Relocating to Durham area

[Cookie369]

Hi, help I’m in the process of selling my home in the south and looking to relocate around the Durham area, can anyone please give me ideas of better areas as I’m taking my youngest two daughters who are 11. Going to me a big move and so worried about getting it wrong! We are looking to buy there and spending around the 220k Mark.
Thankyou smile

Hi - are you thinking of City of Durham or the wider county area - theres a lot of ground to cover!

Do you have employment in Durham or NE as that may also help recommendations in terms of traffic etc...

Hi, sorry for late reply but I’m not getting any notifications. We were looking at houses in either Durham or spennymoor but not sure what either are like to live in. We are due to come and look around in a couple of weeks but it’s always good to hear other people’s opinions on areas. Hubby wants early retirement and we have 11 year old twin girls so schools are important

If you're looking at Durham city you really need to move into the catchment area for Durham Johnston, I'm not familiar with the schools in spennymoor but DJ is one of the best in the country. What is your budget? That will make a big difference. Also, spennymoor is not... That nice

Hi, thankyou for your reply. We are looking around the 220-230k for a four bed house, we did see some lovely houses in spennymoor which is why we wanted to know what it’s like... can I ask what is wrong with it around that area and if there are any better areas besides Durham city? Thanks

It's just a bit tough in my experience, it's not awful or anything but for that budget you could probably get a nicer area with better schools (disclaimer I don't know what the schools are like there but if know areas with very good schools if that makes sense). For that budget I would look around Langley Moor or Meadowfield or Framwellgate Moor (although that would be a different secondary catchment). You may not get the detached house with a view but with two 11 year olds I'd be looking seriously at school proximity as a key consideration

Bit rough I mean!

Honestly I wouldn’t go to Spennymoor. Durham City is great so if you can get somewhere on the outskirts that would be so much nicer.

How about something like this www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-94075112.html

you need to visit.. where are you moving from exactly and what sort of place do you want? spennymoor is cheap but thats because its rough and theres nothing there. i have family who live there -they would move in a flash if they had the money to.

Or this - www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-92934584.html

SeaSwimmer is spot on!

if you go more north it gets a lot nicer and can still get a house for that money, but with the benefit of noce coast and shops and good schools.
try Monkseaton
west monkseaton
whitley bay
north shields (but just on the outskirts of tynemouth).

Thankyou everyone, we are looking to go up there in a couple of weeks. We are in Bedford so we are used to a bit of rough 😂. The houses in the links looked lovely and I will show hubby to see what he thinks.

In live in Durham, parts of Spennymoor are very rough and the town centre is very run down and in desperate need of fixing up with loads of empty shops.

OP I am from London (from a part that features regularly in reports of gang violence to be honest) so I know what rough is, but it's different up here. It's definitely worth a visit. You should be able to get a very nice house in a nice area for your money, with excellent schools. If you make a mistake you may find it very difficult to sell if you buy in the wrong area.

Does anyone know what consett is like?

Some parts of Consett are lovely. Some very rough. Nightmare in the winter, high elevation so snow etc is always bad. It's always windy up there too! My husband works in the town centre, I wouldn't live there.

I agree that it's always windy there! I'd go for lanchester before consett

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81548668.html - about a mile from lanchester

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71083431.html - village centre

Local secondary has a good reputation, and plenty of decent restaurants in village, good transport links to durham/newcastle too

You will get a lot of snow in consett! Will need to pick your schools carefully.

Where are you going to be working? That will determine where you go.

Durham city is lovely. Or look at newton hall which will put you in the catchment for framwellgate Moor. Moving north look at Chester-Le-Street and park view school or whickham in Gateshead for whickham school. All of those are an easy commute to Durham.

Or, as someone else said, aim for Tynemouth and head for the coast!

Agree with Lanchester plus they do lovely Christmas lights!

They do have lovely lights! And a good garden centre cafe

Would you be prepared to go a smidge further north than Durham? As someone above said, Whitley Bay etc is great.

Lanchester is lovely! OP if you need to be in Durham City, Consett is about a 40 minute drive, so it sort of depends where you want to be. We needed good proximity to the train station in Durham for the direct trains to London, again not sure if that is a consideration for you.

Emmanuel College in Gateshead is excellent so have a look at the surrounding areas for that too.

Unless you need to drive into Durham city centre daily?

Chester Le Street North of Durham and Easy commute in some good schools. Spennymoor has some pretty rough bits. I work in Consett it is very mixed as in huge farm houses and very deprived council estates. It is also not really near anywhere else. The pp who mentioned Emmanuel College for school. Has a v good rep but very specific admissions policy, not normal catchments like other schools.