Mods - This is a second username for me, please don't delete as I'd rather keep my IID secret for now. Thanks. 🙂
I'm a northerner that's lived darn sarf for most of his life.
My wife and I were planning to move out at some point after paying the mortgage off but she's been made redundant out of the blue so it seems like the time might be sooner than we thought.
We've been looking at the area roughly around Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield. It's an area I used to visit from time to time but I've not been there for 25+ years now.
So I'm wondering if there's any areas to look at or avoid?
We don't really want to live in the middle of nowhere. We'd be mortgage free but we'd still need to work and we like to go shopping by bike and MrsR is the outgoing friendly type that makes frriends and likes being near other people. She works in IT, I work in the cycle trade.
We wouldn't live on a modern housing estate too. We like 30s style houses or older.
How much money have you got?
If lots then Matlock or Bakewell. Both towns are lovely with great riding and scenery on the doorstep, I know people who live or have lived in both towns and have nothing but good to say about living there.
If not lots then Sheffield, West side, perhaps Hillsborough.
I'm from Chesterfield so maybe emotionally biased, but I'd happily move back there. Look at Holymoorside for slightly more rural / villagey feel but still close to a town.
We'd probably have up to about £325k. I'd rather have some of that in the bank though. The house we live in now would be about £175k in Sheffield by the look of it, but we want a big garden and a big garage. The house itself is almost secondary to its outside space.
Matlock is definatly on the cards, I know Bakewell is nice but i reckon it's a bit out of the way for work purposes.
I have friends in Chesterfield, and they really like it.
If I could handle a none bike commute I would live over that way myself.
I like the look of chesterfield too. I used to go through it a lot as a youngster on the way to the peaks, but I know little about it.
We've got 3 days off in June and we're going to go and stay in the area and have a scout round.
If I could pick a town it would be Otley near Leeds but mrsR won't go that far north.
Nice sized market town, lots to do, easy access to a city.
I have a mate (who's on here) who lives in Belper, he seems pretty happy there. In fact he seems to be doing his best to own most of it 😉
Yeah beeper looks nice too. It's on the list.
Where's the best bits of Sheffield and chesterfield?
West side of Chesterfield is the best so Walton, Holymoorside, Brampton, Cutthorpe, Barlow.
Matlock's nice if you get the right bit, Bakewell's sound and is an easy run to Shef or even Manc for commuting.
All of the above are good for biking too, it's on the doorstep.
I won't recommend where I live as I'd like it to stay quiet 😉
West and south west Sheffield is nicest imo. Fullwood, Ranmoor, Dore and Whirlow are nice but very expensive. Areas around and between those share most of the benefits and are more reasonably priced. Look at Totley, Millhouses, Bradway, Beaucheif.
Belper resident here. Lovely town. Changed so much in the last 10 years. Went out in chesterfield recently some good pubs, it's still rough as arses in places though. One of my best riding buddies lives in hollymoorside, lovely little village. Shit loads of cheeky riding then obviously hope etc an hour away for me from belper for something to create a big day out. I know the whole area very well from chesterfield to mattock to wirksworth to ashbourne to belper so ask up for further advice.
I know the whole area very well from chesterfield to mattock to wirksworth to ashbourne to belper
Wirksworth's a good shout - nice small town, has everything you need (including great riding) and a good secondary school if that's something you need to think about.
Bakewell is a ruddy nightmare to get in and out of at weekends. Matlock can also get clogged up at weekends, but there are ways out once you know the backroads.
Matlock is at the end of the branch line with trains running hourly to Derby and Nottingham which makes commuting pretty easy. There are also stations at Belper, Duffield, Whatstandwell and Cromford.
And £325,000 will go a lot further in Belper than Matlock!
Cycling into Derby is dead easy from Belper too if you wanted to commute by bike.
(I live in Ambergate just north of Belper.)
Bakewell is a ruddy nightmare to get in and out of at weekends. Matlock can also get clogged up at weekends, but there are ways out once you know the backroads.
Not by (motor)bike it's not. We don't use a car much and I want to keep it that way. 🙂
Not really interested in pubs as such, but we do like a theatre or cinema.
Some good suggestions here 🙂 thanks.
Wirksworth looks like it's too far for me to cycle to work....
Belper has a nice old fashioned little cinema! 🙂 ...
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If you have the budget then Whirlow, Ecclesall & Dore in sheffield are lovely. On the edge of the peaks for riding but close to city centre too. most of the housing stock round there is 1930's and earlier.
All of the above are good for biking too, it's on the doorstep
I learned to MTB in the peaks, Edale, Castleton etc but I wouldn't want to live there. It's lovely but living in the south you get to like a few home comforts. I can walk to a cinema from my house and cycle to a theatre and arts centre (we like a good comedian) for example. That's why I'm thinking more the outskirts of a bi town/city really.
Muffin man - Cool! Looks ace I didn't know that!
Sheffield fantastic and great riding but 175k won't get you very far in the really nice parts of town - that's a three bedroom terrace in a student area these days!
Is Buxton too far out of the way? It seems to tick a few of your boxes but not too sure on the house prices there.
We looked at Dronfield a lot. Really liked it but ended up a bit closer to chesterfield to get a bit more house for our money.
Sheffield fantastic and great riding but 175k won't get you very fa
You've misread me. Our current house in Sheffield would Be worth about that much. But as we're in the Home Counties it's worth double that! Minus what's left of our mortgage, then plus a redundancy payment gives us up to £325k to play with, which appears to be approaching mansion level in Sheffield 😉
I just want a 3 bed detached with a garden that's best measures in parts of an acre and a double garage/workshop/outbuildings. 🙂
Onzadog, thanks, good info. 🙂
Pinkster, yes probably too far out. I need to find a job in a bike shop.
We both currently have 20 mile plus commutes. I want to ride to work so no more than 8 miles from a few bike shops suits me best. Mrs R would Probably go contracting in IT, so similar applies really.
You pay a premium the closer you get to the Peak. All towns have good and bad areas, there's few to properly avoid, other than Clay Cross.
We moved up 17 years ago, ended up just outside Ilkeston in a busy village with lots of amenities and activities. Half way between Nottingham and Derby for work, decent cycle access to both, less than an hour to Buxton, Cannock, Sherwood Pines, bridleways out the door, road riding by the bucket load.
here's few to properly avoid, other than Clay Cross.
So I'll take Clay Cross off the list then. Not sure if it was on it or not actually. (I do actually have a list!)
Joking aside we've got some really well specced properties for sale at shirland/higham 😉
Moved up to Chesterfield 10 years ago. Like the area we live in (Hasland) and good motorway and train links. Riding is good and close as well. If I were to chose now I'd probably go for SW area of Sheffield. Bigger town (city) so more to see and do. Chesterfield is ok but has a bit of a small town mentality.
North of chesterfield/south of dronfield would put you within easy distance of je James and chesterfield cycle centre although I don't know if either are hiring right now.
I'd go for the outskirts of Sheffield personally. Sheffield is ace for stuff to do and you can ride into the peaks too.
Whaley Bridge has got a bike shop. Don't know if it has any vacancies though!
My son and partner live in Whaley Bridge and it seems a nice place.
We moved back to Sheffield 3 years ago to the west side of he city and it's an amazing place to live imho.
As noted above you can't go wrong in the S10 postcode as you are both 10mins from the city centre and 15mins from the peaks, plus there is tons of great from the door step plus all the new trails being built all over the city
I would argue that Sheffield is now one of the best MTB riding locations in the uk.
One thing to note from experience, expect to pay 10-15% over the asking price for some postcodes.
325k you could buy most of Barnsley for that!!. Have you thought about Grenoside and around that area. Great riding and close to Sheff.
Belper resident here (although I am about to move) seems to offer what you after 325 is a decent budget as well and you could look at blackbrook and farnah green nearby. Loads of great riding on your doorstep from Chevin to Crich, black rocks, riber etc.
OK - second oldest working cinema in the UK - in Ilkeston!
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If you fancy outskirts of Sheffield also look at Crosspool and Sandygate. Right on the edge of the city. Tracks from the door. About 2.5 miles from town.
I grew up in banner cross (Ecclesall way) in one of the 1930s houses. Went back some 25 years later, couldn't believe how much nicer it was around Banner Cross. Then lived a bit further west at Bents Green and that was fab for getting out to the peak and into Sheffield (2p bus rides back then 😉
I like all the west of Sheffield. Dads lives in Holymoreside and that's really nice as well.
Makes me want to go back now!
I live in Heeley, in Sheffield. I can ride to the edge of the Peak in 25 mins, but I can also walk to the theatre and 2 cinemas and the nearer edge of town. There are loads of good pubs and plenty of community culture going on. For £325K you can get a nice house with plenty of space...
Wot , nobody said Crookes yet! A good compromise, not as spendy as Crosspool or Fulwood but very handy for Peak and city centre Shpping centre has nice independent shops as well as the usual suspects. Still some nice houses not bought by rich Londoners for their offspring to go to Uni. Your pot should go a long way.
We have lived there a long time and have never found a good enough reason to leave
I've recently moved from Hathersage to Totley and to be honest, the immediate riding is better here than in the Peak. Granted I could ride to Hope from Hathersage but Totley has Blackamoor and the riding right off my doorstep. Also cheaper than Derbyshire Peak and closer to Sheffield too. Depending on the size of house you want you could look at Totley, Bradway areas and get reasonable value for your money.
I live in Derby. But from a biking perspective I would probably prefer to live somewhere between Ambergate and Cromford the riding in that valley is brilliant (I hardly ever bother going to the Peaks proper as it is just hardly worth it)
The other place would be to live somewhere near Hathersage as you can either head to Hope and Edale in the West, Ladybower in the North Totley to the east or Grindleford and the edges to the South.
I've live or worked in all the places you've mentioned.
Sheffield south (s11 post code) and around crosspool are fantastic. The city is great, ecclesall Road is really nice, good pubs etc. I'm a big fan. Unfortunately for work reasons I don't live there anymore but would move back in a heartbeat for culture, things to do, proximity to peaks for MTb and road bike. Bike scene is very popular in Sheffield
Chesterfield, belper are ok...but behind the times in my opinion but you'll live like a king with 320k. Property is pretty cheap and it's close to some nice areas in the peak. I agree with the above on small town mentality in some quarters.
Derby - you'll get a abromovich style property for 320k. Villages around derby are really nice though.
Similar to you,northerner moving bCk from the south, I moved from Wimbledon village to west Bridgford in Nottingham, Victorian property galore....but prices have risen lots in recent years so 320k won't get you anything close to the scale of derby, chesterfield .
Id go for Sheffield if had a choice.
Sheffield does have great riding - prices hard to predict in S10/S11 though - we put an offer on place on at 340. We offered 365 and were outbid by an offer of 380.
Prices not always an indication of selling price!
I live in a village near Derby. The problem with the villages surrounding Derby is most of them are earmarked for massive expansion - and I'm talking about the modern soul-less housing estates. I live on one myself built around a small village. It's handy for the kids and nice enough while they're young so I don't turn into a kid chauffeur, but I'd love to live off an estate once the kids are older. Unfortunately I live the wrong side of Derby for MTB'ing. I think Wirksworth is a hidden gem and been slightly overshadowed by the growth of Belper, but if that is too out of the way for you then another hidden gem I think is Coxbench. Spitting distance from some of the best country pubs I've ever been in, loads of decent mountain biking and road biking from the doorstep and house prices not too pricey and not on the horrendous A6.
You could look out Ashbourne way too.
*wonders if wobbliscot is a neighbour.....*