While the spirit of innovation with which the city is synonymous, is infectious we aren’t just about business.
You’ll have heard of our appetite for good fun and lively living. But to live here offers more than that too. When it comes to leisure and lifestyles, the region offers fantastic housing, education, healthcare, shopping and much more.
Housing
Housing here ranges from historic homes full of character to the latest in contemporary city living. You can choose from Victorian villas in ‘city villages’ such as Gosforth and Jesmond, modern family-orientated suburbs such as Darras Hall, Rowlands Gill and Great Park, and chic city lofts of trendy riverside apartments styled by leading designers like Wayne Hemmingway.
Affordability is key. House prices in the region remain some of the best in the country, meaning your money goes a lot further. First-time buyers find a good choice of affordable properties, with apartments in many areas starting at around the £100,000 mark.
With new family homes to come on stream, particularly in the Ouseburn valley and the major corporate clusters that exist along the Quayside, there is an attractive proposition for city centre, family living that is emerging.
Health and education
Our health provision has an international reputation. The Freeman Hospital has pioneering expertise in transplant surgery for both adults and children and is one of Europe’s leading lung transplant centres.
Education here also has a strong reputation, with a fantastic choice of excellent state and private schools including: St Mary and St Thomas Aquinas RC Primary School, based in Gateshead, previously selected as The Times’ State Primary School of the Year.
Founded in 1545, Newcastle’s Royal Grammar School has an excellent tradition, while both Central High and Church High all-girls schools offer superb learning environments.
Both Newcastle and Gateshead Colleges are also continually developing. Newcastle College has opened a £40m Lifestyle Academy right in the heart of the city and a Renewably Energy training centre in Walker and was recently ranked as the best performing general FE college for 16-18 year olds in England in national school and college achievement and attainment tables, while Gateshead College has moved into a state-of-the-art £37m site at Baltic Business Quarter.
And with five excellent universities within 25 miles of one another including: Newcastle (which is investing in the ambitious Science Central development), Northumbria, Sunderland, Durham and Teesside; all levels of education are fully catered for.
Shopping
When it comes to retail, Newcastle has it all. The region’s centre mixes huge variety, leading designer brands, independent specialist shops and elegant architecture in one location that’s easy to get to.
If food, crafts and stalls are more your thing then a must-visit shopping location is Grainger Market with its intriguing selection of traditional butchers’ stalls and craft shops, Northumberland Street with its street performers and bustling atmosphere, and Eldon square with over 140 leading high-street retailers.
Meanwhile in Gateshead, Metrocentre is Europe’s largest indoor shopping and leisure centre.
Leisure and culture
As a leisure and culture destination, we provide an unbeatable offer.
With three major theatres, Northern Stage, Live Theatre and the Theatre Royal, a range of quality music venues including The Sage Gateshead, Metro Radio Arena and the O2 Academy, and renowned art spaces such as BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, The Shipley Art Gallery and The Biscuit Factory; there’s something for everyone.
Feed your hunger for knowledge and learning at the Discovery Museum, Great North Museum: Hancock and Centre for Life.
And if sport is your thing, you can choose premiership football at St James’ Park or the Stadium of Light, watch England’s top cricketers at Emirates’ International Cricket Ground in Chester-le-Street near Durham, follow international athletics at Gateshead International Stadium, take in some of the north’s finest golf courses at a host of great venues dotted around the hinterland, or compete in the BUPA Great North Run – the world’s biggest half-marathon.
What’s more, a year-round programme of world-class cultural events can keep any to-do list topped up, and when you need to take a breather the region offers some of the finest eating, drinking and socialising in the UK.
For more information on leisure, events and festivals visit newcastlegateshead.com
Transport
What really makes our compact attractive city centre stand out is getting around by foot or public transport is really much easier than most city destinations.
The modern, integrated transport system includes the Tyne and Wear Metro, one of the area’s key selling points as it offers massively shorter journey times than elsewhere in the country (and is one of only three light-train systems in the UK). The Metro is also directly linked to Newcastle International Airport and journey times between Newcastle Central Station and the airport is just 20 minutes – one of Europe’s fastest airport links.
Our bus network is also extensive and efficient, with the Quaylink bus system, which operates between Newcastle and Gateshead’s quaysides, providing a highly sustainable form of transport using the latest in electric vehicle technology.
And with a number of well-maintained cycle routes in and around the city centre it is no surprise that Conde Nast’s Traveller magazine has voted it “the easiest city to get around in England”.
