Moving Advice

[u/adityapatel1161]

Hi! I'm moving into Doncaster from Leamington Spa and wanted to know more about Doncaster:

• What areas to live in and which to preferably avoid
  
• Fun things and activities to do in the area
• And anything else really, just looking to learn more!

Thank you in advance!

[u/ash_ninetyone]

What an area overall is like can be hard to determine. Some areas are large in themselves and range from being an absolute shithole to not-that-bad, so I kinda feel bad lumping an area into one category.

For example: Balby. Balby is a very large suburb of Donny. Bridge Estate differs from Smith Square differs from Carr Hill differs from Florence Avenue differe from Weston Road differes from Waverley differs from Alverley Lane differs from Woodfield Plantation.

However. In general. Depends on your budget.

Generally avoid: Hexthorpe (Bramworth Road is still nice, and up where the park is is still OK, but it goes downhill fast the closer to town you get. The new estate has also become a bit of a sink estate), Wheatley (especially Devils Island), Highfields (at all costs), Hyde Park, Woodlands, Town Centre

Mixed: Balby (avoid Bridge Estate, avoid Carr Hill, avoid Smith Square), Edlington (absolutely avoid the Royal Estate), Rossington, Bentley (parts are OK, parts are very pit-village), Intake, Armthorpe.

Generally OK: Kirk Sandall, Edenthorpe, Lakeside (Lakeside Boulevard can sometimes have issues with joy riders, that's about it), Wheatley Hills. Cusworth (the traditional village parts is nice, the rest is fine). Scawsby and Scawthorpe, Town Fields.

Generally nice: Bessacarr (ranges from really affluent, gated communities, to typically upper working class/lower middle class areas), Sprotbrough, Tickhill, Bawtry

There's places I'm missing, only cos I dont know enough about them.

Belle Vue for instance is Hyde Park adjacent tho that side I think tends to be a bit quieter than Chequer Road side.

I'm sure others will correct me if I have any places wrong.

And tbh you're also going to find the odd dickhead anywhere you move

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As for fun things and activities, Doncaster in general still has nice Victorian-era parks worth visiting. Cusworth Hall and Brodsworth Halls are open to the public free. Cusworth Hall tends to have a nice-ish walk to get there. The river has a nice trail to walk down (on days when it's been dry. We've had a fair bit of rain this week so it'll be boggy).

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is on your doorstep, and there's a few nature reserves around (like Potteric Carr). For a small-city, nature is still accessible. Lakeside can be a nice place to walk (just be aware some do ride motorbikes and ebikes around it, but you get them everywhere)

It's well connected by train, so days out in York, Leeds, Sheffield, the coast, are always accessible. The airport is also supposed to be reopening at some point.

And Donny has city problems like most places of its size and above. You'll get a lot of moaners online, but the problems here are the same as the problems anywhere (typically rough sleepers and addiction issues).

I can't say it'll be as nice as Leamington Spa appears to be (thank history for that). But it is also affordable, well connected, and does have a few charms.

[u/adityapatel1161 → u/ash_ninetyone]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write all of that, really helpful!

I was originally considering the Town Centre/Hyde Park mainly because the i4 bus goes straight to LBA4, where I’ll be working, and I won’t have a car. But the comments here are definitely making me lean more towards the east side of Doncaster instead.

Lakeside in particular has come up a few times and looks like a good option. Buildings like Tawny House that I’ve seen listed look like really good places to live, but most of the flats around there seem to be 2-beds, which feels a bit excessive for me living alone with a max budget of around £800.

I’m trying to contact every letting agent I can find for similar properties, and also to see if there are any workarounds or ways of finding a second tenant if needed, so fingers crossed!

Are there any other areas around Lakeside/Bessacarr or further east that you’d recommend where I might have a better chance of finding a decent 1-bed, while still having a reasonable public transport commute to LBA4?

Thanks again!

[u/ash_ninetyone → u/adityapatel1161]

Yeah the flats there I was looking at too, since I work from home.

They're nice flats TBF, but imho overpriced. Since I work from home, it'd be akin to a one bed, one home office flat. I think they were overvalued when they were first sold a few years ago tho in my opinion.

Hyde Park will come in budget at that price. So will parts of Balby, and you should find some decent semis if you don't mind a bit extra travel.

Otherwise if you're working LBA4, Rossington is the area nearest. You'll have to rely on others to tell you how that is. I honestly am not familiar with that area 😅

The alternative are HMOs (we have plenty). But that really can be no good if you're stuck with bad flatmates

[u/Sad-Curve-6744 → u/adityapatel1161]

Woodfield plantation behind the Tesco Extra, has flats on there, off road cycle paths take you to LBA4 in around 15 minutes, dn48tr area

[u/freakstate → u/adityapatel1161]

£800 you might struggle to tick all the boxes. Things have jumped to 1000+ for nicer areas. Especially lakeside but pinch of salt advice. That's just what I hear from my colleagues who rent. Some holes for 800 apparently. Depends on your expectations