Location Location Location: Sheffield

There’s more to choosing houses than electricity ratings and rent payment plans.

Make the best of the aggressive inclines, Baltic conditions and sketchy locals, and choose somewhere relatively nice to live.

It’s going to be okay

Broomhall 

Given its premium location a stones throw from both uni and Eccy Road, by day, the brutal cuboid housing of Broomhall seems like harmless, almost inviting homogeneity. Architecture seen rarely outside of war camps, but harmless all the same.  By night, it’s a different story. A horror story.

Effectively the Helmand Province of Sheffield, the deafening silence as you edge down its eery streets is punctuated only by the sound of violent arguments, breaking glass, and stray cats crying in anguish.

In 2009, 22 year old James Kamara was shot dead in these very streets.

Other than a Somalian Community Centre, its lack of amenities, and therefore safe points, are another painful flaw. Void of anything other than a boarded up corner shop and an overflowing litter bin, there’s also very little to do when wanting some time away from your 4m x 4m square occupancy.

So generous

Crookes

Every year, people gravitate to Crookes like flies to shit. It’s a pleasant novelty for naive first years whose scope of South Yorkshire has never stretched further than Goodwin Sports Centre.

Assumed to be the guaranteed place to be and thought of as the glorious, hierarchical progression into second and third year, it’s often somewhat anti-climatic.

Conduit Hill, as it’s so misleadingly named, is not the gentle leafy incline you may expect, but a steeper, more satanic Kilimanjaro. By the time you reach the top, you’ll be a panting mess of sweat and lactic acid crying either for a nebuliser or a one way ticket to Switzerland.

Regardless, at no more than a ten minute walk to all uni buildings and Broomhill, it’s still a pretty great location and has some glorious greenspace in the form of Crookes Valley Park.

Taking in the luscious vegetation

As the largest student area of the few, Crookes’ very core is centered around the mainstream neutrality. For those wanting to make friends, fit in, and lie awake every night dreaming of BNOC status, there’s no where else to be seen.

Walkley

Walkley continues to be a very a grey area. When anywhere this side of West Street Nandos, ‘Sent from Walkley’ pops up every time on Facebook messenger location. Yet, if it wasn’t for the advertised Walkley properties in estate agent windows and the legitimacy of Google Maps, many would cease to believe it’s existence.

For those of you who still don’t know, it’s North East of Crookes and North West of the City Centre.

It’s like a weird Neverland, people hear of it but never actually step over it’s border, or God Forbid, miss the memo entirely and end up living there.

Apparently, it looks like this

Broomhill

Prospective renters are sometimes reluctant to live on Endcliffe’s doorstep, usually wanting to stray as far as they can from the shackles of student accommodation.

In many ways, Broomhill is an unexpected yet precious gem, the alphabetti spaghetti of the pasta world. Home to nominated Ebola hospital The Hallamshire, and local legend Dan Bean, nephew of Sean, it sure has a lot to be smug about.

Dan relaxing in the Friery

The S10 postcode is among the most affluent in the whole of Sheffield, and it’s spaced out student housing is a breath of fresh of air compared to Crookesmoors shanty-town like density.

The real beauty of Broomhill, however, lies within it’s remarkable spectrum of amenities. Not only does it have three supermarkets, a pet shop and a record store, but its post night out takeaway selection is second to none.

Fat chips and gravy? Done. Falafel and a rubicon? Done. Sit down curry, 4 sides, and some Bollywood tunes at Balti King? Obligatory.

Broomhill residents enjoying a BK