Anyone know Chesterfield, Derbyshire?

Broph

Usually a lurker on MSE but I am a teacher living near Chesterfield so thought I might have some insights!

Hasland Junior School is, in my experience, a very good school (previously outstanding, and although more recently rated good by Ofsted it still has outstanding features and behaviour is really excellent.) Hasland has some nice parks and its own identity.

Old Hall Juniors is also a good school if you are looking at the Walton area, which is generally regarded as one of the nicer Chesterfield areas. Walton is, however, very residential with not a lot else there.

Wingerworth is a lovely village with two nice primaries (at least one of which is rated outstanding) but house prices are quite high. Tupton, next to Wingerworth, has cheap housing but low crime etc. and a nice local primary with a new headteacher who is definitely moving the school in the right direction.

As other posters have said, Chesterfield is on the edge of the Peak District so some fantastic countryside nearby, as well as some nice villages. Areas such as Hasland, Tupton, Wingerworth and North Wingfield are also particularly handy for the M1 (around 10 minutes drive) while still being an easy drive/bus journey into the town centre.

Hope that helps. PM me if you want.

trailingspouse

I don't know Chesterfield, but I do know about moving house (hence the username...)

Write yourselves a shopping list - budget, distance you want to live from work, how many bedrooms, distance you want to be from school, do you want to be able to walk to the local shop, do you prefer new properties with all mod cons, or older places that need doing up. And so on. Divide your list into 'must haves' and 'would be nices' - eg you must have 3 bedrooms, 4 would be nice. Use the internet and your list to get a feel for which areas you can afford.

Then, armed with your list, go and visit. Try to visit over a weekend and a week day (eg Friday and Saturday, or Sunday and Monday) - a quiet residential street on a Sunday afternoon may be nose-to-tail traffic at 8am on a Monday morninng. You can arrange viewings if there are properties that fill all your criteria, but this is really just a 'getting to know you' visit. Once you've decided which areas are for you, you can do the viewings.

How far are you moving? Will your husband's work give him any help with the move (eg putting him up in a hotel until you find somewhere)?

Renting is a good idea, but many rental places want 6 month contracts. At this time of the year you might be able to get a long stay at an off season holiday rental - we've done this several times, but be aware they'll want you out by Easter at the latest.

All the best in your new life.

Pollycat

When we bought our house (20 years ago) we wanted somewhere where there were local shops - butcher, greengrocer etc - and also on a good bus route into the main town.
We have buses every 10 minutes during the day, 30 minutes in the evening. It's great now that we've both retired.

Maybe that's something that you might like to put into the mix.

Maybe you might also (depending where your OH will be working) want to consider access to the M1.

Junction 29, 29A & J30 cover Chesterfield and maybe J28 too, if you want to be south of Chesterfield.

Not sure if your budget would run to it, but Matlock is very nice.

Valli

Miss_Mario wrote: »

Even 18 months on people pre-judge where we live, I just laugh at their ignorance. It's quiet, safe and a lovely area to live in.

oo you tease!