Moving to the uk with teenagers. Durham or Poole?

[Tkamb]

Hi all!
I've been offered a job either in Poole or in Durham. We are moving from Spain with 2 teenagers.

We have been to both places. Found Poole- Bournemouth too spread out, is it good for the kids to move independently? Or do you find yourself giving them lifts everywhere?

Durham is lovely, but not many choices to rent good houses and the job offer not as good. Is it a good place for teenagers to be?

Which one would you choose? We have never lived in the uk before so we feel a bit lost and would like to choose well!

Durham is a great town and you can get the train to Newcastle city centre easily (and connect to under/overground Rail very easily), perhaps you could investigate living outside the city and commuting in?

I personally would pick Durham. It’s beautiful and good connections elsewhere. Do your teens have hobbies that need taking account of in the decision?

Poole is very expensive. I grew up there, though, and travelling around was fine. Plenty of public transport - we used to get the train between Christchurch-Bournemouth-Poole-Hamworthy areas a lot. And access to London is very easy too. I would say the expense is the only real downside.

I don't know much about Durham.

Durham has a different feel - it's a beautiful city set in amazing countryside so great if you're outdoorsy people plus fairly cheap, Poole is very expensive and has a large population of retired people.

Thank you. My kids do ballet and swimming, but they will be happy to try new things.
I would like to move somewhere where they can be independent and it seems Durham is a good place.
Good to know there's good train connections in Poole though. I also like the fact that is close to London for a weekend, but I fear the traffic. My job and schools where we would potentially get a place are opposite In B'mouth and Poole so not sure I if a long commuting to school is a good idea!

Personally I would choose Poole just because of the weather

Hi OP
I live in Durham with a teen and have found it great. She had one friendship group for a while that enjoyed going out in Newcastle but past few years has reverted back to Durham and surrounding areas. She's doing a levels now so activities usually focus around nightlife now! I do feel comfortable she is safe in Durham plus I have find my friends on my phone 😂 happy to chat areas etc if that would be of use. Which school are you possibly working at?

Mirtlewilsom, St Leonards or Durham Johnston. It does not seem easy though!

I would
be taking the Durham job and choosing a home in Gateshead or Chester Le Street (near a good school - there are some awful ones) which would allow an easy commute to Durham and give the teenagers (and the young adults they will be in a few years) easier access to the social opportunities and employment options of Newcastle.

DJ is a great school - really high performing. Would your children be bumped up admissions because of you working there?
I'd disagree with living Gateshead/Chester - we did that for a while commuting into Durham and it wasn't most fun! Especially if your children are able to get into DJ I'd go for that over finding a good undersubscribed school in Gateshead- It's very easy to get into Newcastle for socialising at the weekend if your children wish to...

Oh St L is a great school too but I think DJ comes top of league (for what it's worth)

Poole (or near to Poole) because it's much warmer, Dorset is lovely, and London is easy to get to. Durham is ok but the surrounds can be a bit bleak.

How old is your DD? I can recommend a ballet/dance dance school in Durham, if needed!

My kids are twins entering sixth form so admission should not be a problem if their grades are as good as expected

If I worked in Durham I would consider living in Newcastle with good access to the train.

11m Newcastle - Durham.

Not been to Durham but DD hates coming home from university as loathes Poole and Bournemouth and finds it very narrow minded down here.

Are you looking for Durham City centre for renting or further afield? What kind of budget are you looking at? The pool/leisure centre in Durham city is very good, there's an outdoor pool at Stanhope, Consett have recently opened a new leisure centre with a pool too.

DJ has always been considered quite a sports based school, and StL is a Catholic school (don't know if that effects your choice). StL is a 5min walk into the city centre and the bus station provides all links to local areas. DJ is quite a bit more of a trek if waking into the city but you could look at renting at Nevilles Cross which is on the doorstep pretty much and classed as a 'nice area', StL is just along the road from Newton Hall which is also a 'nice area', although massive housing estate. If they pick up friends from their it's all within walking distance to pop round houses. There's lots of opportunity for horse riding if they want to start a new hobby.

I have sent you a pm op.

Durham is on the east coast main line so you can be in London direct in under 3 hours, trains every 30m or so. Cheap too, if booked in plenty of time. I'd go for Durham, great city and a cracking night out.

If your DC are about to enter sixth form, they are only likely to be at home for another two years before they go off to University.

So I would base the decision on what will be best for YOU. If the job in Poole is better then go for Poole. Climate is much better. Summer holidays much more fun.

When you say the job offer is not so good do you mean moneywise or how interesting the job is? You money will go much further in the NE.

What about living in Darlington, the girls could go to Carmel College for 6th Form and you get a lot more house for your money.

I had a snoop on your other posts OP 😳 and see your rental budget is 2.5k that's a very healthy figure for the NE! I also had a quick nose on Rightmove and in close proximity to the schools/job you'd be looking at in Durham you could basically take your pick! As you've no knowledge of the area its best if you look on local areas and then come back with some options that are specific so people can comment on yay/nay. The main reason there's less rental choice in Durham City is due to the university and most accommodation is student let as obviously command's a higher yeild for landlords/property investors. However, there's really nice properties either within walking distance or a short bus route that come in well under your budget. The only thing I'd look into is which side of Durham you'd be looking for area iyswim. If you're entering Durham from the Newcastle via driving its pretty busy during rush hour. However, the opposite side will be much quieter as you'd hit the hospital before the city centre, and the kids could easily walk to StL school within under 5mins from there.

This would put you within a 5min drive to DJ (15min walk) and a couple of mins more to the hospital www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-76857154.html This is the other side of Durham but still less than 10min away www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-65785257.html Also approx 6 min drive www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-67377129.html tbh I'm struggling to find anything even near the lower end of your rental budget! All the above are nice areas too.

*By struggling to find I mean anything anywhere near your projected budget that isn't massively under 😅 Durham is very much a mixed bag of student culture, historical culture (tourism), and as you move outwards coal mining village culture. However, a lot of the 'coal villages', are now very much pockets of wealth as the pits closed down many years ago, and a combination of regeneration, people moving into the area after selling up in SE to relocate. For example for 500k this is what's one random option is www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60880315.html if you compare prices to the SE you are always going to get more bang for your buck.