My husband is going to be working on a post-doc at the U. of Sheffield starting August 1. I am lost in terms of where to find a good short-term (6 months) rental for our family (which includes 2 young children). We will not have a car so it would need to be in a good location for shopping, public transit, family friendly, etc.

Any suggestions on places to look? Agecies that help you find a rental? We would like to have everything set up before we get there.

And finally, are there any programs that you might tell me about that will help me to meet other mothers, or preschools, or other activities for young kids in sheffield. My children will be 1 and 4.

Thanks.

Genevieve

Wow talk about a big step.
Now then, as far as rentals are concerned you could try starting at this website: http://www.sheffield-estateagents.co.uk/. It sppears they have a comprehensive list of agencies that cover home rentals in sheffield.

Now I haven't lived all over sheffield so I wont comment on areas I am unfamiliar with.

However I would recommend the following for family oriented areas.

Sothall
Beighton
Mosborough
Norton
Meadowhead
Whirlow
Dore
Millhouses
Ecclesall

I have first hand experience of these areas and can recommend them for local transport, family, safety and schools.

The ones listed in Blue are the more expensive areas of the city and prices may be higher.
As I'm unsure of your budget I cannot say with any degree of accuracy, nor will I pry for the info:thumbsup:

My best advice would be to contact some of the vendors of properties in Sheffield and see what you come up with.

If you spot anything give us a shout on here and no doubt you will get the advice you are looking for.

Do a search on sheffield forum for Good areas of Sheffield and Bad Areas of Sheffield... this may help with your search and where you choose to rent.

I hope this helps, please feel free to ask if you have any further queries.

Regards

DaBouncer

Children First (http://www.childrenfirst.org.uk)

This is the website for sheffield's children information service. They can provide you with a list of mother toddler groups and other services in Sheffield for families.

Reeds Rains Estate Agents (http://www.reedsrains.co.uk/)

This is one estate agents I know that cover rental. If you look through the forums you will see areas to avoid.
Personally I will reccomend Hillsborough. Easily accesable by car, bus or tram. We have our own shopping area and plenty of sports and childrens facilities. Not too far from the city or from the countryside either.

Moon Maiden

Hi, here's a link to our local newspapers' website. On it somewhere you should be able to find an address for The Sheffield Telegraph which carries all property information in its Friday edition. You should be able to have copies sent to you in the USA.

Sheffield Today (http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/)

Good luck.

I thought it was the Thursday edition Max?

Either way, with it taking days to reach the USA, they'd be a week behind on every paper.

Still a good idea tho to contact the newspapers!

Originally posted by DaBouncer
I thought it was the Thursday edition Max?

I have a copy next to me as I type and it's dated Friday. It may, however, be printed and distributed on Thursday.

As far as being out of date goes, there is a special rate for air mail newspapers which ensures it arrives within 2 days of being printed.

fish4 homes www.fish4.co.uk do rentals

You might want to get in contact with the Universities Accomodation department as they will have a list of houses, etc.. that are available and should be able to help you with your needs.

The number will be somewhere on the uni' web site.. I'm pretty sure they will have dealt with this sort of thing in the past so that would be my first port of call...

Thanks for all of the help so far. I will check into the papers and the websites. I'm glad I found this site, and will certainly be needed some more guidance.

As an example, not only do I not know where to look for a place to rent (or let as you say) I can't understand most of the jargon used in the letting ads. I'll just start by asking what is double glazing? And do you need it?

Thanks again.

Genevieve

Originally posted by genevieve
I can't understand most of the jargon used in the letting ads. I'll just start by asking what is double glazing? And do you need it?
it's dual panes of glass that hold a vaccum in between so they are good for keeping heat in and cold out... Not sure of an equivalent in US terminology.

It's not vital but it can make a difference to things like your heating bills and general comfort..

Originally posted by Martin_s
it's dual panes of glass that hold a vaccum in between so they are good for keeping heat in and cold out... Not sure of an equivalent in US terminology.

It's not vital but it can make a difference to things like your heating bills and general comfort..
And noise... reduces noise too.

If you can get double glazing DO, but it's not vital as Martin_s says.

If you need any more help.... just yell!

Good luck with your move Genevieve. My partner is a post-doc at the University and we are considering a move to the USA from September for her next job (property in Boston is sooo expensive!) Many of our friends are academics and most of them live in Crookes, Nether Green (where we live), Fulwood and Hunters Bar. All these areas have good local shops and transport and are family friendly with good schools which you may be interested in for your older child, from all except Fulwood you can walk to the University inside 30mins. However, they are among the more expensive areas in Sheffield, so if you find them outside your price bracket I recommend you also look at Walkley which has most of these attributes. Obviously there are many rental agencies in sheffield, Mike Jolly Estates, specialises in rentals - do a Google search. But I also recommend that your husband asks his future colleagues to keep their ears to the ground and eyes on noticeboards for suitable accomodation, because there are always people moving, due to most academic contracts being short-term. They may know people who are moving out of nice houses or of people who are renting-out their houses while they work away - we are intending to do this. If you need any more advice just ask.

double glazed windows are better keeping the cold out and the warmth in, dont you have them in the US?

You might find

http://www.peak.org/~jeremy/dictionary/

useful for the lingo (although it doesn't have double glazing in it!)

Thanks for the lingo help. We have double glazing here, but it is called storm windows I believe. It is also something that is never mentioned in rental ads, while almost every rental I've looked up in the UK tells if it has double glazing or not.

Also, all of the ads mention low-flush WC's. I know that a WC is the toilet, but what is the low-flush and why does it need to be mentioned.

Thanks again!!

Genevieve

A low-flush toilet is one which has the cistern immediately behind the toilet rather than raised up near the ceiling. The implication of mentioning a low-flush toilet is that it is a more modern suite.

Genevieve, I don't know, but I suspect you'll stuggle to find a house that the landlord will hold for you for the next 6 months. If you don't find anywhere ,then post your request again with a couple of months to go. The reason being, my neighbour (who rents) is buying a house and will be moving out around spring/summer time, which might coincide with your move.

It's a really nice 3 bed house in Totley and the landlord is really nice (my LL too!) and even does all the gardening for you! There's a smallish late night supermarket 2 minutes walk away and bigger supermarkets a short bus ride away. The peak district is right on your doorstep and I can vouch for the wonderful neighbours who also have two kids!

YEs, I probably will need to wait until the move date gets a little closer, but since we are moving to another country it would be nice to get things in order as soon as possible.

Keep me posted about the rental in your area, it sounds nice.

Genevieve

Let us know if your still looking for a place to live

Yes, we are still moving. I am just holding off on my search for a little bit since it looks like it would be too difficult for someone to rent to us at this point. Most places tell me to wait until a month before we will be moving. That's cutting it a little close for me, but what can I do?

I will certainly be back to this board with many questions in a few months.

Thanks for checking in.

Genevieve