For such a vibrant and busy city, Sheffield is pretty affordable, which is great news if you were worried about how expensive the city is. As a student, there are a hundred things to factor into your budget. I tend to break it down into food (which is definitely where most of the weekly budget tends to go), nights out (can be done very cheaply!) and transport costs and I survived my first year budgeting around £70 a week.
It is worth noting that students at the University of Sheffield tend to live in Endcliffe or Ranmoor Student Village, which averagely costs £145 a week. This is just under the £166 average across England! The rent payments are done per term so I am not accounting for them in this weekly budget.
How expensive is Sheffield when it comes to…
Food
Let’s get the biggest and most annoying, but unfortunately essential expense out the way first; food! Sheffield has pretty much every supermarket, however a big part of being a student is considering accessibility and for Uni of students (as opposed to Sheffield Hallam students) the budget supermarkets, such as Aldi and Lidl, tend to be a bit of a trek away! The biggest student accommodation is Endcliffe and Ranmoor student village which is just over a forty minute walk to Aldi, therefore your options are as follows, assuming you do not have access to a car; get a group together and split an Uber there and back, navigate the dodgy bus route there or put on your walking shoes and brave the trip! The bus route to Lidl is much simpler, catch the 120 from Fulwood Road to the city centre and Lidi is a short walk away.
Otherwise, there are a number of smaller supermarkets in Broomhill (on your route to and from uni!) such as Sainsburys, Tescos and Morrisons, all about 10-15 minutes walk from Endcliffe. There is also Ecclesall road which is under 30 minutes away and tends to be a more scenic route, either through Sheffield botanical gardens or Endcliffe park to a larger Tesco’s!
My advice would be to split an Uber with your flatmates and buy enough staples from Aldi to last you a week or two and top yourself up using the shops in Broomhill when you’re walking past. If you can spend around £25-40 a week on food, depending on your preferences, you will be on track for your budget and can divide up the remaining amount on nights out, any essential clothes or toiletries and activities.
Nights out
Some clubs in Sheffield are free entry and others are ticketed. In my opinion, it is a good idea to get a balance of both. During my first year my flatmates and I were all slightly obsessed with Leadmill so we sucked it up and paid the £6-8 ticket cost (first release tickets are slightly cheaper, so planning is your friend here!). Unfortunately, Leadmill is on the other side of Sheffield from Endcliffe accommodation so after trekking there and back in freshers’ week, we learned from our mistakes. From then on we’d either got the bus from the stop outside Ranmoor costing £1.20 (£1.50 if you forget your Ucard) or split the fare of an Uber which typically equalled about £2 a person.
Buying drinks in nightclubs is an easy way to blow through money quickly, so pre-drinking is essential! Being a huge lightweight myself, 3 drinks before we left and 1 for the journey typically was all I needed. However, there are affordable ways to buy drinks when you are out, which is through looking out for discounts or savings cards at each place. Leadmill offer a Leadmill Regulars card for £5 which enables you access to discounts on drinks and their much loved £5 round, which consists of 3 drinks (used to be 4, but that’s the cost of living crisis for you). The bars and clubs on West Street all have great deals on drinks too; West Street live is your best bet for £1 shots and £2.50 quadruple vodka mixers, you cannot leave there feeling sober!
Always make sure you have enough money to get you home safely. It is worth noting that the Foundry (the Student Union nightclub) offers the safety bus home (providing it is within 2 miles from the SU) for £1.50, head to the smoking area and the security team will guide you from there.
Activities and things to do
Activities in Sheffield tend to eat up a student’s budget pretty quickly. There are plenty of options for days or evenings out such as bowling, mini golf, the cinema or sports such as rock climbing (Sheffield is seen as the home of rock climbing so once you know what to look for you will notice climbers everywhere!). Being such a student city, most places offer student discounts or deals so it is worth having a Google and seeing what they offer. Tenpin Bowling, for example, offers students 50% between the hours of 6 pm on Sunday to 5 pm on Friday!
The university offers Give it a Go activities throughout the year, most of which are free so head to the Student Union website or download the app to check them out.
Eating out
Sheffield is home to tons of independent and chain pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes, scattered across the city. For some, measuring how expensive a city is all comes down to how much a pint costs; Sheffield averages at £3.45. For the cheapest pint get yourself to one of the eleven Wetherspoons the city boasts, where you can enjoy the cheapest prices the city has to offer.
The main locations to check out for food and drinks are Broomhill, Ecclesall Road and the city centre such as Division Street. Coffee shops tend to be pretty pricey, you should expect to spend anywhere from £2-£5 on a hot beverage. Going out to eat costs around £15 depending how budget savvy you are. For a cheap but delicious meal, head over to The Porter Pizza Company, located just behind Ecclesall Road, where you can enjoy a pizza for £7-8 and lovely friendly staff. It gets pretty busy and they don’t accept bookings so, weather-dependent, take your pizzas over to Endcliffe Park and enjoy a picnic.
Bottomless brunch in Sheffield is an increasingly popular day out and the city is home to a good few to choose from. I can personally recommend bottomless brunch at the Bloomery pub, £27 for a meal and unlimited cocktails for two hours. The cocktails are delicious and cost £12.95 on a regular day! The bloomery also offers a mega deal every Thursday; £3.75 for craft beers, ciders, and cocktails and student deals on food and drink alongside their weekly general knowledge quiz!
Getting around
After growing up in a relatively small town the transport in Sheffield seems pretty revolutionary. There are plenty of buses and trams in the city centre, a train station, a coach station and there is always an Uber nearby! Both in terms of economic costs and practicality your best option is always to walk to uni, this is a lot easier if you are based in city accommodation but everyone tends to walk from Endcliffe and Ranmoor too!
As previously mentioned, buses cost £1.20 if you show your student ID . This bus will get you pretty much wherever you’re heading, into the city centre, the train station or Leadmill (where else would you be going!). Here’s a handy guide to getting a bus to the peak district!
My verdict: Sheffield is pretty affordable…
All in all, Sheffield is pretty affordable, with tons of activities, shops, restaurants, bars, clubs and pubs to choose from you can’t complain! Just remember to always bring your student ID or download Unidays to access all the student deals!
I’m a second year Politics and International Relations student at Sheffield, I am particularly passionate about social justice, reducing inequality and international affairs. Outside of academica, I try to make the most of every day and like to keep myself very busy! I enjoy writing about student life, particularly top tips for new students and mental wellbeing.
