Postcode Perils: What your Durham neighbourhood says about you

So, you’ve actually managed to secure a house in Durham. Congrats! But did you know your postcode says more about you than you might think? From your social habits to your preferred bedtime, your DH1 postcode reveals what kind of student life you’re really living. In Durham, where you live isn’t just an address; it’s a personality quiz set to rival Myers-Briggs’.

1. Viaduct

You own at least one puffer jacket and a speaker louder than your washing machine. You’re never more than 3 minutes away from a house party or a spontaneous “pub, anyone?” text. You pretend to hate the noise but secretly love it. You probably only half-ironically say ‘YOLO’, blackout biweekly, and definitely prioritise your social life over your degree.

2. Crossgate

You’re basically like the Viaduct dwellers – except you actually do your degree (a bit). You like a party, but only the respectable kind. Bed by 3am. You genuinely like to cook for yourself and you own a scented candle. You reap all the benefits of being near to North Road while also enjoying cosplaying real adulthood. Balance.

3. Claypath

Claypath is a mixed bag. You live near some lovely houses, have a good separation between uni buildings and your student home, but you aren’t too far away from the action. Plus, you’re dangerously close to Spoons. You’re literally a stone’s throw from the city centre, but your mates from Viaduct complain about the “trek” to visit you. You have definitely suffered FOMO from missing some of their unhinged parties. But at least you’ve got Urban Oven to soothe the pain.

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4. Gilesgate

You’re probably the most down-to-earth person, because you live in pretty much the only area without bank-shattering rent prices. You treat your house like a home, for the most part, and you try to balance your degree and your social life. You’re doing an okay job, but it’s kind of easy when the soundtrack for your neighbourhood is crickets. However, there’s scientific consensus on the fact that every square inch closer to Dragonville you are, the less likely you are to manage either. You absolutely have a Tesco club card and, after a long hard day of pretending to work, you’ve definitely taken the bus one stop out of sheer laziness.

5. Neville’s Cross

You love living in suburbia and waking up to bird song. But this has a cost. Every morning you are faced with the dilemma of “is hiking to my lecture actually worth it?” People assume you’ve got your life together because your house has a garden and maybe even some chairs outside. You’re not correcting them.

6. Framwellgate Moor

Do you exist? If so, you’ve traded convenience for square footage. You’ve got an actual dining table, a big fridge, and maybe even a driveway. Absolutely a double bed, a big warm blanket, and a decent wardrobe. And honestly, that sounds lovely. But you basically don’t go to this university anymore I’m afraid. At least you won’t be woken up by students belting ABBA at 3am..?

7. Elvet / Old Elvet

You romanticise Durham to an unhealthy extreme; you live in rose-tinted glasses. You take riverside walks and post them on Instagram with the caption “never gets old.” You probably even write poems and upload your photography to Pinterest. Your rent is frankly ridiculous but you feel justified every time you take a three second roll into ER2. Plus, your grades are stellar.

8. The Bailey

How on earth do you manage to live here out of college? Word on the street is that you have secret Swiss accounts for your pet goldfish (obviously, Goldie deserves offshore banking). You live inside a postcard: cobblestones, cathedral bells, and tourists wandering past your front door. Your life is what we all expected Durham to be like. Your wardrobe is 60% real wool, cable-knit jumpers and you know way too much about Harry Potter.

9. Whinney Hill

You actually like studying and you singlehandedly keep PotNoodle in business. You have the shortest routes between the Science Site and your bed calculated to the nearest centimetre and you could get a degree in pulling all-nighters. As for social life? Well, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, try, try…

11. Shincliffe 

Lowkey just found out what this is from Google Earth. You’re basically doing a countryside gap year while at uni. Definitely a Maiden Castle enjoyer. You cycle into the city centre, own a cafetière, and invite people over for dinner parties instead of pres. It’s respectable. But you’re taking “university life is a bubble” way too far (literally).