1 month in Newcastle

I had the chance to go to the city Newcastle Upon Tyne in February 2018 for an internship.

The accommodation

During my stay in Newcastle, I lived in student accommodation. The city is full of them, but if I was going to recommend one, it would be mine. The residence is situated 15 minutes walk from the city centre and 8 minutes away from Northumbria University. The rent was a bit expensive but the rooms were modern, clean and with lots of storage space! I shared my apartment with two other girls but I had my own bathroom and my own toilets, the only thing that we shared was the kitchen. The residence is really secure! To get inside the complex you need a badge, but also to get into your building, then your apartment, and then finally your room! I felt very safe there.

The residence also had a room called "festival zone" where you could find a football table, a pool table, a table-tennis table, as well as a television. But that isn't all! There was also a tented area with books and a workspace with self-service printers. But the star of the show was the "picture room", a self-service cinema room which was equipped with a giant TV, Netflix, and lots of armchairs. The residence organised activities regularly, for example, every Thursday there was a "movie night", where you would go down to watch a film in the "picture room" and meet people. But also on "pancake day", the residence bought everything you need to have a pancake evening (for free! )

Life in Newcastle

Newcastle is a city where life is good, between the big high-street with all the shops, the pubs and the clubs, you can never feel bored, ever! One of my favourite parts of the city were the quays. The city is well-known for the numerous bridges and nothing is better than walking along the riverbank in the evening and admiring the dancing lights in the distance.

If you want to go to a high point in the city, nothing beats going along the Millennium Bridge and going to Baltic. Baltic is an art centre, the entry is free, you can then walk through and look at the different exhibitions that are on display. Then you can go to the 5th floor to admire the view from the inside, or outside from the fourth floor. The two floors offer breathtaking views of the city! When you come out of the Baltic again, do the tour of the Gateshead art centre and you can admire the street art. Finally, go back to the city by going over another bridge, and you would have done a really nice tour of the city.

The Great North Museum is also a nice museum to visit on a rainy day, the entry here is also free and the museum looks like a natural history museum. So here you can learn more about Roman culture and the animals that populate our planet.

If you want to go out in the evening, let your instinct be your guide! There is a multitude of restaurants and pubs! I can even recommend you two places! Firstly, if you want to enjoy a good hamburger, go to Byron, they are divine! Also, if you have the student discount app Unidays, you can benefit from 20 per cent off. If you like to have a drink in an unusual place, go to The Botanist. The drinks here are a bit expensive but the setting is absolutely amazing. Basically, the bar is made up of a luminous dome with a big tree in the middle, which gives a really unusual atmosphere!

The language:

Seeing as Newcastle is a city full of foreigners, you will definitely not have problems with the English language; however, be aware that the local accent, Geordie, is very difficult to understand! But don't worry, because once you are used to it there won't be a problem, and also it is really good practice for your oral comprehension skills.