When i was in the navy it was often the case that for a change you would sample the delights of other cities,i would sometimes bring mates from down south home to sheffield to sample the nightlife,drinkable beer etc.

some found the experience too much for them,others refused to come(based on southern beliefs of whippets flat caps etc) and others had a great time.

one example was a mate from dover who was scared to go to the bar and thought it highly strange that my wife bought a round (mind you come to think of it)

has anyone else invited people to sheffield,what did they think?

Brought mates from Teesside and they were particularly impressed with the Devonshire Cat. Not sure what they think about the city in general, but they had a good time.

Also brought a friend from Cornwall who was impressed that everything was within walking distance and we have shops that open after 7pm :)

My mate from NYC came over a year or so back.
He was really impressed with....





























.... wait for it




























.... The Stone House on Church Street :thumbsup:

Ah well, at least he had a good time eh!

Does he frequent one of the dive bars of Hell's Kitchen back home?

I brought my teenage daughter to Sheffield for her first visit last year and she was less than impressed.

I grew up in the city so I knew exactly what to expect, but she was a little shocked by the grime and poverty in certain areas, the run down blocks of flats and the gangs of youths hanging around on the council estates with nothing much to do except cause trouble. All very depressing and totally different to the Australian lifestyle.

Mind you, she was even more shocked when I took her to Blackpool. Now, THERE is a bizarre place to visit for the first time!

I understand your comments mojo... I got the same from my sister and best mate.... but they only come from Lincolnshire (mind you, it is a bit backward and rural there sometimes), but my sister grew up in Nottingham (same as me) - so she's obviously just forgotten what it's like.

They like it when they get to go shopping / drinking or clubbing here though - so it can't be all bad.

My ex-boyfriends best mate also bought a minibus full here for a stag night and they had a great time too.

Me, I love it! And it don't matter what they say.
:thumbsup:

Originally posted by tslogf74
Does he frequent one of the dive bars of Hell's Kitchen back home?
No... he's from the Upper East Side of NYC (Park Avenue).

He's studying to be a lawyer and his dad is a stock broker (well to do family).

Ah well... it takes all sorts dunnit!

I reckon you have to live here for a while to understand the strange geographical social segregation and differences in Sheffield (ooh big words....).

Going to some areas of the city you could think that all of Sheffield is all high rise flats, dirty, deprived, etc. On the other hand, drive south-west for a while and you could be in...somewhere posh...and think that Sheffield was all leafy with mansions and Landrovers.

My friends for Newcastle came to a Uni open day and then into town for a meal and a drink and really liked it, but i was careful to take them through the nicest bits to leave a good lasting impression (so they'll move here).

Going back to the early eighties, we met a gang of great lads on holiday in the South of France - they were from from Essex.

After a great holiday we kept in touch and about six of them came up to spend a weekend with us.

Well, they loved it...

...in particular the girls: having envisaged Nora Batty-type figures, they were more than pleasantly surprised to see the local beautiful ladies that Sheffield is famous for.

They couldn't get over how 'mountainous' Sheffield was, and were shocked to see 'London' taxis this far North.

Great lads.

Generally I've found people happy to visit and they love Sheffield. The exception, of course, are Londoners who would die if they went beyond the M25 ;-)

Perhaps slightly off topic but when my job moved here I was very reluctant to follow it. The idea of living anywhere near Sheffiled (well, nearer than Nottingham) didn't appeal at all. As soon as I arrived though I loved the place to bits.

What confuses me still is the people who say they'd rather live in Leeds than Sheffield, since that was about the only place I had imagined being worse.

Generally I've found people happy to visit and they love Sheffield. The exception, of course, are Londoners who would die if they went beyond the M25 ;-)


__________________________


slight generalisation, ah well..

when i came up to sheffield from london i didn't find it too bad, i think parts of the city centre are lovely, and west sheffield is beautiful. I don't think the worst bits are any worse than the bad bits in london really. I really love sheffield now, and i think every city has bad and good areas, i dont think you can say you hate a city just cos of one bad area.

I've a friend who is from South Africa but currently living and working in London and he loved it - the nightlife, the friendly women, the countryside close by and the fact that everywhere is driveable should you choose to - not like London where he is forced to get the tube.

Originally posted by HarrietStar
slight generalisation, ah well..

when i came up to sheffield from london i didn't find it too bad, i think parts of the city centre are lovely, and west sheffield is beautiful. I don't think the worst bits are any worse than the bad bits in london really. I really love sheffield now, and i think every city has bad and good areas, i dont think you can say you hate a city just cos of one bad area.

The worse bits of London are FAR worse than the ones in Sheffield. Used to be great fun working in some of the hell holes of London, getting advised to take weapons to the shop as you'll more than likely get jumped, nice.

Mates have generally found sheffield ok, but do think that late night drinking is limited if you don't want to go to a club. ie. the forum, halcyon, casbar. 2 of which you need to pay to get in. It's a bit poor for the size of the city.

A few people I know from down south were very suprised to see just how civilised it is up here. Not the Warburtons advert scene they imagined...


But i've found that, after being abroad to other cities, Sheffield does look very grimey. But then that's the same throughout the country.

After going to the US last year, I was very depressed by the sight of the scruffy little terraced houses by the side of the railway on the way out of Manchester airport. I expected it to change as I got nearer home, but it didnt. It carried on looking depressing for about 3 weeks. So i can see why foreigners would think it's rubbish. Cos it is a bit.

Originally posted by jackthedog

But i've found that, after being abroad to other cities, Sheffield does look very grimey.

These other cities abroad, were they by any chance holiday destinations or industrial cities?

Originally posted by max
These other cities abroad, were they by any chance holiday destinations or industrial cities?

A variety of places - not just pretty holiday places anyway.

I'm not just comparing nice holiday resorts with Sheffield - it's the whole thing. There's a certain grottyness that you do pick up in England, it's like we dont do a very good job of covering up our run-down parts.
Even in Sheffield town centre we have empty shops with broken windows and urine soaked doorways. And litter and graffiti and blocked drains and broken roadsigns etc.

I just never seem to notice this as much when i'm abroad, wherever it is.

Although I gather detroit has all those things in abundance, and I'd love to go there.

I was a friend of someone who came to Sheffield in the 70s to go to Uni here. I came to visit in 1974 and stayed. Not quite the same as me bringing friends to the city but it worked for me and I'd recommend it to my non-Sheffield friends too.

Jack TD, on the subject of grottiness in other cities, you probably haven't noticed it. I was in Bordeaux last year and believe me that is in a far worse state than Sheffield. The area coming in from the east looks like Beirut in places and the area along the water frontage stills shows the bruises from WWII.

I don't know a city in the world (that I've visited) that doesn't have its own share of grottiness - don't start me on LA.

My answer - yes, and now he lives here!

A friend of mine from Montreal was over for a year and really enjoyed staying here, she will be coming over whenever she can now.
It's good for me as I can gat free stay in Montreal anytime I want.:thumbsup:

i dunno, i never find the bad bits in london that bad, maybe its just being used to it, i think if you know which bits are bad then you tend not to be affected by it after a while, thats why i dont think sheffield is any worse than london after i have gotten used to it up here.

"A few people I know from down south were very suprised to see just how civilised it is up here. Not the Warburtons advert scene they imagined... "

haha i hadn't even heard of warburtons before i came up..
was pronouncing it 'war ber tens' until i was corrected :)

When I have been to Holland and got a train either from Hoek Van Holland ferry port or from Schipol Airport to Amsterdam, I remember you cannot help noticing the severe graffitti problem they have over there, much worse than Sheffield.

Many parts of Amsterdam are disgusting, still a great place though just like Sheffield :)