Hi has anyone got any comments on what it is like to live in Derbyshire - in particular Chesterfield to narrow it down. Looks like a decent sized town with good schools, pubs and close to the peak district so lot's of great outdoor opportunities, Would it be a good place to live?

Chesterfield is a goodchoice. I am working overseas in Africa but my homebase is Tibshelf which is about 10 miles south of Chesterfield. Depends on what youare looking for but Chesterfield is good place to buy local produce and food, has a good nightlife, is well connected, you can get to London by train in just over 2 hours, but is also well placed for heading north orto the east and west coasts. Prices are not too difficult also. Many of the surrounding villages are former mining communities and they are still recovering frrom the pit closures. The Peak District side of Chesterfield is very nice, but very expensive to buy. Overall could do far worse than Chesterfield

Agree, if you want nice villages check out the area around Baslow just West of Chesterfield. Pricey but nice.
I also like the area at the backside of Sheffield just before you hit the country on the road to Baslow
Between Baslow and Buxton is also nice

In fact all roads lead to Baslow

Good to know... Sounds like a signature line or something.

Never been to Shropshire then where we all knew

All roads lead to Wem.

Because they do. Which cAn be very awkward.

But Shropshire really is a wonderful county. Unless you need to earn a living.

I have read that the West side of England, shropshire included flooded last year. Was this a once off or does it happen often?

Flooding is becoming an increasing problem in the UK, however there has beena lot of investment spent on flood prevention schemes. But remember the UK is an island so coastal flooding can occur, particularly on the east coast, but also in the south west by the severn estuary. Buy a nice house with nice river views and remember that one day that river could flood into your house. You just have to do your research and make sure you buy a house which is safe away from flood risk areas. Also a lot of developers have built on flood plains and effected the surface drainage so when heavy storms occur the water has no where to go and then flooding occurs on housing estates etc. The flooding you were referring to in the west was mainly along the river severn which is our largest river and receives its waterfrom the welsh mountains so can be prone to high levels and flooding. Again a lot of money has been spent in recent years to protect properties, but flooding will still occur. Remember even London is prone and if it was not for the Thames Barriage would have had several serious flooding incidents.

We live in Herefordshire so very close to Shropshire, an absolutely beautiful part of the country. We werent affected by flooding but the river in the village burst its banks and a couple of roads were blocked for a short period. Its a bit like yesterday with the news talking about the storms and rain and didnt have a drop all day. The interesting thing for us is our 400 year old house here is dry during a storm whereas our 30 year old house in Brisbane was like a collander
Flooding tends to be pretty localised, if you live in a low lying area near a river then flooding is more likely.

Jockster we used to live on the west side of Chesterfield Walton/Holymoorside area great area.... great pubs...everything you would expect in a large market town ........ very good schools in that area (Brookside Community School, Lady Manners at Bakewell) Chatsworth House, Bakewell, Matlock are all about 15 mins away great train services London approx 1hr 50 mins. I would def recommend living there if I was moving back to UK. (Weather of course is rubbish most of the time but if you are moving back to UK you are obviously not bothered about that)

Thanks Jimmy
Would you say the weather in Derbyshire was on the average worse than say Bucks or Berkshire or other places further South?

I would say worse over the whole year........ the stretch across the Peak District can provide cooler weather in summer and snow and ice usually every winter...... I have lived in Southern England as well and feel that North Derbyshire, although very beautiful can be on the cold side. Chesterfield is a lot warmer than say Buxton 25 miles to the west which holds many low temp records in England due to its altitude above sea level. having said all that our relatives who still live in Derbyshire have had a sweltering few weeks this summer.

I personally love Derbyshire and am from Chesterfield originally. It's small enough to be community orientated but big enough not to have the neighbors talking about you with the rest of the residents.

It's on the door-step of the most gorgeous Countryside in the UK and the local villages are steeped in history and are perfectly preserved. The people are so friendly too.

I sadly left Chesterfield when I was 19 but have been back every year since leaving 27 years ago. I currently live in South Africa but I'm on my way back home at the end of this year 2013 and am looking forward to settling back home.

If you want any more advise about Chesterfield, please get in touch.

I know southern Derbyshire quite well. The southern Peak District was our first choice for a property to retire to, because we had previously lived in the area. I like Ashbourne, Buxton and Bakewell, but when we started house-hunting the southern Peak District seemed pricey, which is why we have settled for Devon.

The Derbyshire area is top of our list for when we move back. Just need to find jobs in that area!

Us too!