Up North - Durham area

[riaadrianna]

Hey,
I'm 10 weeks pregnant, and currently live in London with my husband.
In September the contract for the flat we are renting is finishing, and we are considering moving to Durham area.

I am a Prison Officer my husband works as a Security Officer.
I know the money we'd be looking at coming in after moving will be smaller, but also the costs of living/rent will be much lower...

Anyone have an opinion? Anyone from around there to tell me a bit more about the County, it just seems like a great place to raise your child and have a peaceful life... How's the standard of life there?

Thank youuuu

Some of the area is truly lovely, but the population is generally quite low and as government funding has reduced in recent years many more rural areas have been left with only skeleton services. If you are moving from London you may find this a bit of a shock.

Do you want rural isolation, a village, large village/small town, or the not-very-big City? If you want to live in the countryside you need to consider things like driving to work, total lack of public transport, and dealing with snow.

Be very careful about where you choose to live as some of the schools are terrible. As in worse than schools with same socio-economic profile in other parts of the country. And below the standards now found through much of London.

I would certainly consider somewhere like Lanchester if you are moving up, but you'd be best advised to study the entrance requirements for St Bede's beforehand.

There are some excellent secondaries in Durham itself, but house prices are high and catchments tight.

Absolutely love it. Came to Durham for uni and never left.
I'm west of Durham, not far from Lanchester and it is great. "Semi rural" in estate agent speak so quiet, safe, kids play out all day calling on friends, in the woods etc but not car reliant with primary schools and shops just over a mile walk away down a cycle path and also regular buses to Durham so I'm not a taxi service to my 12 year old.

@TheStakeIsNotThePower thank you so much for your reply! What is the town you live in called exactly? Literally sounds like the description of what we'd be looking for

@FreeTedHastings
Thank you, thats really helpful!
We dont want a completely isolated country side, but we want access to some nature.

I will definitely look into Lanchester thanks x

Lanchester is lovely. I grew up there. The "Line" runs though it. It's an old railway track turned into miles of walkways. Walk along it a mile and you reach Malton. It has a river and picnic areas. There's also a fairly new wood called Dora's Wood right near the centre of the village.

Don't really want to say on here but the same applies to a few villages out this way. We are also on the lines. There is a network of cycle paths along disused railway lines, they meet at broompark just outside Durham. We live along the deerness valley path, one goes out to bishop Auckland and one Lanchester way. We often do the 25 mile or so ride from here to broompark then out to Lanchester (where there is a lovely Viennese cafe) then home again.

Hello all 😀

I am new on here and was wondering if I could get some advice?.....

My hubby and I are also relocating to Durham with our 2 children for various reasons but mainly because I will be doing my postgraduate studies at the uni and hubby has landed a new job in Newcastle (will start in October this year!)

We need to move by end of September ideally.

Our DD is 3 turning 4 in September and DS is 7 months. So we are also frantically looking for good schools, nurseries, playgroups and Childminders.

I was born and bred in London and have lived there all my life. So this move will be a completely new experience for us. 🙈

We are also of an African/Caribbean background... and I'm a bit worried about how we (especially my children) will be treated when they start school due to them being of a different race, as I am aware that there isn't much diversity of race in County Durham. I've read some really horrible cases of bullying and name calling that others have gone through. But this was about 8-10 years ago...I'm hoping a lot has change since then?

How friendly, accepting and welcoming are to locals to newcomers especially from a black ethnicity?

Are there areas anyone can recommend?

We have looked (online) at some properties in Gilesgate, Bearpark, Shincliffe, New Brancepeth, and Bowburn Areas. Would be very grateful if someone can give me more insight into those areas and other areas around.

We would also want to be somewhere that public transport is accessible. Hubby will be be working in Newcastle during the week and will be going via train and I will be using the car for my daily rounds with the kids and travel to University.

We don't want to and can't afford to be right inside the centre/uni areas.

Thank you all in advance xx 🙂

JBnMsMum, did you end up moving to Durham? Interested to find out your experience as we are also African/Caribbean, looking to move there? Thank you @JBnMsMum