Nice areas to live in Newcastle

[munkysea]

We're beginning to think about buying somewhere to live in or around Newcastle. We're first time buyers and have a good deposit but don't want to stretch ourselves thin on a costly monthly repayments. I would love to live in Whitely Bay or Cullercoats but we don't really have the cash to buy a house there. I also know Heaton and Gosforth are nice, but I've heard they're full of student or young professional house shares. Forest Hall seems good value for money but is it cheap for a reason - like being not well served by the metro/a bit dodgy?

Where else is desirable but good value for money with a bit more of a community/family-feel?

Where are you from, (ie is it a relocation, how well do you know the area) where do you currently work so what side of Newcastle would you like to be at? How far out would you consider? feel free to pm me if you don't want to put all your details on here and I can make some suggestions!

Forest Hall is nice, not as nice as those other places but still nice. It's relatively easy to get into town.

Benton, which is best to it is lovely but it doesn't have a little shopping centre like FH. It does have a metro. You can get the bus from Forest Hall to Four Lane Ends metro or walk or get the bus to either Benton or Pamersville.

Thanks, have messaged you!

Ooh, Benton sounds nice.

How far out of Newcastle are you prepared to go? And do you drive? I'm in County Durham on the coast and its about a 30 min drive to Newcastle (thats average, varies between 25 and 40mins peak). Although there is a train from the town I live next to into NCL that takes 20 min.

You can pick up fantastic houses for next to nothing.

If you have a big budget then Jesmond is lovely, but pricey (by NE standards anyway)

I drive but prefer to get the train to work, and I don't want to be more than a 20-30 min commute from the centre.

The area around The Oval is lovely in Benton and Northumberland Ave and around there.

I'm in north gosforth, and there are absolutely no student house shares around here (and I can walk to the metro station). Houses are not cheap by Newcastle standards though (although far lower than central gosforth). The schools are very good too. You might want to look at Kenton or Kingston park too (although I don't really kno much about kenton school).

Some parts of heaton are very studenty indeed, but others far less so. And there are absolutely lovely houses near paddy freeman park. The schools are very sought after too.

Depending on your budget you might find yourself in luck re: houses near the coast. Look at the estates along the coast road - parts of that come under north shields so may be cheaper - i think you pay a premium at the coast for the tynemouth postcode - lovely though tynemouth is!!

Otherwise, communitywise i would say Gosforth, either North Gosforth or South Gosforth (South is nearer the town centre) and i wouldnt say either are dominated by students and theres good schools around Gosforth too. Jesmond, Sandyford and Heaton are your prime student areas, Jesmond does have some lovely family homes/schools but parking is a nightmare - rich students with cars each when there's six in a houseshare doesnt bode well for traffic!

If you tell us your budget we can all waste an afternoon on rightmove look and see what kind of thing is available.

Having lived in Heaton and now being on the coast, I'd say you'd get as much (if not more) for your money in places on the coast than in Heaton, and certainly 'central' Gosforth. I think Cullercoats is generally pretty affordable, and bits of Whitley Bay. Bits of North Shields are lovely and very reasonable, and only about 20 mins walk from the sea.

It depends what you're after - if you aren't fussed about having a garden then there are some lovely period terraces just east and north sides of North Shields, only 5 mins drive into Tynemouth if that, and 15 mins into the centre of Newcastle, but because it is a North Shields postcode its much cheaper. If you want a family semi then West Monkseaton is a bit cheaper than Monkseaton and Whitely Bay, but still nice and on the metro line. Gosforth is really nice, I always think it of more of a family area than Jesmond, but probably more expensive than Cullercoats and Whitley Bay.HTH!

Thanks for all the answers, everyone. Lots of good advice. West Monkseaton and Cullercoats are places to look.

Try the Westmoor end of Forest Hall, Westmoor itself or Killingworth. Westmoor and Amberley in Killingworth are both "outstanding" primaries. Lots of families, close to the Rising Sun Country Park. Very safe feeling and lovely lake. As well as locals, Mums from Gosforth and Jesmond frequent the toddler groups as there are often waiting lists elsewhere.