Sunderland's the BEST place to live in the country



If you have an okay job the North East is brilliant. I could have stayed in that London and would have ended up in a house worth a couple of million and it wouldn't have been as nice as the one I have. I would have commuted thousands of hours and not been able to do get out and about like I have. A few museums and galleries I have missed out visiting on a weekend though.
 
Cockney Mackem said:
The transport links need to be upgraded significantly. Leeds station has 17 platforms and is served by 2 motorways plus the A1(M). Sunderland has massive potential but needs to be more accessible in order to unlock that potential
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Surely even more under 30’s will leave if we make it easier to do so.
 
Le Chuck said:
Sunderland has a light local railway, Leeds doesnt.

One of the other things mentioned in article was commuting. The traffic (even in rush hour) isnt that bad. Newcastle is horrific, Durham isnt too bad but still worse than Sunderland.
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Yeah they were planning to put a light railway into Leeds (or certainly a tram system) but funding ran out so they turned it into a flyover.

One difference is things like empty city blocks. Vaux sat empty for nearly 17 years. Leeds had an empty site slap bang in the middle of the city centre after the 07/08 crash when the developer ran out of money. It got built within 2/3 years.
 
Le Chuck said:
Sunderland has a light local railway, Leeds doesnt.

One of the other things mentioned in article was commuting. The traffic (even in rush hour) isnt that bad. Newcastle is horrific, Durham isnt too bad but still worse than Sunderland.
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That's a clear advantage for Sunderland but that's about how easy it is to get into Sunderland from nearby, as opposed to how easy it is for large amounts of people, goods and businesses to get there from further away

Don't get me wrong, what I'm arguing for is for the decision to be made at a national level to invest in the infrastructure required to give Sunderland a significant boost
 
TheWanderer said:
I’ve often said on here the cost of living in Sunderland is superb, especially house prices. The lads I used to manage from all over the UK were astounded at the cost of my 4 bed detached, especially the lad from Slough who was looking at 2 bed flats for more.

Schools are great, I’ve got all the entertainment I need in the city, great green spaces to go with the dog, cracking beaches.

Not sure of the job situation mind, there are enough low to middle income jobs I suppose for the younger ones, but I’ve had to build a career outside the city for the past 23 years...maybes things have changed?
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Good post there mate. Everybody I went to school with seems to have carved a decent living for themselves whilst staying in the north-east. Maybe we/they were just lucky but it's definitely not the desolate, hopeless place people often make out imo.
 
Le Chuck said:
Sunderland has a light local railway, Leeds doesnt.

One of the other things mentioned in article was commuting. The traffic (even in rush hour) isnt that bad. Newcastle is horrific, Durham isnt too bad but still worse than Sunderland.
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Sunderland and the North East away from Gateshead / Newcastle is a great place to commute and drive.

I was in London last week and the taxi I used at 11AM took 35 minutes to travel a mile! I simply couldn't live or work in a place like that. I love the convinence of driving and avoid public transport wherever possible.

We have plenty of attractions close by and the beach and countryside literally on our door step.

I live in a lovely big house (me and the Mrs have 4 kids between us) and it would cost well over a million quid in many towns and cities. Less than a fifth of the price in Houghton.
 
West_Winger said:
It’s hardly knocking the place to put a quantitative article into a qualitative context.

Yes Sunderland has cheap houses and therefore a better standard of living when compared to the national average income. However young people are moving away in droves. This is a fact. It has below average employment, below average life expectancy and below average incomes.

Just because you can buy a cheap house it doesn’t change any of that.
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Life expectancy.

Sunderland-77
National- 79
Hardly worth mentioning, you make it sound as though we're all dropping down dead at 60.

Incomes

Of course our average income is lower but so is the cost of living.

You say yourself "a better standard of living when compared to the national average income"
 
Cockney Mackem said:
The transport links need to be upgraded significantly. Leeds station has 17 platforms and is served by 2 motorways plus the A1(M). Sunderland has massive potential but needs to be more accessible in order to unlock that potential
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It’s a bit chicken and egg though isn’t it?

What should come first? Jobs or the infrastructure?
 
Mackem00 said:
Good post there mate. Everybody I went to school with seems to have carved a decent living for themselves whilst staying in the north-east. Maybe we/they were just lucky but it's definitely not the desolate, hopeless place people often make out imo.
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Been up and down the country recently for various reasons and the North East as a whole looks an increasingly attractive place to live imo.
 
Discopants91 said:
3rd least popular

York is Britain’s most popular city | YouGov

Worst to find a job

Sunderland the worst city in Britain to find a job, says new report

Worst to sell a property

Sunderland once again revealed as the worst place to sell a property | Easthams & Co

There's a ton of this shite floating around for every place.
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The 1st one isnt about living there.
2nd one is fair enough as there is an issue about jobs, but you can commute to Newcastle via metro fairly easily.

The 3rd is neither here nor there & probably expected for somewhere with cheap house prices.

There is also
Sunderland ranked in the top ten safest places to live in the UK - this is why

https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/...top-place-to-live-and-work-in-the-north-east/
 
Mackem00 said:
Good post there mate. Everybody I went to school with seems to have carved a decent living for themselves whilst staying in the north-east. Maybe we/they were just lucky but it's definitely not the desolate, hopeless place people often make out imo.
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There's jobs out there if you're willing to put the effort in, it maybe a bit tougher, but hard work pays off 99% of the time. Talking to a lot on employers lately, and although there are loads of jobs down south, the standard of worker drops because they dont have to put as much effort in to carve out a career because at times the demand outweighs the supply, or so I'm told.

Around Sunderland, Durham, Boro & Newcastle the A19/A690/A1 and Metro system doesnt limit you to having to work in the city you live in. I think you work in Sunderland, but even my commute to Gateshead over the past 23 years has been a breeze, 20 minutes on a good day.
 
Cockney Mackem said:
The transport links need to be upgraded significantly. Leeds station has 17 platforms and is served by 2 motorways plus the A1(M). Sunderland has massive potential but needs to be more accessible in order to unlock that potential
Click to expand...

This is why the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ and things like HS2 is such bollocks. The money would have been better spent properly connecting the North.
 

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