Where to live in County Durham?

[pearl1986]

I'm moving to County Durham with my DH and DC this summer, and hoping I could beg for some local insider knowledge? DC will start school in 2025 so we are anxious to find housing in an area with excellent schools, as well as with good public transport connections to Durham City. At the moment we're considering North Durham, Chester le Street, or the Gateshead area of Newcastle. Could anyone knowledgeable about those areas and with children in schools there please share their recommendations? Which areas are nicest/have lots going on/have an active parent community? I'd also be grateful for any recommendations of specific schools. Thanks very much in advance! :)

Chester le Street is great, it has a fantastic park (Riverside) and lots going on. Close to Durham City but also close to the A1 so easy access to most of the North East. I live slightly further north so not overly familiar with the schools, sorry.

Gateshead is quite different to a lot of County Durham I'd say. It's big, there are affluent parts and deprived parts. Saltwell Park is fantastic. Low Fell one of the nicer areas. Lots of good schools. Very close to Newcastle.

I'm raising two kids in the North East and it's fantastic! So much to do and an affordable place to live.

One thing to add, will you be commuting to Durham city for work? If so you'd hit a lot of traffic to and from Gateshead at rush hour. That would tempt me closer to Durham!

Are you renting/buying - what sort of budget and yes to @PoachedDregs question about commuting. Going from Durham(ish) into Gateshead or Newcastle can be a bitch on the A1, similarly if you're coming into Durham city then the road from the A1 down into the city is v congested c8/8.30 in morning.

PS - despite Newcastle/Gateshead being an established marketing tool - Gateshead is a borough in its own right and not part of Newcastle see also harrumphs when the Metro Centre is described as being in Newcastle rather than Gateshead!

Thanks, both! All very helpful thoughts. We'll be renting, at least to start with. We'd ideally want to keep it under £1000 per month.

Does anyone have experience of specific schools, such as Framwellgate Moor Primary?

Thanks :)

Possibly look the other side of Durham too, some really nice villages ( some not so nice too), Bishop Auckland has really good tourist attractions, reasonable shopping away from the town centre , which to be honest is awful, decent schools,Kirk Merrington had outstanding primary school and is nice village