Tyne and Wear
Newcastle is the largest city in the County of Tyne and Wear which also encompasses Gateshead and Sunderland. It has excellent transport connections being only 3 hours from London or 1.5 hours from Edinburgh by rail and with an international airport connecting to the rest of the world. If you like cheap weekends away, both EasyJet and RyanAir operate from Newcastle or you can always catch a ferry 'mini cruise' to Norway, Sweden and Holland.

Nightlife and Culture
Although Newcastle is justly famous for its pubs, bars and clubs it also has great restaurants, museums, theatres, galleries, cinemas and live music venues in the compact and attractive city centre. The Tyne Quayside area has become the flagship re-development area with its iconic 5 bridges. There is a sizeable student population with two universities and several colleges helping to attract big name acts to the city. Newcastle and Gateshead are both major shopping centres with everything from the major chains to specialist retailers.

Living
Despite national price rises, housing in the region remains relatively affordable compared to other areas of the country, particularly London and the south east. Public transport is good and it's possible to live in the surrounding areas and commute without spending hours in traffic or on the train.

Sport and Leisure
For sports fans the region has two premiership football teams plus top level national league teams playing Rugby, Cricket, Ice Hockey and Basketball with amateur sports also well represented. If you're more into outdoor pursuits then the hills and coastlines of the surrounding counties of Northumberland and Durham are excellent locations for walking, cycling and watersports. Areas such as the Lake District, North York Moors and Scottish Borders are also only a couple of hours drive away.