A student’s guide to living in Newcastle

Making your self feel at home in Newcastle shouldn’t be hard – the locals right here will go out of their way to welcome you with open arms.

A place renowned for its friendly nature and no fuss attitude, it’s a unique city that you’ll grow to like quickly.

Also check out: Money, living expenses and costs in UK

5 tips for your first week in Newcastle

1. Familiarise your self with the public transport options

The Nexus Metro system is one of the most convenient, problem free ways to get about, as is the Go North East bus community, which has free WiFi on most of its fleet.

Student passes could be found at a discounted rate for each, and if your accommodation or flat isn’t within walking distance of the college or city centre, a cross is well worth investing in.

Make your journey even easier by downloading the companies’ apps for access to route planning, service status updates and announcements.

Local taxi corporations are always worth having in your contact list.

Blueline is one of the most popular but it’s worth looking into local firms specific to your neighbourhood too.

Black cabs run from quite a few points in the city, including Central Station, the Bigg Market and the Gate, however be aware these are always more expensive, and only get in them from official taxi ranks.

Read also: Understanding the UK education system : Easy Guide

2. Who to follow on social media and which apps to get

The folks, companies, and native establishments of Newcastle are very active on social media, so following their accounts is a great way to find out what’s on, things to do, offers and upcoming events.

Start with your college, but also take a look at intuEldon Square, the indoor city centre dining and shopping area, tourist board NewcastleGateshead and NE1 Get Into Newcastle.

These are some great sites to get started and encompass a lot of the goings on in the city.

For word of mouth recommendations and a few more individual perspectives of the city, search for some of the local bloggers. Many use #nebloggers and like to shout about the city and the new places they uncover in addition to some old favourites.

There’s a massively diverse range of native bloggers, covering topics equivalent to Newcastle, health, meals, trend, journey, beauty and lifestyle.

Along with the public transport and taxi apps, it’s worth downloading and setting up Uber if you don’t already have it, and Deliveroo – the corporate that brings meals directly from eating places to your door.

3. Find the place to do your food shop

Doing your food shop in bulk is the cheapest way to store, and the nearest good value supermarkets to Newcastle centre are Morrisons or Asda in Byker, just two stops on the metro and a 5-minute walk.

Asda and Sainsburys additionally provide home delivery if you happen to prefer to shop online.

For essentials and quick options, there are plenty of Tesco Express and Sainsbury’s Locals throughout the city.

The Grainger Market is open Monday to Saturday and has been selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and cheese for over 200 years.

It’s a historical part of town and might be the place you’ll get the best value for your cash.

In Chinatown you’ll discover Wing-Hong and Tsang meals, each Chinese supermarkets. On Fenkle Street an Asian goods supermarket, HiYoU. Farplace Vegan store might be discovered on Clayton Street.

For extra high-end choices head to M&S food, Waitrose or Fenwick’s Food Hall, the place you’ll find deli counters, fresh seafood, butchers, delicacies, bakeries and natural fruit and vegetables.

4. Enhance your accommodation and include a bit of local flair

It’s a well-known fact within the UK that college students moving to a brand new city head straight to IKEA for the essentials, and the closest one is in Gateshead next to the Metro Centre.

Stock up on first rate quality however reasonably priced homeware, bedding, kitchenware and different essentials.

Different good value shops in Newcastle include BM Homeware, Wilko, and the homeware departments in Primark, New Look, and the slightly pricier Next.

What you will find in Newcastle though are a number of local shops that customise something from mugs, tea towels, door stops, coasters and so on with a Geordie (relating to Tyneside, the region Newcastle is in) theme.

Geordie Gifts on the Grainger Market is a great place for these little knick knacks, and so are the stalls at the Quayside Market on Sundays.

5. Discover the city

From the place you are staying find the nearest every little thing – the metro stop, store, taxi rank, and café with free WiFi. It’s also price doing your journey to your college to see how long it’ll take you.

Take advantage of the time you have spare before lectures and uni commitments acquire momentum by discovering what the city has to supply.

Head to the shops in Eldon Square, most of which can have student offers for the primary few weeks on everything from clothes to stationary and uni supplies.

Venture into the popular scholar neighbourhoods, every unique in their very own means. There are the more affluent suburbs of Jesmond – an awesome spot for student bars, to the quirky food spots and independent companies of Heaton.

The culturally diverse Fenham, and the up and coming industrial Ouseburn are all nice places to meet like-minded students and to search out your favourite coffee spot.

Each has adapted to the influx of students that are interested in their area every year, and also you’ll quickly discover which ones you’re drawn to.

A day at the coast

From the city centre you can be at the North East coastline inside half an hour, and there are so many little cities to find.

Tynemouth needs to be a priority, where you simply need to get fish and chips from Marshalls, or right on the beach at Riley’s Fish Shack.

There’s a market in the station that’s on at weekends, however there’s plenty of other little outlets and cafes on Front Street. Strive the tapas at Allards or Ora, they’re unbelievable.

On sunny days Tynemouth Long Sands beach is a haven for beach goers having fun with a walk and an ice cream. Regardless of the climate, you’ll always discover surfers among the waves.

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