regenerated, but so much of historic Derby has been demolished. There is a long history of Derby councils taking a very short term view to planning in the city.
So no, I don't think I'm being particularly hard on Derby, especially since the OP's question was about looking for a Mildands town/city that was diverse, cosmopolitan, friendly and with a sense of community. For someone looking for those things I think there are other areas that would offer that far more than Derby.
Elizabeth such a shame about Bennetts. It used to be fantastic.

This is depressing reading. My DD is due to move there at the beginning of September and was planning initially to live in the City centre having just got a job with one of the main employers mentioned earlier. She has just left university so does want some nightlife (whenever it resumes after Covid)

@hellsbells99, don't be too disheartened. I'm sure a 20 something graduate will find plenty to do. These threads get very nitpicking and overlook the fact that a couple of hundred thousand people manage to live work and socialise in Derby, without being overwhelmed every day by the grimness. Friends, community, work and interests make a town home, not just the naice factor of its coffee shops or leafiness of suburbs. Derby has the Peak district on its doorstep too.

Try Nottingham! West Bridgeford

@NotMeNoNo Thank you for your reassuring words!

Ahhhh when did Bennetts close? :(

@NotMeNoNo I agree with you.
I moved from London to near Derby about 15 years ago and I've lived in various towns and cities as well as London and I can honestly say I have never lived in such a friendly, community minded place, and to me that is important.