Is Durham a nice place to live?

[Mrshermit]

We are desperate to move due to how expensive it is to live in the midlands. We are currently paying 1k in rent which gives us no chance of saving to get on the property ladder.

We have found lovely properties in Durham for around 6-700 much bigger than what we are living in now.

scared to make the move but seems like our only option!

Some people are so offensive. I live in weardale in County Durham and it's absolutely beautiful. Although, if all the above think it's terrible maybe that's a good thing as they'll stay away.

Durham city is lovely. The food is canny.

I lived in Weardale between the ages of 19 and 21.
It was indeed beautiful but Christ was I bored (and cold)

Do you know what ‘pit village’ means?

Weardale is beautiful, so is Teesdale and Northumberland, there are some great walks and lovely places to visit.

Like most places, Durham has its nice areas and rough areas.
Belmont has a range of local shops (butchers, greengrocers, pharmacies, bakers, Spar, Small Sainsburys). Couple of nice primary schools and a good comprehensive.
Pittington/High Pittington also lovely, great primary but lacking other amenities.
Sherburn Village (I’d personally avoid Sherburn Road, Sherburn Hill like the plague) also has pharmacy, bakers, co-op etc. Easy reach of A19 and A1.
Shadforth nice little village.
Shincliffe is really lovely and just a gorgeous stroll along the river into Durham City. If I could afford to, I’d live there. High Shincliffe also nice.
Bowburn, I have a friend lives there and the newer estates are nice but a lot of unsavory areas too.
Coxhoe has a lovely range of local shops. Sedgefield another nice place. Neville’s cross nightmare for rush hour traffic but walking distance to city. Catchment area of the sought after Durham Johnson school.

All of those villages have nice walks on the doorstep. The coastline is beautiful as is the Durham dales/Weardale. The City itself very much caters to the students. As a local, I feel DCC forget the students are not here all year round. Lots of bars, coffee shops, student accommodation. There’s a handful of small independent shops but the majority of the larger shops have moved to out of town outlets. We have great cinemas, restaurants, a lovely theatre and of course the stunning cathedral/castle.

Peterlee, Horden, Easington (Lane, Village & Colliery) are awful but you can buy a house for next to nothing… there’s a good reason for that! Ludworth, Shotton, Wingate, Haswell, Thornley, Wheatley Hill, the Trimdons, Hartlepool, Stanley, Brandon are also areas I wouldn’t consider living in.

Well no, strictly speaking it won’t be, but only because the pits have closed down now. It’s almost certainly an ex-mining village though, because the vast majority of Co. Durham is.

(I live in a NE ex-mining village myself; it’s a description not an insult.)

We moved from the South to Durham City a few years ago - it is a fantastic place for families as there are excellent primary and secondary schools, cultural events and activities throughout the year and so many places to visit within easy reach. It feels much safer than where we lived before and everyone is very welcoming.

Durham City itself is quite expensive due to the demand for housing, I am not sure what the rental market is like though outside the City.

There's a North Easy thread if there were any particular places you had in mind and wanted to get some further info on.

Weardale is beautiful but it is countryside. People normally like hill walking etc.
Durham is now getting a Stack, music/food etc.
The one in Newcastle was supposed to be brilliant. Knocked down now.

@stbrandonsboat

Seems to have a liking for garages
at the moment but still likes his smaller ones every other day too! 🙈 defo sounds like you’re local!

Tell me you're not local without actually saying the words.

I'm from the edge of Weardale, but lived away for 30 years. It's a welcoming place, but public transport isn't great, job opportunities are not brilliant, and you can end up in a village with nothing much more than a SPAR, hairdressers and takeaways.

@BenCoopersSupportWren no pits where I live in Co Durham

Well - lets be honest, there are no pits left anywhere in Co Durham. But the villages and towns that sprung up to house the workers are left behind.

I'm from one - you wouldn't know that there had been loads of drift mines, collieries and 1980s opencasting until you try and build a house extension and have to get a mining survey done and have to put it on a 3ft deep concrete raft...

We are considering re locating to Durham and I'm curious what made you actively dislike it