About the Place

Sheffield is an extraordinary place to live and work.

Sheffield is a brilliant city, proud of its past and resolutely determined about its future. We are the fourth biggest city in England, with a population of over half a million people, growing year-on-year since the beginning of the century. The people of Sheffield are friendly and welcoming, with a renowned sense of community. We have amazing environmental, cultural, sporting and heritage assets, and are proud of the fact that our outdoor city has been named as the greenest in the UK and is the only city in the UK to include a national park within its boundaries. We are also the only UK city in the top ten of Time Out magazine’s best places in Europe for a city break in 2022 with neighbourhoods seen as some of the most vibrant in the UK.

Sheffield offers a fantastic quality of life with over half of the city’s population living within 15 minutes of open countryside and most are even closer to one of the city’s 150 woodlands and 50 public parks, and the ingenuity, industry and creativity of the people who call the city home is unmatched. We are proud to work for this city and its people.

Located in the south of South Yorkshire close to the Derbyshire border, Sheffield is almost equidistant from Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham, and boasts direct transport links with all three, plus Birmingham and London. You can also easily go abroad from here, with Leeds-Bradford, Humberside and East Midlands Airports all easily accessible, while the train route to St. Pancras opens up the opportunities of continental Europe. Sheffield is also one of the UK’s Core Cities.

Sheffield has a long and diverse cultural history, with heritage in making and crafting dating back to the 12th Century, while our status in the Industrial Revolution led to our nickname, the Steel City. We have many cultural and community groups across the city, with lots of events including the Sharrow Festival, Tramlines Music Festival, Art in the Gardens and Pride. If you’re looking for a relaxed evening out, you can choose from all your favourite big-name chain restaurants as well as many independent and authentic world culinary places, or from a raft of theatres and cinemas.

Sheffield is one of the craft brewing capitals of the world, with plenty of pubs showcasing delicious local produce. We also have one of the best music scenes in the UK, being the home of Human League, Def Leppard, Self Esteem and Arctic Monkeys, to name just a few. There are lots of quality venues to see your favourite artists or classical ensembles, while if sport is more your thing, the city is home to professional football, rugby and ice hockey teams.

Did you know that Sheffield has 4.5 million trees, more trees per person than any other city in Europe, and is 61% greenspace, the highest percentage of any city in the world? A third of the city is situated within the Peak District national park and boasts more than 250 parks, gardens and woodlands. The Five Weirs Canal Walk stretches for 7.5 km through the city centre, and is accessible for all, while Sheffield is also the UK’s home for cycling, climbing and downhill mountain biking. Perhaps it is no surprise that we are known as The Outdoor City.

There is a variety of housing available in Sheffield, both to rent and buy. Grimesthorpe and Pitsmoor in the north of the City are the most affordable places to buy, while the city centre and numerous villages on the outskirts are recommended for more prosperous surroundings. There are 129 primary and 46 secondary schools, as well as the Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam Universities.