Edinburgh to Sheffield - is it worth making the move?
Posted by ResearcherNo4728@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 12 comments
I moved to Edinburgh with my young family 3 years ago. We like the city and its architecture a lot. But lately I've been thinking of moving to Sheffield. One of the reasons is because we have friends in Derby, Lancaster, London, Cambridge, and it's not possible to have frequent visits from/to these cities from Edinburgh. But if we live in Sheffield, these are 2-4 hours of drive. And secondly, the wife's company has an office in Sheffield, where if she asks to be transferred it'll get accepted. We visited Sheffield this past weekend and quite liked the area near the botanical garden.
What I don't know is how much emphasis I should place on this factor to move cities - proximity to friends. Making friends is very hard as an adult, and if we do end up moving, I'd rather make the move when my child has not started school yet. Of course I'll discuss this with the wife. But I wanted to know from folks here if anybody has made this move and regretted it, or did it improve your life meaningfully?
Entire_Pen9097@reddit
Just do it. Sheffields a cool place with some great schools. When I was at Edinburgh uni I met lots of clever people from there. Going the other way, I lived there for a year and it seemed like a nice place to raise a family. It’s so quick to lots of other cities by train.
ukslim@reddit
Man, you really love cities built on seven hills.
Next stop Rome?
Dennyisthepisslord@reddit
Support/social networks are worth more than anything.
Sheffield is a great location for getting to most the country, has some stunning countryside on its doorstep and great local beer! Can't lose.
Real_Reason109@reddit
Which local beer do you mean? Just curious lol! Totally agree Sheffield has a lot going for it and moving before your kids start school is a good shout! My family moved a few times when I was a kid and my younger brothers seemed to adjust better than I did.
Sheffield is in between several other major cities so it’s no biggie to go to Manchester, Nottingham, Leeds or Derby for the day.
Barkasia@reddit
Take your pick, Sheffield is one of the few places in the country where the brewery scene is thriving. Close to a dozen breweries in the city!
Ok-Floor-4636@reddit
I have done the Edinburgh to Sheffield move but without a child and away from, rather than towards, friends.
Sheffield is a lovely city, very green, people are very friendly. It will be cheaper to rent or buy than in Edinburgh. The peak district is on your doorstep.
The downsides are that its bigger and more spread out, the buses are much much worse than in Edinburgh but there are plans to take the buses into public ownership with a plan to improve them. The city centre is also improving, you'll hear people talk about the city centre being grim and unsafe but if you've walked past Hunter Square in Edinburgh and coped then Sheffield city centre won't be an issue for you!
Having done the opposite and moved away from friends, I'd say having friends nearby is an improvement in quality of life that you can't really put a price on.
They get lots of moving to Sheffield questions on r/Sheffield so have a search there if there's anything specific you're wondering about eg schools, nurseries, areas to live etc. that would help you decide.
ResearcherNo4728@reddit (OP)
Awesome, thanks for your response. Much appreciated 🙏
Exact-Put-6961@reddit
Edinburgh is a great city, long term , free uni for kids. Otherwise very vulnerable economically if the SNP did gain iindependence. Lots of jobs in finance would go to England, house prices would crash.
DameKumquat@reddit
Sheffield is a good place to live - if I wasn't so rooted in London, I'd live there. Hilly, but you'll be used to that.
Before kids are in school is a good time to move.
StrengthForeign3512@reddit
Sheffield is a great place to live and raise a family. You are right that it’s very nice near the Botanical Gardens and surrounding areas. It sounds like a great move for you to be closer to friends. Good luck making a decision!
BulkyAccident@reddit
You'll find very few people on here who specifically did an Edinburgh to Sheffield move with the same circumstances as you but what I will say is that reading it, geographically it makes a lot more sense to be more central to your friends - particularly if you're at a point in you're life where you're prioritising it.
The fact there's an office there for your wife to move to makes things a tonne easier in terms of decision making, and Sheffield's a pretty decent place to bring up kids. Just go for it if things feel like they're lining up that direction.
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