Leeds v Sheffield: Which would you rather live in?

[anti-pacer]

If you had to choose to live in either city, which would you choose and why?

Here's my take on it.

LEEDS:

• City centre much nicer
• Shopping facilities overall better
• Employment opportunities better
• Transport to other areas easier
• Airport close by

SHEFFIELD:

• Close to Peak District
• Greener feel to the city
• Probably more affluent suburbs
• They have trams
• Less pretentious than Leeds

I think overall Leeds has more going for it, but Sheffield is improving. It does need to sort out its disjointed and quite ugly city centre though.

That said, Sheffield is probably a more pleasant place to live, wav from the usual sink estates.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I think you've got it right by living in The Shake... sure, it might be a bit of a glorified market town with a big church (and a bit of a dump!), but both Leeds and Sheffield are easy to reach!
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Leeds is better for shopping (one advantage of the out-of-town mall being a bit rubbish, unlike Meadowhall!) and probably for nightlife, but Sheffield is friendlier. The problem with Leeds is that it's full of Leeds United supporters!

 

[anti-pacer]

I think you've got it right by living in The Shake... sure, it might be a bit of a glorified market town with a big church (and a bit of a dump!), but both Leeds and Sheffield are easy to reach!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Leeds is better for shopping (one advantage of the out-of-town mall being a bit rubbish, unlike Meadowhall!) and probably for nightlife, but Sheffield is friendlier. The problem with Leeds is that it's full of Leeds United supporters!

Wakefield, a dump? How dare you? Haha. No, actually you're spot on. You should write for Lonely Planet!

I'm no fan of Leeds fans even if my girlfriend is one, but yeah I think your comments are spot on. Sheffield is only 25 mins away on a fast train, and although they vary in journey times we have 5 trains an hour to the city. It's just a pity Sheffield looks such a dump when approaching from destinations north. If you enter by road from say Glossop, Castleton or Bakewell, it's a whole lot nicer.

The city centre really needs a big revamp though.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Wakefield, a dump? How dare you? Haha. No, actually you're spot on. You should write for Lonely Planet!

I'm no fan of Leeds fans even if my girlfriend is one, but yeah I think your comments are spot on. Sheffield is only 25 mins away on a fast train, and although they vary in journey times we have 5 trains an hour to the city. It's just a pity Sheffield looks such a dump when approaching from destinations north. If you enter by road from say Glossop, Castleton or Bakewell, it's a whole lot nicer.

The city centre really needs a big revamp though.

The main commercial centre of Sheffield is quite nice, and up until the Leeds branch opened it did have the advantage of (I think) West/South Yorkshire's only John Lewis. The city as a whole though still hasn't recovered from Thatcher ripping its heart out. It's also a shame that Sheffield City Council has decided to declare war on healthy trees. :roll:

 

[Welly]

I chose between Leeds and Sheffield Universities 25 years ago - I plumped for Sheffield and lived there for 4 years. Loved the city! And I would still choose Sheffield over Leeds.

 

[anti-pacer]

The main commercial centre of Sheffield is quite nice, and up until the Leeds branch opened it did have the advantage of (I think) West/South Yorkshire's only John Lewis. The city as a whole though still hasn't recovered from Thatcher ripping its heart out. It's also a shame that Sheffield City Council has decided to declare war on healthy trees. :roll:

I like Fargate and the area around the Town Hall and Peace Gardens, but the Moor and areas around Castle Market are awful. They wouldn't look out of place in the former Eastern Bloc.

I do like a lot of Sheffield's suburbs though, especially those west and south west of the city.

 

[thejuggler]

Grew up in Sheffield and lived in Leeds for many years. I went to Sheffield centre about a year ago and it really hasn't moved on. Winter Gardens area and Crucible, Lyceum Square are well done, but Sheffield always had two main shopping areas, Fargate and The Moor.

Fargate is now a poor area and the Moor is simply struggling. The new market is excellent, but in the wrong place. John Lewis store is very tired and the cafe was uninviting and looked filthy so we walked out. Meadowhell has killed the centre.

15 years ago Leeds was just OK, but in ten years the change has been remarkable. The Light, Trinity and Victoria Gate and the Arena all developed and the number of hotels bars and restaurants now put it into European weekend break territory and the airport handles a lot of incoming visitor traffic.

Go to Whitelocks on a Leeds United match day and you will meet the Norwegians who travel over for every game!

 

[Iskra]

Grew up in Sheffield and lived in Leeds for many years. I went to Sheffield centre about a year ago and it really hasn't moved on. Winter Gardens area and Crucible, Lyceum Square are well done, but Sheffield always had two main shopping areas, Fargate and The Moor.

Fargate is now a poor area and the Moor is simply struggling. The new market is excellent, but in the wrong place. John Lewis store is very tired and the cafe was uninviting and looked filthy so we walked out. Meadowhell has killed the centre.

15 years ago Leeds was just OK, but in ten years the change has been remarkable. The Light, Trinity and Victoria Gate and the Arena all developed and the number of hotels bars and restaurants now put it into European weekend break territory and the airport handles a lot of incoming visitor traffic.

Go to Whitelocks on a Leeds United match day and you will meet the Norwegians who travel over for every game!

The Moor is now doing much better since the Primark opened.

Leeds is doing well and is great for shopping and drinking, but lacks the cultural attractions that most cities of its size have.

I've spent most of my life living just outside Leeds, and I love it. However on Monday I'm moving house to Sheffield (the Northern suburbs) to be closer to work, which is only 35mins from Leeds and 20 from Wakey. The part of Sheffield I'm moving to seems nice and it gets rural within 5 minutes drive of my new house. I'm yet to suss out Sheffield properly though.

 

[507021]

Personally, as much as I like both cities, I prefer Sheffield. I've got friends who live in Fulwood which is a lovely area, and the tram network is another advantage Sheffield has over Leeds. Apart from that, I support Sheffield Wednesday, so that's another reason why I'd rather live there.

 

[rg177]

I chose between Leeds and Sheffield Universities 25 years ago - I plumped for Sheffield and lived there for 4 years. Loved the city! And I would still choose Sheffield over Leeds.

25 years later I'm currently making the exact same choice!

 

[KashmireHawker]

Has to be Sheffield! ??????

I am a 1st year University student at Sheffield Hallam and my 1st visit to the University itself on an open day last year instantly gave me a thought of: "I can settle and enjoy life here" - I haven't looked back too. It's an excellent city, with impressive nightlife and a city which is having investment come in from far and wide; both Universities are massively contributing to this. No doubt the entrance of the city as of such will improve hugely in and around the time HS2 comes along, especially the empty site next door to the station.

 

[anti-pacer]

The Moor is now doing much better since the Primark opened.

Leeds is doing well and is great for shopping and drinking, but lacks the cultural attractions that most cities of its size have.

I've spent most of my life living just outside Leeds, and I love it. However on Monday I'm moving house to Sheffield (the Northern suburbs) to be closer to work, which is only 35mins from Leeds and 20 from Wakey. The part of Sheffield I'm moving to seems nice and it gets rural within 5 minutes drive of my new house. I'm yet to suss out Sheffield properly though.

What cultural attractions do you think Leeds lacks?

Good luck with the move by the way.

 

[DarloRich]

neither - they are both in Yorkshire

 

[kevconnor]

Sheffield has come on in leaps and bounds in the past 10 years. The view from the station on leaving up to the building of Sheaf Square was probably unchanged in 40 or so years and was looking the worse for it.

The Moor is and was the poor relation in terms of shopping experiences within the city but has faired better recently.

 

[J-2739]

neither - they are both in Yorkshire

Oi! And where did Yorkshire puddings come from? (another of Gods finest creations, after the Victoria sponge) [/TRIGGERED]

Leeds and Sheffield are both great in their own ways; Sheffield for it's green spaces, Leeds for it's citylife.

 

[zuriblue]

Oi! And where did Yorkshire puddings come from? (another of Gods finest creations, after the Victoria sponge) [/TRIGGERED]

Leeds and Sheffield are both great in their own ways; Sheffield for it's green spaces, Leeds for it's citylife.

But both pale in comparison to Manchester.

 

[DarloRich]

But both pale in comparison to Manchester.

and all three in comparison to Newcastle

 

[anti-pacer]

neither - they are both in Yorkshire

 

[Gemz91]

Lived in both Leeds (Beeston) and Sheffield (Norton). Although Sheffield had a few parts I liked, I never got on with it and would pick Leeds over it any day of the week.

 

[D365]

Anyone who says Sheffield doesn't have nightlife, clearly hasn't been to Corporation.

 

[Busaholic]

'On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia'.

 

[PeterY]

Neither. Too far north and cold.

 

[anti-pacer]

Neither. Too far north and cold.

It's not really any colder than anywhere else in the UK.

Why do Southerners think we live in Arctic conditions up here? We don't.

 

[Iskra]

What cultural attractions do you think Leeds lacks?

Good luck with the move by the way.

Things to do in Leeds on a Saturday seems to be little more than; football, heavy drinking, eating or shopping. There's the Royal Armouries and a small art gallery. Gigs in the evenings. But, when you compare that to Manchester or Liverpool, Leeds is quite a way behind in terms of 'things to do,' in my opinion at least.

One thing that Leeds has that Sheffield doesn't is 24 hour links to Manchester, Huddersfield and York as well as the benefits of being in close proximity to Wakefield and Bradford.

The move went great, thanks.

It's not really any colder than anywhere else in the UK.

Why do Southerners think we live in Arctic conditions up here? We don't.

I beg to differ, whenever I travel to London on the train, I usually find it's much warmer there and that I'm over-dressed. However, I don't have such problems if visiting the South West, so perhaps it's just an urban-inner London thing.

 

[yorksrob]

I beg to differ, whenever I travel to London on the train, I usually find it's much warmer there and that I'm over-dressed. However, I don't have such problems if visiting the South West, so perhaps it's just an urban-inner London thing.

The urban heat island is indeed "a thing":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island

 

[DarloRich]

It's not really any colder than anywhere else in the UK.

Why do Southerners think we live in Arctic conditions up here? We don't.

coz they is soft AND they dont drink proper beer and they divvent tark proper like

 

[Bevan Price]

I would not want to live in, or close to, any city centre. From what I have seen, Leeds & Sheffield both have some pleasant areas away from the city centres - as do many other cities & large towns. If I was forced to move, choice would depend mainly on affordability of somewhere to live.

 

[D365]

Why do Southerners think we live in Arctic conditions up here? We don't.

The funny thing is, since moving up north I've found that I've been more inclined to going out in just a shirt. Long as there's no wind, the climate doesn't really bother me.

 

[anti-pacer]

coz they is soft AND they dont drink proper beer and they divvent tark proper like

Haha. Do you find much difference generally in temperatures between your native North East and where you live now in the South East?

 

[DarloRich]

Haha. Do you find much difference generally in temperatures between your native North East and where you live now in the South East?

its like the Sahara down here! Didn't have to put the heating on until December, rarely wear a jumper or coat, shorts & tea shirt most of the year. Don't know they are born this lot

You don't get those long, iron gray, dank, dark days down here like you do in the NE. There isnt that windblown stinging rain that comes in from 90 degrees that seems a north east specialty although we do seem to get much more fog. There isnt the piercing wind direct form the Arctic that we get at home. It is also much warmer in the summer.