Where you should live in Newcastle

Fresh out of Halls? Looking for that all important third year house? Never fear, the Tab are here to help sort through the endless areas of Newcastle to live.

FENHAM

Usually hastily avoided for its poor reputation and over all dodgey out look, some hidden gems can be missed in terms of student accommodation.

Pros:
• Cheap as chips (rent and food – the majority of local shops etc are family owned and run so you don’t end up paying for the brand).

• Most landlords live on the end of the estate they own, so there’s no three month wait to get that crack in your bathroom window patched up.

Cons:
•There’s no avoiding the fact Fenham just isn’t a pretty place.

•Most of the houses have been “renovated” into being two flats: as in one old masionette has been separate into two floors. You’ll be given keys to your front door and your neighbour will have keys to the door stuck above it. You’ll get to know each other VERY quickly.

CITY CENTRE

You’ve either done VERY well with your maintenance grant or had substantial help from your parents and landed a pad in the city centre. Are there actually any down falls from living 60 seconds from everything? You’d be surprised.

Cons:
• You are going to be slaughtered for rent. A studio apartment can set you back about £460 a month without bills. For an actual person sized living space you’re looking at upwards of £500.

• House shares don’t exist. You may have noticed the distinct lack of any actual houses in the middle of Newcastle meaning you WILL end up living in a small place above a loud bar.

Pros:
• Your place becomes party central because that also means your mates don’t have to pay for taxi’s back from Mushroom (even if one does have to sleep in your bath).

• All of the negatives are completely out weighed just by how bloody convenient it is. There’s no wait for a metro, you never get that wet when you’re caught in the rain, you live next door to a cocktail bar AND a cafe to nurse your hangover in…

SANDYFORD:

The confusing end of Jesmond Road where you can see Sports Central on the horizon. Another neglected student living area, what Sandyford lacks in over all appeal it makes up for with living standards.

Pros:
• You’re in transport heaven. There’s a bus essentially every ten minutes to basically everywhere down the coast road and you live on the door step of Jesmond Metro station.

• If you sneeze loud enough you’ll be able to hear it at uni, you live that close.

Cons:
• It doesn’t matter how many times you tell your friends, mum, taxi driver your address they will NOT know where you live and you WILL end up walking from the top of the cradlewell back to your house.

• Trying to cross any surrounding roads will add at least half an hour to your journey – being at the heart of transport out of the city means you’re also home to all of it’s congestion.

JESMOND/JESMOND VALE

There are a lot of different areas in Jesmond and they’re all pretty different. Either way, if you live any where near any if them people cruelly assume you’re a Newcastle student due to the area’s ‘rah’ reputation.

Pros:
• You’ve won the accommodation lottery and can find a house to fit as many or as few people as you like.

• It’s quiet enough (proably closer to Jesmond Vale) to get your head down for the deadline period but busy enough that you’ll probably bump into someone on your course on your walk to the metro.

Cons:
• It’s a far cry from the brisk jog to your lecture you were used to in Halls. You’re going to need a metro card.

•Because so many students flock to Jesmond to avoid city centre prices, it’s easy to get ripped off by eager landlords. Do your homework for this area before putting down your deposit.

HEATON:

You aren’t considered a student unless you’ve ventured to Heaton at least once in your life. You’re considered student royalty if you live there.

Pros:
• You can put a deposit down on the first of September and still land yourself a decent pad. Heaton will NEVER be short of living

• You’ll become king of the budgets by living within walking distance of bargain paradise: Chillingham Road.

Cons:
• Heaton is a labyrinth of student houses that all look exactly the same. You might want to take a photo of your front door so you don’t go walking in on a randomer.

• If you live as far down as Cardigan terrace you’ll need to bus into uni.

GOSFORTH

You applied to Newcastle and your back up was Northumbria, admit it.

Pros:
• Most houses were formerly family houses before the student epidemic spilled into Gosforth, so you’ll be living in comfort with miles of space.

• Landlords like keeping Gosforth in it’s posh reputation, so minimal student-esque problems will occur (and if they do, they’re fixed the same week).

Cons:
• You live a good few metro/ bus stops away from anywhere so public transport is a must.
• Houses in Gosforth can be ludicrously over priced for how far you have to travel to uni. You pay for the value of the house, not the convenience.