Relocating to the North East for work: a practical first-month guide

Relocating for work is two jobs at once: the one you were hired for, and the quieter one of building a life in a place you don't know yet. Do the second badly and it drags on the first. The good news is that the North East is an unusually easy region to land in — compact, well connected, genuinely affordable next to the South, and friendlier than its reputation suggests. This is the order we'd tackle that first month in.

First, sort a soft landing — not a permanent home

The single most common relocation mistake is signing a twelve-month tenancy on a flat you found online, in an area you've never walked, before you've spent a night in the city. You end up committed to the wrong postcode. Far better to give yourself a proper base for the first stretch — a few weeks to a few months — from which you can actually get to know the place before you commit to anything long term. A whole serviced house does that job well: room to unpack, a kitchen so you're not eating out every night, space to work, and a real neighbourhood to test-drive. Our long-stay accommodation is built for exactly this in-between period, and if your employer is arranging the move, our corporate accommodation keeps it to one contact and one invoice.

Get the admin done in week one

A short list, knocked off early, saves weeks of low-level hassle. Register with a GP near where you're staying — you don't want to be doing it in a hurry when you're unwell. Update your address for work, banking and the DVLA, and tell your car insurer you've moved, as premiums vary by postcode. If you're renting somewhere of your own, you'll need to sort council tax with the local authority (Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland and Gateshead are all separate councils, so check which one covers your street). And find your nearest big supermarket, pharmacy and tip on day one — small thing, big difference to how settled you feel.

Learn the transport before you need it

You don't have to live in your car up here, which surprises people. The Tyne and Wear Metro links the city, the coast and both airports and is usually the fastest way in and out of the centre. The A1 and A19 carry you north and south, and the reopened Northumberland Line now runs passenger trains between Newcastle and Ashington for the first time in sixty years, with stations phasing in along the route. If you commute by Metro and bus, it's worth looking at a combined season ticket early rather than paying as you go. Our guide to getting around the North East goes through the options in more detail.

Pick your area with your feet

Newcastle and its surroundings each have a distinct feel, and a fortnight of actually being here tells you more than any amount of browsing. The city centre and Quayside suit people who want everything on the doorstep; Jesmond and Gosforth are the classic professional favourites; and out in North Tyneside, places like Forest Hall give you quiet, well-connected suburban living minutes from the coast and the business parks. If that's your likely patch, our Forest Hall newcomer's guide is a good orientation. Walk the streets at different times of day, ride the commute you'd actually be making, and trust what the place feels like.

Use your first weekends well

Settling in isn't only paperwork — it's starting to feel at home, and that happens faster when you get out. The coast at Tynemouth and Whitley Bay is a short hop, the Northumberland countryside and castles are on your doorstep, and the city itself packs a lot into a small centre. Blocking out a proper day off in the first couple of weeks does more for morale than almost anything. Our weekend guide has plenty to point you at.

If it's a team or a phased move

Relocations rarely happen alone. Employers moving several people, or bringing a project team in ahead of a permanent set-up, get the same benefits from a whole house that individuals do — with the added simplicity of one booking to manage. It's the same thinking behind our contractor accommodation: one address, one point of contact, and a base that works while everyone finds their feet.

How rates work

Rather than a fixed nightly figure, we price around your move: how many of you, how long you need a base for and the dates involved — with preferential terms for longer stays. The quickest way to a number is simply to ask, and we'll usually come back the same working day.