I live in a city in China , about the same size as Sheffield [ six hundred and eighty thousand population]. There are virtually no tourists here and almost no foreigners . It is not in the most prosperous part of China , neither is it particularly poor ; about average for China , in fact.
I've just come home , mid-evening , from a bar. The taxi travels round the edge of the city------the equivalent in Sheffield would be the Wicker or Moorfoot.
All the way , on the journey , I could see the shops were all open , dozens of small cafes amd larger restaurants were full of people , families were strolling around , as were teenagers , elderly people and all age groups in between. Even small children were toddling home , alone or in groups . There were cars and bicycles everywhere . Parents would be riding along , a little basket affair on the back of the bike with a child or two strapped in , oblivious to the noisy life all around. People were chatting everywhere , men were gambling on home-made , "card" tables or playing chess.
That's what I'd call a city. A city has , "a buzz " , for most of the day . Except for a short period at midday , when it's about thirty eight centigrade in the shade , the streets are always like that.
I've worked or been on holiday in a lot of cities in Europe and Asia and , with a few small variations , the picture is the same.
In my view , and I lived in Sheffield for thirty -eight years and have since visited it many times , Sheffield is NOT a city now , except in name only.
Walk down Fargate or the centre of town on say , a Tuesday morning at eleven a.m. and it's like a ghost town .The only time it fills up in the evening , even in Summer , is on Friday and Saturday nights and , even then , with only one age group.Shops are all practically shut by six p.m.
There may be various reasons for this ------I'm sure there are -------but the sooner Sheffield recognises it is NOT a city in a real sense , maybe the sooner it will solve its many problems .

???
its still a city

maybe not one of these 24 hour cities

but still a city, it doesnt go on whats happening, it goes on the size

Ive gotta agree actually. Sheffield to me just doesnt seem like a City, perhaps more like a large town. Dont get me wrong though, I think thats a good thing, one of the many reasons why I like Sheffield.

MeltheBell
Well , I did say , "in name only "
After living in it for thirty -eight years , I do realise that it IS technically a city.

I know what you mean, Fareast.

Sheffield is a city in terms of its size, but the 'atmosphere' or 'buzz' usually associated with a city is not present in Sheffield. This may or may not be a bad thing, though - I guess it depends what you want from where you live.

Places like Manchester or Leeds DO have that extra-something about them - when you're there, you can feel whatever it is in the air. Excitement, tension, expectation - I don't quite know what - maybe all those things and more. There's constantly an air that something's about to happen - it's a feeling that you're not quite safe, which is a little scary but invigorating and exciting at the same time.

I guess the bad side of that is the higher levels of crime that are associated with cities.

Sheffield is a great place to live, precisely because it is a city, with the amenities and opportunities of a city, but without the same levels of fear of crime and the like generally found in cities. Sheffield is a very 'friendly' city and has much of the small town feel about it, which in my opinion, leads to a high quality of life. The phrase 'the biggest village in England' is very true.

StarSparkle :)

technically Sheffield is a CITY....however in cultural and social terms its still a large village.......its not a 24 hour city, and it will be interesting to see if it actually becomes one later in the year...

I think the problem is that much of our city centre is actually given over to retail outlets, and not inexpensive, social cafés, canteens, bars or restaurants.

People gathering together in the peace gardens are viewed with suspicion (its a mob).

And also that people go out to be seen, rather than to meet others, which is somehow secondary.

technically or not ITS STILL A CITY, its just not 24 hours

and as somebody already said, it depends what you want, tbh i wouldnt want a 24 hour party city

StarSparkle,

I agree that cities like Manchester and Leeds do have , "a city feel" to them , that Sheffield lacks.
I think some years ago , there wasn't such a big gap. Maybe Meadowhall has drained our city of a lot of its life ? I honesly don't know if Leeds has anything the equivalent of Meadowhall.
The reason I mentioned cities abroad , was that in most of them you seem to see a bigger range of people , thronging the cities , day or night . A city , for me should be freely available to all its citizens.
I know crime in Sheffield is a bit lower than Leeds , for example but our city centre in the evenings is still only filled with , generally the sixteen to thirty age group and then only at weekends.
Sheffield seems to get the worst of both worlds , in that respect :- no buzz and not quite safe enough either .

Originally posted by Fareast
StarSparkle,

I agree that cities like Manchester and Leeds do have , "a city feel" to them , that Sheffield lacks.
I think some years ago , there wasn't such a big gap. Maybe Meadowhall has drained our city of a lot of its life ? I honesly don't know if Leeds has anything the equivalent of Meadowhall.
The reason I mentioned cities abroad , was that in most of them you seem to see a bigger range of people , thronging the cities , day or night . A city , for me should be freely available to all its citizens.
I know crime in Sheffield is a bit lower than Leeds , for example but our city centre in the evenings is still only filled with , generally the sixteen to thirty age group and then only at weekends.
Sheffield seems to get the worst of both worlds , in that respect :- no buzz and not quite safe enough either .

Leeds has the White Rose shopping centre but it's nowhere near as big as Meadowhall, in fact you could fit most of the White Rose into a small corner of Meadowhall.

Originally posted by Fareast
Sheffield seems to get the worst of both worlds , in that respect :- no buzz and not quite safe enough either .

I see it as having the BEST of both worlds - the status of being a city with the amenities of a city, such as the universities, while retaining the QUALITY of life more associated with living in a town, such as lower crime rates, more of a feeling of community, etc.

I have chosen to make the City of Sheffield my home, as it offers me what I want from the place I live.

StarSparkle

Originally posted by StarSparkle
I see it as having the BEST of both worlds - the status of being a city with the amenities of a city, such as the universities, while retaining the QUALITY of life more associated with living in a town, such as lower crime rates, more of a feeling of community, etc.

I have chosen to make the City of Sheffield my home, as it offers me what I want from the place I live.

StarSparkle

I see it the other way round. A small village with frightening social problems. Like Hathersage with Carjacking!;)

And what would that be SS ?(starsparkle - your abbreviation makes you sound like a nazi)

Sheffield historically a collection of villages that over the years have merged. I like that and wouldn't want to live anywhere else (at least not in the UK:P ).

Yes technically its a city but I've often heard it described at the biggest village in England.

I can't believe what I am seeing on this thread.
Of course Sheffield is a city.
You mention Leeds, Manchester and to that you can add Liverpool, Birmingham, London. They're the only places in England who seemingly have that bit extra over Sheffield.
To say Sheffield is not worthy of city status means that all cities below them in terms of status, economy, education, culture, leisure and retail shold not be seen as a city.
Sheffield is a city and a large one at that.
If someone asked me the question 'Should Doncaster be given city status?' Hand on heart, I would have to say yes as its profile is rising and it has more going for it than half the current cities we have in England. So Doncaster a city and Sheffield not.......sounds ridiculous doesn't it.
Putting London aside, I think up to the 1990's Sheffield was in Division One as cities go with the likes of Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. Today, I reckon we may have slipped a division and are in the same league as Newcastle, Nottingham, Bristol. In five years I am sure we will be back with the big boys though......as the airport takes off and supertram is extended.

Originally posted by FriarTuck
In five years I am sure we will be back with the big boys though......as the airport takes off and supertram is extended.

Supertram extension? Are you sure about this?

The last proposal's I know of for extending the tram network was fiercely protested against and the idea shelved.

But agree hopefully the next five years will see Sheffield back in the top city league, the New Retail Quarter will boost us up the city centre shopping ranks and projects like the redevelopment of Leopold Square and St Pauls place will breathe new life right into the city centre.

Investment in Sheffield has no doubt dropped behind the likes of Leeds and Manchester. When you drive into Leeds it jsut looks so much more impressive than Sheffield, even though it is home to approximately the same number of people. But we are now seeing some of the investment coming our way and the city centre is really starting to see a lot of improvements. It will be at least 10 years before it really starts looking and feeling like a 21st century big city though - probably longer. But I hope it retains it's 'village feel' at the same time. I lived in Leeds for a while, and although it had the big city 'buzz' about it, I found it a most unfriendly place to live.

no offence ment fareast BUT . . . . . thats england!! i really don't think we could cope with a 24 hour culture like they have over there, england wakes up (generally) at 6am and goes to bed (again generally) at 12midnight.

people over here just arn't ready to accept the changes that people over there do!!! simple as that, in 10 years possibly but at the minute we are content with the laws and life we have here be them right or wrong!

Originally posted by Fareast

Walk down Fargate or the centre of town on say , a Tuesday morning at eleven a.m. and it's like a ghost town ..

What city (apart from london and birmingham) is busy in the centre of the shopping district at 11am? im sorry bud but not many will be!

It took many years in the Royal Navy to convince me that Sheffield, my hometown was not the centre of the universe, something I feel many Sheffielders think it is. We found going back home difficult to break into Sheffield cliques.
I love cities, even Sheffield, but some have a spark about them that Sheffield lacks. Montreal is my favorite. It has style, great food, and a lot of fun. It's everything that Toronto isn't.
I live halfway between NYC and Boston, Boston is OK, but New York is fantastic. All you need is lots of money, which I don't have!

Scottf.

I think you're wrong about Sheffield in a few ways.
Firstly , the centre of Sheffield seems as though it , "goes to bed " at six o ' clock p.m. , not midnight.
I don't think it's a matter of us possibly changing to a , "city culture ' , sometime possibly in the future ; I think it's more a matter of us once having a thriving city centre , of a sort , then losing it.
At one time , despite Sheffield's grim appearance , our city centre had more bustle to it , day and night than it has now.
When I first mentioned cities , I wasn't talking about huge buildings or clean buildings .....etc......but a place where all its citizens , not just a few , felt safe and happy to gather , to trade , gossip , walk , sit around and so on.Now Sheffield never has been a , "fun city " but it still had more going for it , AS A TRUE CITY ,years ago.
There was no Meadowhall , years ago , to lure away shoppers from the centre.The city centre was ringed by a series of inner-city suburbs , so people could easily walk if they wished into Town.For those who were elderly or a bit infirm , we had an excellent , cheap , reliable bus-service.
It was safer to BE in the city centre at nights and thus more people of all ages were willing to go there for a drink. or simply to walk round.
I'm not disputing the factors that have led to Sheffield City centre's decline. I'm just saying it IS like that , and it has not always been so.
People have been living in cities [with universities , parks , big buildings , lots of "traffic " ....etc ..] in other countries for thousands of years before we did and they seem to have a , "knack "for it. We seem to have almost found it and lost it again.

I always thought, that one qualification for CityHood, was a Cathederal! Universeties follow (Church Schools).
In the 1950's and 60's, In the Army, and getting experience of other towns - City's both in England and abroad, Sheffield was known as the biggest village in England. All pubs shut at 10:00pm - - the only late bar I remember was the City Hall Dance.
It changed with the world cup - - some matches being played at Hillsborough. A couple of beer gardens, a few disco's, (Stringfellow started up then!) to accomodate the european visitors.
However, being built on hills, it has a small town centre, and does cling to the "collection of small villages mentality". The dormitory areas of the council estates contribute to this factor too.
To refer to the "Far East"post - - I would like to see a mother or father with two kids in the "Pannier", cycling up city road, or prince of wales road etc to get home to Hackenthorpe. Even strolling home late at night, invariably would involve a bit of mountain climbing. (One reason for it being populated by the younger set), Energy!

Buck

Exactly !
I , too , thought like you , re-Sheffield.
I lived there until nineteen-eighty and , apart from short breaks , never left it. In fact , further than that , I spent the great majority of that time between Abbeydale Road and West St.---Glossop Rd. ! and town , of course !
I think twent-five years ago , Sheffield still had a lot going for it and the centre then was as , "city-like " as you'd get in any comparable city in the U.K.
But then , moving away and then moving abroad , gives you a new perspective about your home town .I've never been to America at all but the best all round place I've ever lived in as a , "city " , in the full sense of the word ,is Istanbul ; crazy , but what a place !

I also think that a lot of the Quiet Sheffield image can be put down to the Yorkshire attitude of "Live and Let Live" A common sense, down to earth way of life, that keeps them content in their own little area. Of Course, Being quite elderly, I don't need Vibrant Clubs, or to run the obstacle course, of pleasure/mischief seeking younger set.
I have known a few favourite cities - - Algier's in the 60's and 70's, Oran too. Cairo - Tripoli (Try that one) - Marseilles and Paris - - - mainly through the entertainment side of things, clubs, bars, hotels and some seedier places.
Nice to be back home, and as some have said, in a place of lesser gang/gun culture than most of the UK.

To All Posters

I think one thing we MAY all agree on ------transport is the lifeblood of a city.
For good or ill , a lot of people were moved away from Sheffield city centre , over the years and into the suburbs.Sheffco mentions Sheffield's hills and , yes, this makes it all the more problematic for people to , "pop" into the city centre , say on a bike . If people DO live near a city centre or live in the centre , no problem.
If ninety per cent live quite a way off , then if you want centres to , "buzz " you have to supply cheap , reliable , safe , round the clock transport and then you might see them return to the centre.
It may be too late , of course .Meadowhall has , "captured " a lot of the motorised shoppers and will battle every way it can to keep them.Also , significantly , it is at the centre of a transport , "hub" and a lot of people probably find travelling there by , "public" transport as easy , if not easier , than going to the centre of the city.
To put it in a nutshell , imagine Sheffield City Centre with all Meadowhall's advantages ! That might give it a ,"buzz " !

Suburbanism is the death knell of city centres. Sheffield is a fairly recent member of the Shopping mall situation, which has existed in America much longer.
Apart from the great cities like San Francisco, NYC, Philly, Chicago etc. The moderately large cities have downtowns that are dying, leaving an underclass behind in ghettos that are underschooled, underpoliced, and dangerous.
The suburbs are self sufficient, the malls concentrate all the public's needs in one parking area. Wide four lane highways feed the malls and parking is free. Why bother going into town.
One really bad effect of the Mall, or more particularly massive discount houses like Walmart, is that the small independent specialty establishments get bulldozed out of business because they can't compete. What disappears with them is that personal one on one service and expertise. Would you let your little girl ride a bike put together by a snotty nosed high school dropout. I sure wouldn't.

Now , come on , Sheffco ------,"elderly "......"energy "......! I'm sure if a few of us Elderlies got together , one Saturday , we could soon show 'em what a city centre is really for !
Making one , Buck ?
Three gin fizzes , please , for the gentlemen in the corner , playing dominoes.

Sadly, these days, I'm one of the reasons for the decline in the nightlife of the city centre. - - - I prefer to have a few drinks at home, where I can smoke, and choose my companions.
The more vibrant parts of Sheffield are given over to theme pubs and clubs, and some of the older areas of the centre are not exactly safe at night. The suberbs are not exactly well policed, and in my area, one would be lucky to see a policeman on foot patrol for months on end.
The police presence is usually patrol cars, chasing someone or other, and often accompanied by a helicopter "Eye in the sky". This area being set out with narrow walkways, ideal for dumping the car and escaping on foot. Some nights, being in a top floor flat with an excellent view, the excitement is better than the offerings on TV.
We do have excellent access to the centre (supertram), but there is little there to entice me away from a few friends and a bottle of scotch, in comfort and safety of my own place.
I am also guilty of shopping at the nearby mini-mall - - a covered market - a couple of supermarket outlets - free parking.
We do go into town to use the discount stores that are appearing on the High Street, mainly for clothes and accessories. Buck said it all, and UK is bound to follow suit.
What he didn't mention was the entry of Internet shopping, which is steadily growing, and provides ease of shopping from home combined with the hunt for bargains.
Another factor is, Budget. Some of the livelier places require big pockets to have more than the occassional couple of halves.
I still have the standards of when I was earning a multi "K" salary, but I don't have the income any more, apart from the odd celebration.

Sheffield is nice enough but it has no real buzz to it. It's certainly missing a lot compared to similar sized cities in this country and abroad. I have recently visited Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Sydney and Vice City on the Playstaion. Obviously it's unfair to compare places of such splendour as VC and Sydney but even the other 3 and especially Glasgow make Sheffield feel like a no name 'hick' kind of place.

Went to Birmingham today, 1st time since the Bullring was open. B'ham never ceases to amaze me, it's a great city. I am ashamed to tell people I live in Sheffield.
Met some friends there and my mates daughter went to Sheffield uni. She hated the place, called it derilict. She was so pleased to get back to b'ham. Well I cant blame her.
The city was buzzing today, the Bullring looked great and everything was lovely and clean.
Well done to Birmingham.

Originally posted by Fareast
Maybe Meadowhall has drained our city of a lot of its life ?

It has but I don't think it should shoulder all of the blame. Shops in the city centre were (and still are to some extent) terrible. People voted with their feet.

Newcastle and Manchester city centres are thriving, despite having the Trafford and Metro centres on their doorstep.

i dont usually get involved with these pointless 'lets all slag sheffield' threads that are common place on this forum, but i felt compelled to defend sheffield on the grounds that i live in newcastle and people seem to paint a rosy picture of it compared to sheffield. In my opinion its just a case of the grass being greener. Newcastle is also deserted at night and a ghost town in many parts of the centre at certain times of the day, to the extent that twice in the last week i have been threatened by some horrible people and was lucky to come away unscathed.Don't get me wrong i love living in newcastle but apart from the big cities that are birmingham, manchester and london, this is generally the story in english cities. Its a cultuaral aspect and it is therefore unfair to compare sheffield(or other english cities) to chinese ones. And apart from there being more of the high street stores present in newcastle's disgusting city centre indoor shopping centre(eldon square), shopping in newcastle is no better than sheffield. In fact its worse because there's no FOPP!!!! And like sheffield, newcastle relies heavily on its student population, if not more so.

I'll join you for one, Fareast. Where's it going to be? Downtown Beijing or New Orleans. I hear Walmart might be opening up in China. Wonder whose merchandise they'll sell. Over here its 90% Chinese. That's a little better than the Christmas Tree Shoppe franchise. Thats more than 95%. Thank God for Levi Strauss, and Harley Davidson!

Birmingham is a great place to live if all you have in your life is going shopping.

What's all this about a "buzz"? Doesn't somewhere count as a city if there's not enough noise when you walk round the middle of it? You'd better get off to Ely and Wells with your decibel meters.

Jazz ,

Well , you've touched on a complex point there about , "culture ".
If it was a national cultural thing , that would mean that ALL big cities in England would be empty at night ......etc.....
Also , this , "culture " aspect would have to be a pretty recent one , historically , because not too many years ago , Sheffield city centre was fuller during the day and had a broader range of people at night.
I think if you give English people the chance , they will go shopping late , take their families out with them in the evenings ......etc.....
What I think it is , is that for a lot of practical , not cultural , reasons , Sheffield is as it is.
The town cente shops shut early , during the day people on this Forum say the range of shops is poor , it's very often unpleasant to be in the centre day or night because of yobbishness or violence , parking is expensive and public transport is inadequate.It's these practical reasons why people are not there , not cultural ones.
Other cities may have similar problems , well , so be it ; it doesn't alter the truth about Sheffield .
A lot of us are not , "Sheffield bashing ". I used to be really proud of Sheffield and spent all my first 38 years there and have visited it a lot since and will always love it , in the way , one always loves one's birthplace.
However , a few years ago , I arrived at the Midland station at about 8.p.m and caught a 60 bus and then switched to an 82 bus to go to Hunters Bar . It wasn't cold or wet and as we went through the city centre , I was amazed at how completely empty it looked . A few lights were on where the pubs were and that was about it.A couple of forlorn figures were moving between pubs and no=one else about.
I think we're missing out on what could be a great experience----a warm , friendly , social centre , that attracted all age groups for a variety of reasons . If small , non-touristic places can do this in other countries , we could too.
It's so long ago , that we did have , "living " city centres that I think a lot of people have never experienced them in England or have forgotten what they were like.

Sheffield is quite obviously a city. But what defines a city?

One poster mentioned the need to have a cathedral. Nottingham city doesn't have a (CofE) cathedral, whereas it's near neighbour, Derby, has had a cathedral since 1927, but remained a town for the following 50 years! Sheffield has a cathedral. Is that enough to make us a city?

Ripon and Wakefield both have cathedrals, and are classified as cities - but does anyone really consider them as such? So, {cough} does size matter?

I think it plays a part. But what else constitutes a city? I think that location and transport links also play a part.

If we look at Birmingham, there are bold, imaginative sculptures in public settings, some tall towers, 3 universities, an exciting retail sector (with the outstanding new Selfridges facade), a Chinatown, a gay village, theatre land, museums, concert hall, canal side, hotels and.....a cathedral! Birmingham is cosmopolitan and vibrant; a city that hardly sleeps. It is the beating heart of the West Midlands, with an international airport and has excellent motorway links.

Much the same can be said of Manchester - which recently hosted the Commonwealth Games. It too has an international airport, and excellent motorway links - being girdled by the M60. It is the undisputed 'capital' of the North-West.

Sheffield plays junior partner to Leeds. We lack an international airport (though Doncaster-Robin Hood-Sheffield will eventually assume that role). We lack definition, with an absence of tall towers, and only an emerging night-time economy, but the nearest equivalent of a China town must be London Road. We have two universities, a theatre land, the Winter Gardens and Millennium Galleries, and the splendid Peace Gardens. Soon the refurbished Mappin Gallery and also City Hall will reopen, and in time the new retail quarter will emerge. We have city living apartments, a canal side, and some of the best parks in the UK (especially the Botanical Gardens). We have an awful lot going for us as a city, but we are to some extent a small city compared to some of our near neighbours.

The question we must all address is - do we want it to stay that way, or do we want to grow in size, height and stature? Do we, for example, want a 32 story tower block in the heart of the city? Do we want to welcome visitors, tourists and business people by ensuring an adequate supply of hotels in our city centre? Do we just want to be known as snooker city, or do we strive for a bolder vision, maybe some new cultural event that will put us firmly on the map? Do we need some defining architecture? Do we need an imaginative sculpture, like the Angel of the North? Or is it just sufficient to enter the European Entente Florale? (Fingers crossed we win of course!).

I won't pronounce on my views. I merely pose the questions that I feel need asking.

sheffield is a big village wherever you go someone seems to pop up that you know, or knows a friend of a friend.












It's like we all came from like adam and eve or something, I getting a bit deep:suspect:

Sheffield is 100% a city - a medium sized one in this country IMHO.

Why we try to compare ourselves to conurbations like Leeds (with Bradford / Wakefield etc on the doorstep) and Manchester (joined on to Salford/ Bolton / Oldham / Stockport) is beyond me.

Great subject. I'm in the - like Sheffield coz it's not a city - camp. Might nick this and use it on the show.

NM

No - as far as this country goes it is a city.

Top of the list are conurbations - London, Birmingham / West Bromwich / Wolverhampton / Walsall etc, Manchester / Salford/ Stockport / Bolton / Oldham etc , Liverpool / St Helens/ Birkenhead / Wallasey, Leeds / Bradford etc, Newcastle / Jarrow / North Shields / South Shields.

Then the stand alone cities like Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, Bristol.

Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Chesterfield are towns.

Hence Sheffield will never have the facilities / culture of the big players but always be ahead of the towns.

Hence Sheffield will never have the facilities / culture of the big players but always be ahead of the towns. [/B]

Facilities?

Apart from missing an airport i can't really think of much Sheffield doesn't have.

Originally posted by ReginaldD
sheffield is a big village wherever you go someone seems to pop up that you know, or knows a friend of a friend.

good point and true, no where else i've ever been to has this atmosphere, i even chat to wednesday fans (hehe)

Originally posted by buck
I love cities, even Sheffield, but some have a spark about them that Sheffield lacks. Montreal is my favorite. It has style, great food, and a lot of fun. It's everything that Toronto isn't.
I live halfway between NYC and Boston, Boston is OK, but New York is fantastic.

I've been to all 3 of those cities in the last month, and although its nothing to do with the topic, i have to point out, that i thought Montreal was crap. Boston was beaut, and everyone in the world should go to see NYC, its an experience unrivalled, (even if you dont like it)

It ain't London by a long way and it ain't as cool as Edingburough (excuse the spelling) Sheffield is City undoubtedly but in places feels more like a town (espeicially in the Porter village area) and that is why I live hear, I like having the facilities without the rat race.

I see sheffield as a very large village and i think it would be an even nicer village without people like Templeton in it!!

Originally posted by Longcol
No - as far as this country goes it is a city.

Top of the list are conurbations - London, Birmingham / West Bromwich / Wolverhampton / Walsall etc, Manchester / Salford/ Stockport / Bolton / Oldham etc , Liverpool / St Helens/ Birkenhead / Wallasey, Leeds / Bradford etc, Newcastle / Jarrow / North Shields / South Shields.

Then the stand alone cities like Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, Bristol.

Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Chesterfield are towns.

Hence Sheffield will never have the facilities / culture of the big players but always be ahead of the towns.


Sheffield's bigger than Liverpool and Newcastle though. Having other cities nearby is irrelevant really - in terms of size we're the 4th city in England. Also, Nottingham and Derby are within a few miles of one another.

Lets look at the question objectivly and see if it has relevance.

:confused:
OK I looked and no it don't, and here's why.

I live in British Columbia, Canada and tho I love the place I will always think of Sheffield as my home. I never think/say "oh I'm going back to visit Sheffield"I always think/say " I'm going home for a visit".
I was born and lived in Sheffield for 50 years and no matter where I roam Sheffield will always be my home
:thumbsup:
The argument as to wether Sheffield is a town ,city or village is of no consequence what is of consequence is the fact that it is my home so stop Knockin' it I don't like it:rant:
You can take a man out of Yorkshire but you can't take Yorkshire out of the man.:clap: