Welcome to the North East & Cumbria
The North East is a wonderful corner of the world. With it’s fantastic cities Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. It has a history steeped in industry with ship building, mining, agriculture and fishing. We have our very own UNESCO world heritage sites – Hadrian’s Wall, Durham Cathedral and the Lake District. You will never be bored here and there really is something for everyone.
ancient history
There is a vast number of castles in the North East, in the city, along the coast and deep in the countryside. We have some of the best preserved and most beautiful castles in the whole of the UK. Or perhaps a trip to Hadrian’s wall which extends coast to coast. A fantastic feat of ancient architecture.
fabulous cities
A day down by the quayside in Newcastle exploring the bars and restaurants alongside the river Tyne. Or a day in Durham seeing the beautiful Cathedral and by night explore the Lumiere festival.
Music
From small gigs in the Cluny and the O2 Academy in Newcastle, to the Metro radio arena, St James’ Park and the stadium of Light in Sunderland you will never be short of artists for all tastes and gigs of all size.
Fantastic food
Michelin Starred restaurants. Featured Sea food restaurants. Street food. Beautiful settings. Need I say more?
Find Your Place
The North East is a wonderful place to live and a fantastic place to train. We have fantastic hospitals filled with enthusiastic staff and excellent training. There are huge trainee networks. Check out the North East’s Find Your Place website here
New to the Region
Thanks to Lisa MacBeth we have a lovely guide to the North East for those new to the region.
This is downloadable below.
Dr Miriam Baruch
I arrived in Newcastle 10 years ago, a senior trainee on an inter-deanery transfer with a toddler and a 3 month old baby. I had many months to settle into life in the North East before I had to think about work.
We enjoyed trips to the beach, swimming, splashing in the water play Tyne at the Discovery museum and many afternoons in the park. It was a wonderful introduction to this fabulous Northern city. This region has much to offer a family with outstanding state schools, coast, city and countryside.
I am very much settled in Newcastle from both a professional and personal perspective. I’ve been an ICM/Anaesthesia consultant in Newcastle for 5 years now. I’m fortunate to have fantastic colleagues and the opportunity to practice critical care in a department that looks to the future and strives for excellence.
Many of our trainees work flexibly and combining critical care training with family commitments is entirely possible both as a trainee and afterwards as a consultant.
Dr Faisal Shiekh
I was born in Kashmir, spent my childhood in Iran, did my medical education in Kashmir, worked for a couple of years in Saudi Arabia before moving to UK for anaesthetic training. I wanted to grow further in my career and I found that opportunity in UK . Initially I was not sure about moving to North East but having been here for 2 years now, I can say I really like it. People in general and colleagues in anaesthetics have been wonderful. I have really felt supported everywhere I have been. The training opportunities are also great in this region. Anaesthetics as such is a stressful specialty, but the support I have got here has definitely made my life easier.
Dr Quentin Smith
The reasons people end up living here are as wide-ranging as the reasons that brought them here in the first instance and it is far more cosmopolitan than you might expect.
Durham and Newcastle Universities attract students from all over the world because of their academic credentials and reputations of good student life. It is not surprising to me that many students choose to stay in the region after their studies.
Why? Quite possibly the same reasons I still live in the north-east some 20 years after first taking a speculative post in Sunderland as a newly accredited anaesthetist from overseas.
I trained in South Africa and spent a further 6 months in paediatric anaesthesia at JCUH (then South Tees) and the RVI before taking up a Consultant post in Sunderland 20 years ago. I have never looked back.
Compared to a great many other regions in the UK the north-east boasts less traffic and congestion, lower population density yet with easy access to the UKs most beautiful areas to explore and enjoy: north Yorkshire, The Lakes and Northumberland with the wilderness of Scotland not much further. Fast rail connections have you in London in 3 hours, Edinburgh in 1½ and York in 45 minutes; a network of accessible regional airports gets you anywhere in the world while local ferries link to Amsterdam and Norway and beyond.
Abundant open space, parks, cycle tracks, walking trails, world class concert halls, museums and historic sites abound and contribute to a diverse quality of life and a work / life balance that you might not expect at first glance. The history of the north is rich and fascinating too: the Vikings, the Romans, the Prince Bishops and the cross-border conflicts. It all happened here.
Give it a try. What’s the worst that can happen? You like it and never leave
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