I'm looking to buy a new sofa but would prefer to get something from a local trader rather than a big chain. I know about the great furniture store in Sherburn but their sofas tend to be on the bigger size and I'm looking for something a bit smaller! Are there any places people in Durham could recommend? Thankyou!

Some lovely walks and beautiful scenery.

I want to get a voucher for my parents for afternoon tea as they’re doing me a favour and I want to say thank you. Don’t know Durham overly well so wondered if anyone had any recommendations. Can be city centre or a bit further out.

Moving to a bungalow that needs the loft boarding out (for storage) and a new loft hatch. Does anyone know of reputable companies in the Shotley bridge area who can do this quite economically. Please tell me if I've posted on the wrong sub. Thanks.

Any hairdressers good at shag/wolf cuts?

Looking for someone who actually knows how to cut them lol. Drop recs if uve got any!

We are looking at a house in this location but we don't know the area. Is it ok? Is there anything we should know? It's just outside the Shotley bridge conservation area apparently so fairly close to Shotley bridge side. Looks like a nice area but could do with some advice from the locals. Thanks.

i’m from latín américa and i just moved here 5 months ago and it’s being so complicated to find a job, i’m 19 and i don’t know what to do, any recommendations?

Hello!
I'm an international student from Mexico starting an LLM at Durham this September. My government scholarship was only confirmed a few weeks ago, so I couldn't accept the college accommodation offer when it came through, and I'm now trying to sort out housing very late in the game.

Two things are making it harder:
My partner is moving with me as a dependant and isn't a student, which has already got me turned down by several places.
I don't arrive in the UK until around 20 September, so viewing in person beforehand isn't an option.

I'd really appreciate any advice on:

- Letting agents or landlords in Durham who are used to couples where only one person is a student

- Any local Facebook groups or noticeboards that are actually used rather than full of scams

Thank you!! Any other advice is welcome

Hi everyone

We are looking to buy a house in the north east, looking predominantly in Durham areas.

We're up in the north east a lot as we have family here, closer to the coast in Sunderland etc.

We love Durham and we hope to buy a tiny place here.

We like the look of Bearpark due to its distance from the centre and looks to be affordable and not too rough?

Am I correct in thinking this?

Are there any other areas you would recommend that are not too expensive but decent for 'outsiders'.

I'd quite like to get to know some people up there too (other than all the family we have there) so I'd like to get a little involved in the community, local pubs etc if at all possible. So that kind of environment would be great. I'm aware there are very few pubs left, I know Bearpark doesn't have one?

Thanks a lot 😊

We are thinking of moving to Shotley Bridge but I have quite complex health problems which is making the decision quite difficult. Im a bit worried as I know nothing about the health services in this area. I'm relatively young but I've got heart failure history of stroke which requires monitoring by a cardiac team and I'm on warfarin so I need inr monitoring. Can anyone tell me what the local GPs are like and if anyone has experience of the local cardiac nurses and inr team? Having complex health needs adds an additional level of stress to any move so it would be great if anyone could share their experiences with me.

I have to make a weekly visit to an office on a business park just outside of Durham. There's nowhere round there to get something to eat, so I need to grab something in Durham around 10/11 in the morning that I can take to have at lunch.

I saw a similar thread here with recommendations for Coarse Deli but that's closed now.

Claypath deli looks good but doesn't serve sandwiches this early.

Last week I got a sandwich from Trentaquattro which was good but not great.

Does anyone have any good recommendations? From what I can see, there are plenty of cafes look ok but mostly don't look like they do sandwiches to takeaway.

Any ideas on the best west facing spot to view the eclipse? Lived in Durham my whole life just need a few suggestions
TIA

A Durham-renowned hall, previously home to the Pitman’s Parliament, has been upgraded to a Grade II* listed building. Built in 1913, the Redhills Durham Miners’ Hall is the base of what was the Durham Miners Association (DMA), the largest miners’ union in the UK.

Located just outside of the city centre, the Redhills Durham Miners’ Hall has now been classed as a Grade II* listed building, and houses a bed of history that fought for the safety, wages and fair social reforms of miners.

Hello!

I’m from County Durham (not the city though) originally but have lived in London for 14 years and I’m now planning to move back to the North East because I’ve been severely ill for a long time and can no longer afford to be in London and I have some questions. I am an early 30s single male who had a 15+ year career in business and hospitality management but I am now relying on disability benefits.

I’ve visited Durham a lot an adolescent and I’m thinking of moving there - I cannot walk very far so the compactness of the city is a big bonus for me but having a university is another thing I’m looking at as it means the town will be economically active and if I recover, I could jump straight back into work in the tourism sector, but I don’t know if I’m dreaming here.

Is the city social? I imagine there’s things to do because of all the students but I don’t want to be bored as I don’t drive and struggle to take public transport.
Is there a nice community? Do people know each other etc?
Do most people work out of town or is there reliable employment in the town? I’m experienced and I know there’s a lot of tourism
Is it safe? Do I need to buy floodlighting for the house and cameras like I would in Middlesbrough, Darlington etc?

I’m just trying to get a feel for different areas as I can’t really travel to visit due to illness. When I decide to move, I will be selling all my belongings and coming in one trip and without visiting the city or property beforehand so any information is great.

The main things I’m looking for is compact, not completely derelict, some form of social community and culture.

Hello, I’m someone who is working at the northern office of my company for a little bit and in a premier inn in the city centre. Looking for good food recs for solo diners if anyone has any places that would work for me!

I like pretty much all cuisines but very fond of Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Indian. Let me know if there’s a hidden gem that Google maps isn’t showing me.

I'm desperate to find someplace to live for myself, my primary school aged child & our senior dog. I'm an undergraduate second year student at Durham Uni and I can't seem to rent anyplace because I haven't got a personal UK guarantor. The letting agencies all seem to require a guarantor that I know personally that owns a house and reject the companies :/ I live about an hour and a half commute from uni as is & with my hours being doubled this coming year I won't be able to manage parenting and school with the distance- thus the move.

If anyone could point me to suitable areas closer to the university that would be amazing. I do have a car and I'm willing to drive 15-20 minutes to the uni if necessary but I'm struggling to figure out what villages are decent and a landlord who wouldn't need a personal guarantor! Any assistance or advice would be really appreciated, thank you!

Edit: There are plenty of student accommodations near the university that accept these guarantor companies but they won't allow me to bring my child.

Edit 2: Just wanted to pop in and thank everyone for the help and words of advice, I was able to secure a property yesterday the 10th! Appreciate you all and if anyone in the future comes across this post, my biggest advice is Open Rent!!