Moving to Newcastle/ Northumberland?

[DontStopMeNow7]

I’m not planning on moving anytime soon but I really like to have a plan, and as I’ve been thinking about this for ages I’d love to hear from people who live there and especially who’ve relocated there (from the SE especially). Can’t visit yet.

Lots of reasons for considering this. However I have a few things I’d like to know:

-Is it generally nice there?
-Does it rain (bit weird but I love the rain)
-Is it ever hot enough in summer to sunbathe?
-Is Newcastle itself nice, as in to work & socialise?
-As a single woman in my 40s will I find a decent social life?
-Is it worth it being near the sea (another bonus as I see it as I love to swim)
-Will I meet a wide variety of people and friendliness in my age group?
-How does it compare to the countryside and scenery of places like Surrey & Buckinghamshire? (Sorry for this question🤦🏼‍♀️)
-Would I find lots of nursing agency work if I want to work extra hours?

My reasons:
-Cheaper housing & cost of living (I’m a nurse and can’t really afford the south)
-Want a new start far away
-Near the sea/beach
-Potential for both peace and quiet and the city
-Countryside, national park
-Friendly people. Away from the ‘rat race’
-Love the accent.

Please correct my misconceptions! :-)

If NE isn’t right for me I’m thinking Wales or Lake District,

I'm an exiled Geordie.

I'd move back in a heartbeat if my children weren't all living close to us.

There's nowhere like it. Northumberland is my favourite place to visit.

We moved to Northumberland 3 years ago. Should done it at least 20 years earlier. We're between Morpeth and Amble, 2 miles from the beach.

DW is a nurse, working in a nursing home. Jobs are easy enough to come by, there's NSECH at Cramlington, the RVI, Wansbeck at Ashington, Hexham, Alnwick etc.

House prices have a much greater range than down south. The location premium can change in two streets, especially on the coast, but also in the rougher bits. Cheapest are the old pit villages, where DD and DSIL got an Edwardian 3 bed terrace with huge rooms for 96k, but the same house would probably hit 250k elsewhere.

Talking about the weather we went last July to Northumberland when the heatwave was on in England - it was still hoody weather on the beach a lot of the time and too cold for me in the sea - it was in the 30s in the East Midlands where we are from while we were there so about ten degrees colder up in the north east

Honestly I think people are tougher regarding the weather in the north. I've been in London 13 years and I'm usually wearing more layers than my family (it's always a running joke). People are topless on the beach when it's less than 20degrees and go swimming in the sea in December. It's just a different culture

You must live near Druridge Bay then @DisgraceToTheYChromosome. DH's family live near you. Amble has changed a lot in recent years. I like the little pods near the harbour for a mooch around. And the butcher's on the main street sell the best Scotch pies ever.

You’d get even more for your money in Sunderland on the coast, right by the beach. Only a short metro ride away from newcastle.

Northumberland is beautiful, and you’re only not too far from the Lake District. Short train rides to York, Edinburgh etc.

Absolutely love the north east!

Bumping this as DH and I are trying to plan ahead to where we will relocate to in a few years and currently Northumberland is top of our list.

Any recommendations for villages on good public transport routes, with access to reasonable secondary school? I'd be happy with a town, but DH would rather a village (may have to be town, price wise, not sure). Will have teens who will need easy access to education and jobs. Budget will be around £250k and need 4 bedrooms and a garage/workshop.

Will be going up to visit and need a shortlist of locations to explore!

Gawd, I wish I still lived in the NE. I moved to London to find fame and fortune and decided after 20 years and not finding it (or maybe I did, but didn't enjoy it?) to move out to Bucks... now 10 years later, I wish I'd moved back to Newcastle. Nothing beats the toon and the surrounding areas. You can chat to literally anyone (flashback to The Underground in London where no one spoke). One day I'll move back there...

@RagzRebooted you could look at the Tyne Valley where there is a train link into Newcastle, you would find something in your budget in Prudhoe (town) or Crawcrook/Ryton (villages), or try the outer West of Newcastle, Walbottle and Chapel Park are nice villages in budget and only a few miles outside of Newcastle, Walbottle Academy is a secondary that is improving year on year and achieving great results.

Have you considered Saltburn/Skelton? Bit further south but more affordable.

ExGeordie this is me, I lived in the NE for five years while at uni and then headed back south for work, met husband and got stuck 🙃

20 years later I want to move back

Just back from. Northumberland and prefer the cities, Durham & Newcastle, love it and want to love back as soon as son finishes school 😊

I love in Northumberland, on the coast, and we hit 38C during the red warning heatwave. It does get hot here but it usually isn't prolonged and there are plenty of places to escape it. Didn't see anyone sitting on the beach in hoodies

Zombie thread, well over a year old, I wonder if the OP made the move?

I have lived here almost all my life (only away during Uni years) so no comparison for living in the south east but this is a great place. Beautiful compact city centre with department stores, theatre, cinemas and restaurants. There are rough areas, but nobody has mentioned Op looking south of the Tyne…. Look at Low Fell, Whickham or Marley Hill. Great communities, just nice people. And friendly, you will be most welcome. Come and visit. Really good hospitals as well, and easy access to beautiful coastline or the moors…. For your time off lots of choice with beautiful villages for a day out…. Blanchland, Corbridge, Hexham…. I never think about the weather, but that might be because I’m used to it. This is just a really nice place to live.

I grew up in Corbridge but now live in Buckinghamshire so I'll answer your countryside question....IMO Northumbrian countryside is much more rugged, interesting and varied than the rolling hills of Bucks. Both beautiful in their own way but NE is so interesting and fun, especially walks on the coast or by the Tyne.

I remember freezing winters, going to school on a sledge and a couple of feet of snow on the ground, I don't know if climate change has put paid to that but it was always freezing and damp in winter.

People are friendly and it's far from the rat race but far from everywhere, really. I much prefer living centrally now from that POV, it can feel very isolated stuck up there although I guess that depends if you have family/friends elsewhere in the country.

It's windy and cold here. I really notice it having lived in London. The coast is very cold!

I'm perhaps being a bit sensitive but your phrase away from the rat race is a bit offensive. Like what does that even mean? Only people in London / south East work hard long hours. I'm sure you will say you didn't mean it like that. But you should be aware of the attitudes you're bringing.

We live just south of Durham and love it, having lived much further south (London, Cotswolds) we’d never go back. The weather is nowhere near as dire as people think - and will be more bearable as global temperatures increase.

In the next few years we’re looking to move nearer to Newcastle, any advice on areas like Ryton, Whickham, Rowlands Gill?

Hello everyone
ive been reading this thread with interest. I’m wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers of nice areas of Newcastle to live, rent initially. Happy to live outside as long as on a good bus or train line. I’m retiring, 60 yr old woman. Want to restart after divorce. Need to be able to get to activities and societies for my age group. Budget £300k tops.
Thank you 🙏

@Jbfamtmoyl

I like Tynemouth, Monkseaton and Cullercoats

Depends what size home you're looking for but you would definitely be top end of your budget for something smallish around Cullercoats, Tynemouth. They are lovely areas, but can get hugely busy on a nice day, unsurprisingly. Seaton Sluice is lovely but not on the metro, you could look around Gosforth, still quite expensive. You'd get more for your money in the outer West, good bus routes. Look at Chapel House/Park, Walbottle Village, maybe Fenham (some lovely parts, some not so great). If you're looking for a 2 bed flat say, I'd look at Jesmond/Heaton /Sandyford, just keep an eye out who your neighbours are, lots of students.

Alternatively the Tyne Valley is on the main train line to Newcastle, Wylam is a lovely village, as is Ovingham. You've got a good budget so lots of choice!

@Jbfamtmoyl

Do you still feel the same way after a year? I can't work out if its the place I miss (I visit regularly) or the times I had there. If I moved back there I wonder if I would be happy, or if I would realise that everyone else had moved on. I've settled into life in Bucks a little more now, but still pine from time-to-time

ExGeordie

Still love it but it symbolises happier and freer times, pre children, husband and responsibilities 😉

A quick reanimation of a zombie.

The Northumberland Line from Ashington to Newcastle has been open for eight months now, and it's excellent. Trains every 30 minutes, £3 peak, £2.60 off peak. It's a no brainer as opposed to a car. Right now the operating stations are Ashington, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Manors and Central. The unopened stations are Bedlington, Bebside and Northumberland Park. It's also Zone 4 for the Metro.