North East thread 6: Everyone's welcome!

[Someaddedsugar]

Just starting a new thread for anyone who wants to join!

And in particular, where the bridges are!

i actually think Fram is better for buses etc than Newton hall. Fram has some good local shops. I especially like the Weighto shop. The refill shop.
But I only really know Sacriston/Fram / Witton/ Chester. But they are good areas.
If you can drive, Co Durham is your oyster.

Hello, airways nice to have somebody wanting to move to the area.

It is so difficult isn't it, especially when you just don't know the area and when you have to consider schools.

We're one of the villages to the West and we love it. Rural but not car dependent as walkable to the next village for Dr, dentist, post office, great butcher, bakery, co op etc. Plus regular bus from there. I'm NHS and 20 min drive from Shotley Bridge hospital or Bishop, about the same to Chester Le Street and less to UHND. Further out 40 min to Darlington Memorial or Sunderland Royal.

However, you do rule out a lot of housing with the garage need, means many villages you'd be restricting yourself to the new builds which are a lot more expensive.

Schools are tricky too. Mine are all in the Catholic system by going to a feeder primary but there is little choice living out this way. Dd would have loved to go to DJ but not a cat in hell's chance. If you managed to rent as others have said around Fram, Newton Hall or Pity Me then you put yourself in a good place for schools and you can take your time to find out about other areas and move with a place secured. Housing more expensive though of course because of proximity to Durham.

Chester Le Street is a good call, housing can be cheaper and you've got good schools and transport links to both Durham and Darlington.

That said either West of Durham or CLS will make things more difficult for your teen who needs to commute to Houghall. They can get the Arriva buses for free but it will be a longer commute and often 2 different buses so something to consider.

I went looking for county boundaries and found this:

The Greatest Map Of English Counties You Will Ever See | HuffPost UK Comedy (huffingtonpost.co.uk)

@OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea yes, the garage requirement is a real pain. Outbuildings would also work. DH not at all keen on a new build, I'm not hugely fussed either way. I grew up living mostly in caravans, so any house still seems pretty posh to me!

DS2 will only need to commute to Houghall for a year and probably only 3 days a week, so that's not a massive issue. There are stops for their own bus in Sacriston and Akeley Heads (not sure where that is) from the west side on the route that comes from Consett and through Stanley.

I totally understand why so many people never re-locate, it's so complicated!
Hugely appreciate the advice here though, thank you all so much.

Absolutely and if you can't get there from Front street, you can almost definitely get there from the hospital bus stop. Newton Hall has the 64, the 50 and 62 passing one side of it or a walk to the Arnison Centre for the slow bus to Newcastle. (on the plus side, it actually has a post office. Fram gets a van, twice a week!)

You're more likely to find something 4 bedroomed in budget in Newton Hall or Pity Me, though. Rents in Fram are often eye watering because of the hospital.

Aykley heads will be the stops by the hospital.

Yes, the hospital stop is great. Sacriston has a post office.
I saw a post from the weigh to shop, about the post office van. It’s shocking that it doesn’t have one!

The ED1 stops At every stop from Stanley/Consett on the main road from Stanley to Durham. Only little issue is coming home. As is 5 o’clock. But as under 21 fares are £1. And I’m sure the Arriva pass lets them get any Arriva bus.

Having lived and worked there keep Bishop Auckland ruled out. Twas a dump then, not much better now

The hospital is lovely though for work

Ah, okay thanks. It was lower on the list anyway due to location, but the prices were tempting! I shall remove it from the list of places to look round on our very brief excursion. CLS and Sacriston are definitely on the list. Along with driving around Durham city outskirts and trying to get a feel for different parts. We're staying 3 nights in Gilesgate (after 2 nights in Newcastle sightseeing), but only because there was a cheap Airbnb.

I'm not a hospital nurse (I'm trained as a GP practice nurse, seem to be lots of jobs about that way whenever I look) but good to know the hospital is good if I want a career change.

All these different areas around Durham like Framwellgate, Newton Hall, Bearpark, Gilesgate etc. Are they actually properly separate areas, villages, big estates? I can't really work it out. Is it obvious when you're driving around, which one you're in? Google maps wasn't hugely helpful and I tried to find a map with the areas on but no luck.

They are villages, but I always think Newton Hall as a housing estate. But that’s because I can sort of remember it being built.
But they often merge into one. I don’t know where Fram/pity me and Newton hall start and end. Arnison centre is great Sacriston and Witton are only separated by a tiny walk down a hill.
Would a large garden shed do for the hobby instead of a garage?

Enjoy Newcastle, don’t forget to spot the Shaun the sheep’s.
Gilesgate has some good shops and the biggest Tesco.

What're the Shaun the sheep @AlviarinAesSedai?

@lifelongfrugaleer while I remember (and I'm not sure if I've asked this before - memory like a sieve atm 🤦🏻‍♀️) - are you involved in scouts in our area? Just hoping to get some insight from someone with local knowledge!

@Someaddedsugar all over Newcastle. There is a map. I have only found 6.
https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/citylife-news/community/flock-see-shaun-sheep

https://www.stoswaldsuk.org/its-shaun-the-sheep/

You can even buy the app for 1.99. And if you find them all. You go to the civic centre and get something, not sure what. But they keep posting on Facebook. They are so cute.

@Someaddedsugar yes I am ish. I know about the independent group in cockerton and a bit about Scout association scouts
Pm me your Q if you want

There is ribbon development along roads that connect the old villages. There are sneaky bits of green areas that you would never find if you didn't know eg Aykley Woods, and Pity Me Carrs Local Nature Reserve.

In short, for a southerner, driving around can make the housing seeem much denser than it really is.

Thanks @AlviarinAesSedai - I'll take DS next week (and hope it isn't raining!).

Thanks @lifelongfrugaleer - I'll PM you tomorrow when I'm on my desktop 😊

@RagzRebooted Good luck with the house hunting - we moved up from London a few years ago and it was tricky getting everything lined up (but worth it in the end!)

So many villages are on top of each other and the boundaries have changed a lot so it is difficult when you don't know the area definitely.

I tend to think of fram and Newton Hall as suburb rather than village but I guess they are villages. Then bear park is def village.

The village boundaries, especially a little further out used to be very different and the villages much bigger but many were then designated as category D villages which essentially meant that post mine closure there would be no investment and hissing would actively be knocked down and the villages would be left to empty and die. But they didn't reckon with the stubbornness of locals.

So large parts of villages have vanished but they still hold strong.

Many of the names of old villages persist and different bits that seem joined together used to be separate villages due to complex mining related reasons. Plus you have "village name" and " village name colliery or winning" just to make it more fun and locals won't bother with the colliery bit so you'll be left wondering which one they mean but every local will know exactly. And of course locals will call bits by the former village name too.

We've been here 15 years. We are not and never will be local. Our youngest child was literally born in the village but isn't local. We love it and were welcomed when we moved in. Can't deny that it's a funny old place though!

Good luck house hunting and enjoy your visit. We used to live in Gilesgate. A mix of lovely bits and not lovely bits all sitting atop each other. Very handy though for transport, the retail park and you can walk to town. The launderette up there does great gigs too.