Do many people live in Newcastle and attend Durham university

Hi there I'm attending Durham university in September as a postgraduate to do my PGCE in Primary education. I will be living in Newcastle and traveling in every day I'm just wondering do many other people do this. Also does anyone have any tips on bus passes and stuff for Newcastle/Durham. I'm from Ireland and I'm not sure what passes I should get if there are any thanks☺️

Hiya

I'm not exactly sure what your contact hours will look like but from an undergrad student perspective who has about 8-10 hours of contact on average, I'd find it very difficult to commute to Durham every day from Newcastle because train strikes can be very hindering to your schedule as sometimes they cancel without notice. However, if you do go for this option, I'd recommend purchasing a 16-25 railcard as that gives you discounts on all train fares.

As for buses, Go North East and Arriva run buses between the two cities and all Durham students and staff can get a ticket for just £1 with Arriva. With Go North East, the ticket would cost £4 for a return journey. Alternatively, you can check the website for travel passes- I remember with Arriva, you can travel for as cheap as 50p per day. However, the issue with buses is that it takes about an hour to reach the Durham city centre from Newcastle, and from there another 20 mins to walk to the science site. That's about 3 hours of travel everyday so definitely think about whether it's feasible for you amongst any other commitments you may have.

Another general problem with living in Newcastle would be that you'd need to put in extra effort for socialising, like catching the train or bus as opposed to living in Durham where you can walk to places easily. However, if your timetable doesn't require you to be in Durham everyday and you're okay with putting in that extra effort to socialize, Newcastle shouldn't be that big of a hassle. Just in case you wish to look at private accommodation in Durham, please let me know so I can recommend some sources you can use

-Himieka