I am at Nottingham at the moment, and I am originally from Newcastle. I really love the city, you have areas such as Beeston which have high streets full of charity shops (I love it as it reminds me of Gosforth), and you also have areas such as Lenton which are great areas for partying.
The clubbing scene is quite big in Nottingham, Ocean always seems to have something going on. There are a lot of pub crawls throughout the year and plenty of socials.
The city centre is nice and big (there are plenty of Greggs), and the large shopping centre is run by the same people as Eldon Square. There are lots of pubs (including sobar which is alcohol free) and shops in the city centre, and they have a lot of good restaurants.
Nottingham also has a very big asian community, so while there may not be a china town, there are lots of places to go for chinese food (I live next door to a wholesale place on the high street), and chinese new year is always a big deal (especially with the uni's ties).
The transport system is very good, bus travel is £1 for students, you just need your uni ID. They also have a tram network where you purchase your tickets in a similar fashion to the metro.
While I will still always love Newcastle, I have found Nottingham to be a great city (even if it is lacking in a metro).
If you have any questions then feel free to ask