By Jack Wignall, BA Business Management with Employment Experience
Welcome to Sheffield, your new home away from home!
Sheffield is Europe’s greenest city with its borders reaching far into the neighbouring Peak District. The Peaks are a short car, train or bus ride away and offer breath-taking views and enjoyable walks for you all to explore. No other University will be able to offer this sort of setting right on your doorstep so it is well worth making the most of!
The Sheffield nightlife is legendary. Having produced global talent such as the Arctic Monkeys and Def Leppard, Sheffield is home to many famous venues. The most famous of these being Leadmill where local talent take their steps to stardom and is a venue which hosts many gigs throughout the year. Also, there is the O2 Academy where more big named artists play and is located right in the city centre. From a student’s point of view, there is a long list of places offering cheap and crazy student nights which includes Code, Plug, Tank and the famous Corporation (make sure you bring a special pair of ‘Corp shoes’).
If it is more of a mellow and relaxed environment you are looking for, then that is just as easily accessible too. The city centre has many coffee and clothes shops to have look around as well as having Meadowhall shopping centre just on the outskirts of the city. There are plenty of niche and independent stores to visit with many quirky features to suit all tastes. Sheffield also offers all sorts of activities within the city, with my personal favourite being the up and coming popular ‘Escape Rooms’ encounter also found here in Sheffield.
Sport is a big part of what makes Sheffield the city it is. They are proud and loyal people and show this through the support they offer to their local professional teams. They hold the accolade of having the first ever and oldest football club in Sheffield F.C. and also have two football league clubs in Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United. Sheffield Steelers, who are the Ice Hockey team, play at Sheffield Arena and the basketball team is called the Sheffield Sharks. Cricket and rugby are also sports thoroughly enjoyed in Sheffield as well as the Sheffield Tigers Speedway team.
Sheffield’s culture is a down to earth and friendly one. The locals are very accommodating of students from University and are always helpful and entertaining, whether you bump into them in the street or on a night out.
Once you understand some of the local lingo and get used to climbing all sorts of hills, you will thoroughly enjoy your time here and a lot of people choose to stay after graduation. I guarantee you won’t want to leave!