Sheffield or Manchester for a University City?

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 mark burley 17 Jan 2021

Currently my daughter has offers from Manchester Met and Sheffield for Uni this year. 
Ive been generally keeping out of the discussion as I didn’t go to Uni so I can’t offer personal advice. I would say pick the best course as both cities will be great. 
Currently her thoughts are Manchester will give a better city life, but what do we need to know about Sheffield?

Being a lifelong Leeds lad, extolling the virtue of both cities is hard for me 😁. Joking I think Manchester is a great city, I have little to no experience of Sheffield. 

Being 20 mins from abc crag ain’t going to cut it either, though she loves the outdoors I can’t see that being a priority for the next few years. 

 mrphilipoldham 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

I grew up in East Manchester and went to Salford Uni, living in Withington/Didsbury and then Swinton for the final year. Manchester is a great city, and definitely has the 'big city' feel (unless she's coming from Birmingham or London, perhaps!). I do equally love Sheffield though, a city it may well be but it's always felt a bit more 'homely', despite never having lived there. The nights out I've had have generally matched Manchester for memories though.. so not much in it there!

 Andrew Wells 17 Jan 2021

I'm from Sheffield so I'm biased but I will say that a lot of student (commonly said to be "the most in the county") stay in Sheffield after they graduate because it is relatively cheap, has all the amenities of a big city, has a great nightlife and really good outdoor access. And it definitely does have all those qualities IMO. Also it rains less.

 TechnoJim 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

I've lived in Sheffield since I was a student 20 years ago, bar a couple of years in Bristol. Used to do quite a bit of partying in Manchester but I'm retired from all that carry on now.

Sheffield is a more relaxed city, low-key, DIY vibe, friendly. Culturally Manchester has more going on, but there's gold in Sheffield, you just need to work a bit harder to find it. There's some regeneration happening after the doom years following the 2008 crash.

If you're in the west of the city you can walk into the Peak from yer house, that never gets old. Green space absolutely everywhere within the city too.

Less rain than on the Mordor side of the Pennines

 Offwidth 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

Manchester Uni has comodified students in times of covid more than most and Sheffield Uni has been one of the most liberal and sensible. However things will vary from department to department. One thing you should do is ask students studying there on the same course.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/17/free-market-gamble-has-co...

In reply to mark burley:

From my own experiences of both cities, and talking with my nephew who is from Bristol and is in his final year at Sheffield, I would say:

*Nightlife is comparable in terms of pubs, clubs, theatres etc, but many popular bands touring the UK will visit Manchester not Sheffield. So if she likes big gigs etc then Manchester best

*Sheffield is more friendly, with less crime and feels safer on the streets at night. 

*Manchester has better job prospects for after graduation if she wants to work for a big company in the same city where she studied

*Sheffield is hilly - great if you like walking, running, mountain biking etc. Manchester is Soooo flat and has a much longer journey to countryside. 

*Manchester is rainier

I am biased though - I moved to Sheffield in the 90s to study and have stayed ever since - as has been said previously, there is a very high level of retention here which is a good sign

Roadrunner6 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

Sheffield is a good city, more like a big village. It's not as sprawling as Manchester so you get out in the countryside quicker. Manchester is better if you're after a nightlife etc but Sheffield is better if you like climbing, running, mountain biking etc. Sheffield has woods and parks through the city so you can almost always be away from the city pretty quick. I grew up just outside the student area and could leave my parents back gate into a wood and stay in the woods or fields all the way to to the moors. 

Post edited at 16:00
 Arcturus 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

No contest really. Got to be Sheffield. Having been born and brought up there you could say I’m biased. Just a bit.

the university is in a nice part of the city with very easy access to the countryside. I went off to Scotland to do my first degree but I have several friends and business colleagues who studied there. They all really loved it and most of them either stayed on to live there or drifted back after a few years because it is a nice friendly place and as someone else has said it’s quite compact.

I could ramble on but that could get boring. 

 The New NickB 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

Your advice of picking the best course is probably wise. All things being equal on that front, it is worth thinking about your daughter personality and interests. My step-daughter is at Manchester (2nd Year Micro and Molecular Biology) although studying at home this year, which was a decision that she made before term started in September. She loved her first year, but she was already familiar with the city and had already had nights out there, if not living south of the city centre. I like Sheffield, but it definitely feels like a small city compared to Manchester, even compared to Leeds. The question will be, which better suits her personality. We visited Exeter as one option, as well as the distance, weworried that it might be too small a place for someone used to and who we knew enjoyed the bigger city experience. Manchester can't compare to Sheffield for countryside access, but it isn't as bad as some people are making out, plenty of countryside to the south (bit flat and boring to my mind, but pretty) and often ignored, particularly by those in the orbit of the universities is quick train access (15-20 minutes) north and east to interesting hilly places.

OP mark burley 17 Jan 2021
In reply to all,

thanks some really good information. I want her to go to Sheffield I think it’s more “her” whatever that is for a 18/19 yr old after this last year.. 

The course is quite niche, I’d prefer if she stayed this side of the hill, what’s this about she might not come home afterwards 😳
 

 lithos 17 Jan 2021
In reply to Offwidth:

OP said Manchester Met (not MU), not sure if Sheff Uni or Sheff Hallam.

I went to M/C from London in 1980,  changed a bit since then !  A bit hard at the moment but wandering around might give her an idea.  She should have a blast wherever she goes, I'd advise best course and uni she can get into.

OP mark burley 17 Jan 2021
In reply to lithos:

it’s Sheffield Uni not Hallam. 

 Welsh Kate 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

"thanks some really good information. I want her to go to Sheffield I think it’s more “her” whatever that is for a 18/19 yr old after this last year.. "

The advice I give applicants at open days is to consider three things: the course, the university and the place. She needs to weigh up the pros and cons of all three in the places she's considering. But let her make the choice! There's also plenty of info available online - including from current students in the different institutions and they'd be the best people to ask about the student experience.

 lithos 17 Jan 2021
In reply to Welsh Kate:

yep - at open days i used to say 'go where you will be happy, even if that's not us'

 Chris Craggs Global Crag Moderator 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

Isn't Sheffield described as the Biggest Village in England somewhere? I moved there to study in 1970 and still like the small city vibe - Manchester always struck me as a huge sprawl - but of course, I don't know my way around it like I do Sheffield.

As has been mentioned more than once eastern Manchester is markedly wetter than rainshadow western Sheffield!

Chris

 Timmd 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley: As a Sheffielder myself, it does have a chilled and friendly vibe, according to people who come from other cities, prospects wise I gather it falls behind both Leeds and Manchester to do with potential earnings, but that's only one aspect of being happy. Probably neither will be the 'wrong choice'.

Post edited at 18:26
 Timmd 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

> In reply to all,

> The course is quite niche, I’d prefer if she stayed this side of the hill, what’s this about she might not come home afterwards 😳

I'm 40, and spent a decent while down south with my Dad who is in his 70's over Xmas, and we 'vibed together' like we always have. I guess there's distance in miles, but not in the bond.

Post edited at 18:42
In reply to mark burley:

Sheffield is relatively "nice" 

Manchester is frighteningly rough. 

The student areas of Sheffield are pleasant places to live generally, the Manchester ones less so. Do a bit of research into number of students assaulted etc to get a better picture.

I lived in both, 5 yes in Sheffield, 1 in Manchester. I would return to live in Crookes, Walkley etc, you would never drag me back to Hulme, Longsight etc. This was all 30 years ago, things may have changed.

From a safety point of view check the crime stats. When I was in Manchester student burglaries and muggings were a fashionable sport. 

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 ALF_BELF 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

I went to uni in Manchester but moved straight to Sheffield afterwards.

Much prefer the atmosphere in Sheffield, I'd say it's about 10,000x better than Manchester.
It was fine to study there but I wouldn't have liked to of stayed 

Roadrunner6 17 Jan 2021
In reply to ALF_BELF:

No way, sheffield is great but it didn't take advantage of opportunities, so job wise etc it suffers. Leeds and Manchester we're much better at modernising. Manchester especially used the bombing to energise the city center. It was really impressive how they bounced back from that. 

In many ways the big village feel is both good and bad, it's an insular place, but does become home fast.

 TomYoung 17 Jan 2021
In reply to get to the punchline:

In terms of live music, I'm at uni in Sheffield and often attend gigs in Manchester, the last train back is around midnight so most gigs will be finished by then anyway!

I must say I love Sheffield for all the aforementioned reasons, but have never spent a large amount of time in Manchester so can't comment.

Post edited at 20:08
 Andy Hardy 17 Jan 2021
In reply to ALF_BELF:

"have stayed"

 The New NickB 17 Jan 2021
In reply to Presley Whippet:

Hulme has changed beyond comprehension in the last 30 years. You are right though that the universities do border on to some of the less genteel parts of south Manchester.

In reply to The New NickB:

Yes, and as a fan of concrete brutalism I am upset. Some great architecture gone. 

Friends who had stuck around were involved in the redesign. 

 Monk 17 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

I've lived/ worked in both cities and Sheffield is my favourite. It's much safer/ nicer than Manchester and definitely feels smaller, friendlier and more local (in a good way). Probably helps that the student area is in the better part of town, which can't really be said in Manchester. However, Manchester definitely has the 'big city' feel and more exciting nightlife. I'm an outdoor person, so prefer Sheffield but can see why some prefer Manchester. 

 ALF_BELF 17 Jan 2021
In reply to Roadrunner6:

You're not wrong, I ended up taking a job in Leeds to earn a decent wedge in my field.
I don't love the commute but I don't do it that often with working from home and flexi hours.

 Andrew Wells 17 Jan 2021

I will say in addendum to my last post that Manchester is a cracking city and I have definitely enjoyed going there, but that students in Manchester will probably live in a less pleasant part of Manchester than they will in Sheffield, as largely the parts of Sheffield that are student heavy are quite nice (if you get up in the halls in the North-West of the City it's absolutely lovely, but even in other places you'll be near the city centre) and the nice parts of Manchester are bloody expensive.

To say Manchester is unsafe would be a bit heavy but it's definitely got a higher crime-rate than Sheffield. That said you can live an entirely safe and peaceful life in Manchester as well. 

The biggest problem with Sheffield will be that your daughter will be exposed to a larger than normal amount of climbers, who are disreputable at best.

 Timmd 18 Jan 2021
In reply to Roadrunner6:

> No way, sheffield is great but it didn't take advantage of opportunities, so job wise etc it suffers. 

Which opportunities, and around what years are you talking about? 

 laurie 18 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

Hi mark. I've  Lived in Manchester for the past 20 year. It's over rated! I  think Sheffield a better option for all the good reasons everyone ells has suggested. Cheers loz 

 neilh 18 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

I have lived and worked in both. Unfortunately Sheffield these days is not the city it was.

Hands down I would go for Manchester as a city if that is what she is interested in.

Either way I would just go for the one that offers her the best course for the subject she is interested in.

Post edited at 11:46
 Sean Kelly 18 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

Manchester is easier to travel from for the Lakes & North Wales. If not a climber then it's either big or small.

Roadrunner6 18 Jan 2021
In reply to Timmd:

Sheffield could have been the capital of the north, there were plans for a lot of industries that were blocked because they wanted sheffield to be the UKs hollywood - after a few random films or other random ideas like that. The airport was a colossal failure too. The football clubs are an example of short term thinking which dominates the thinking, Wednesday were one of the biggest clubs in the country when sky money came into the game. It was late 80s to late 90s when Leeds and Manchester took off and sheffield didn't. 

My dad was involved in bringing a lot of companies back to sheffield (Boeing etc) and was constantly pushing against the local authorities. I think the airport became part of his advanced manufacturing park.

The airport was typical short term thinking. It was made too short so hardly anything could land there. A major city like sheffield where the airport is now not much closer than LBA or EMA. It was a joke. And it was short because of a deal they did to mine the area at the time of building the airport.

 Rob Exile Ward 18 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

When my son was there, I thought one of the main student areas - Fallowfields - was really rough and depressing.

Post edited at 12:41
 neilh 18 Jan 2021
In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

There is nothing wrong with that unless you want to grow up in a bubble and not be exposed to the rough and tumble of the real world. That is part of being 18 plus...moving out of a cloistered existence. learning to be street wise etc. I am amazed more posters do not comment on this.

Post edited at 12:56
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 Bacon Butty 18 Jan 2021
In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

> When my son was there, I thought one of the main student areas - Fallowfields - was really rough and depressing.


Hahaha, what world do you live in if you think Fallowfield was really rough and depressing?!?!

 chris_r 18 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2019/jun/07/university...

University of Sheffield 45th place

Manchester Met 79th place

Obviously depends on the course, but if all other things are equal, the "brand name" of a red brick university still holds sway with some employers.

 Rob Exile Ward 18 Jan 2021
In reply to neilh:

'That is part of being 18 plus...moving out of a cloistered existence. learning to be street wise etc.'

Hmm. What EXACTLY  do you mean by 'learning to be street wise.'  I think there's better places to learn that than university, if that's important to you.

 laurie 18 Jan 2021
In reply to neilh:

Dont really agree with you on this one. Students are constantly getting broken into a robbed in fallowfield its pritty scary not knowing someone could be robbing you as you sleep or you return home to find an intruder.  Many young women dont feel safe in this area!

 Timmd 18 Jan 2021
In reply to Roadrunner6:

I see, I think that might have been starting to change in the last couple of decades, a relative involved in engineering has been working with the universities towards working out why people graduate and then leave the city, the last I heard there's been an increase in technology and engineering related companies in Sheffield. I wouldn't know how that makes it now compare to other northern cities, but there's definitely been people in that area working towards improving things.

Post edited at 17:32
 Timmd 18 Jan 2021
In reply to neilh:

> There is nothing wrong with that unless you want to grow up in a bubble and not be exposed to the rough and tumble of the real world. That is part of being 18 plus...moving out of a cloistered existence. learning to be street wise etc. I am amazed more posters do not comment on this.

 I'm not sure, even growing up in statistically safer Sheffield, I had something of a learning curve in my mid to late teens towards being more streetwise, I had to take to my heels to be alright a few times. There's probably always a bleaker corner of the real world, from which people can look and call others sheltered, it'd be to different degrees, but I think some element of 'spidey senses' develops whichever lifepath one has? It wouldn't be in a situational way, but in weighing up people's characters, since there's often sharks or weird people (or inevitably some to bump into).

I don't suppose it's something to plunge into, becoming more streetwise...

Post edited at 18:05
 abr1966 18 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

Sheffield every time! Good city, much better areas for students to live and cheaper!

 gravy 18 Jan 2021
In reply to TechnoJim:

"Less rain than on the Mordor side of the Pennines"

Actually I think it is more complex that that.  IIRC there is more rainfall on the Sheffield side but more rainy days on the Manchester side (it's the drizzle that gets you in the end)...

 Arcturus 18 Jan 2021
In reply to chris_r:

I take your point.

These so-called league tables are full of holes. It depends what you are looking for . For me if the op is looking for high quality and intellectual challenge in a STEM related subject Sheffield is up there, also medicine and dentistry . Some of these rankings on the Guardian link are very questionable. 

 lithos 18 Jan 2021
In reply to Arcturus:

Sheff Uni is a Russel Group member ("The Russell Group’s 24 members are world-class, research-intensive universities.")  MMU is not.   What this means varies but 'in general'  usually means more money at their disposal. Some may claim the research bias means poor teaching, not my experience at all.  Does also depend on the course ... but i'd lean towards Sheff but i am not her

 Neil Williams 18 Jan 2021
In reply to lithos:

Is it actually Sheffield Uni, or is it Hallam?

To counter all the love for Sheffield I had a great time at uni in Manchester, the "rough edge" to the city was one thing that gave it a fair bit of interest and excitement for someone brought up in suburban West Lancashire.  It's also very easily accessible by train or car to the Peak (and an hour or so closer to the Lakes and North Wales).  I never had any problems myself with crime, even though I lived on the edge of Moss Side (near Maine Road) in my 2nd year, though I am 6' 4" and built like the proverbial so may not be a prime target - most of it I heard of went on in Fallowfield and to people cutting through Platt Fields Park.

Not that I dislike Sheffield at all, would quite happily live there.

I think where I'm going with this is that I'd decide based on the course/uni rather than the city if it was me.

Post edited at 18:49
 lithos 18 Jan 2021
In reply to Neil Williams:

Sheff Uni, OP said so a bit up thread. 

I went to M/C and had a great time in 1981 (Hacienda era) and Hulme/Moss Side was an 'interesting' area !

Post edited at 18:53
 Neil Williams 18 Jan 2021
In reply to lithos:

I think there would be very few cases where I would choose a course at Manchester Met (ex-Poly) over one at Sheffield Uni (red-brick), to be honest.  For this reason only I'd suggest Sheffield.

Nowt wrong with the Met in and of itself, but a red-brick degree is still worth that bit more.

OP mark burley 18 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

Lots of good Info and replies, thanks for everyone for taking the time.  I’ll send her a link to this, it’s her choice and she’s a pretty solid so will make the best choice for her.
I know she will  be fine - She’s been working self service checkout for the last 9 months in Leeds since A levels got dumped. Not the expected year and instead of travelling and at 5’4” she has learnt how to stop shoplifters from nicking the vodka. 

 Pete Pozman 19 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley

> what’s this about she might not come home afterwards 😳

Ah my friend, it soon gets to that time 😢

 jack89 19 Jan 2021
In reply to mark burley:

I did my undergrad in Sheffield and some years later a master's in Manchester. I don't really miss Manchester at all and what I do miss about it, Sheffield would probably offer it better anyway. Sheffield felt way more homely and community oriented. I can't really say if one's objectively better for getting into sport and stuff but if one is, I think that should count - friends, health and some non-career-based post-university direction and purpose.

In Sheffield, you don't constantly hear (and taste/smell?!) the motorway and traffic as you do in Manchester. Perhaps Manchester is more fun when you can afford a city life, too, but it's not exactly hard to go to Manchester for a day, or get a job there after university if still curious.

 Neil Williams 19 Jan 2021
In reply to jack89:

I suppose in the end Manchester is a proper grimy big city like London (though a bit friendlier) and Sheffield is a "big village" as some call it (not that Sheffield doesn't have its own industrial grime, of course, but in terms of feel).  Very much depends what you like out of those, and it doesn't overly surprise me that outdoors people tend towards the latter.

In this case I'd very much decide based on the uni, though - a red-brick degree is worth that little bit more than a "metropolitan" university (ex-Poly) one, however good those institutions might be these days.  If it was Manchester Uni vs Sheffield Hallam I'd say Manchester, but as it's Sheffield Uni vis Manchester Met I'd say definitely go with Sheffield unless there's a very strong reason to do otherwise.  There may be odd cases where a given ex-Poly has a particularly good reputation for a given course and the red-brick a lesser one, though, so that's worth the research on the specific course.

Post edited at 08:48
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 Timmd 19 Jan 2021
In reply to Neil Williams: Sheffield Uni is definitely a 'high brow' uni. Some people move away from Sheffield because of how comfortable it can become, in moving to London to seek their fortune and big things. IIRC it has among the highest student retention rates in the country.

Post edited at 18:28

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