Moving into the region
- Moving to North East England
- Moving your business to North East England
- Why North East England?
- How we can help
Subscribe
Get inspired with Sunderland Software City's email newsletter
Why North East England?

The perfect place to live and work
Named “the most exciting, beautiful and friendly region in the whole of England” by Lonely Planet, the North East couldn’t offer you a better quality of life.
Living
From Victorian terraces to city centre loft apartments, our region offers housing to suit all tastes and budgets - with property prices half of those in the South East, and a quarter of those in London.
Wherever you choose to settle, the region’s compact geography and world class transport links mean you’re never more than a few minutes away from city culture, the coast or countryside – from the vibrant city living of Newcastle and Sunderland, to the beauty Unesco World Heritage site Durham to the stunning beaches and picturesque villages of Northumberland - all within easy reach of the major employment centres, and boasting some of the shortest commuting times anywhere in the UK.
Learning
The North East England has the lowest pupil to teacher ratio outside London and is home to a number of schools that rank within the top 200 in the UK.
72.3% of North East pupils achieve five good grades across all subject areas at GCSE, compared to a national average of 69.7%, and in County Durham alone, half of the secondary schools are in the top 10% in the country for value added scores, which measure pupils’ progress from 11 to 16.
The North East also boasts five leading universities - Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside – as well as 25 further education colleges covering every possible vocation from TV production to marine engineering.
Health
Healthcare provision in the North East is unbeatable, with a number of local NHS services rated among the best in England and patient satisfaction levels the highest in the land.
Patients in the North East have a shorter wait than most, and for people thinking about starting or adding to their family, the region was rated the best on England for maternity care by the Healthcare Commission.
Every single acute hospital in the North East has been rated either 'excellent' or 'good' for quality of services by the Quality Care Commission, giving the region the highest score in England. In recent annual ratings three regional NHS organizations also received double 'excellent' scores for both quality of services and use of resources.
Transport
The rest of the country – and the rest of the World for that matter – is easily accessible from the North East.
London is less than three hours away by rail, with trains leaving every 30 minutes. The capital is also less than an hour away by air from Newcastle airport.
The region’s two international airports offer over 30 scheduled routes to the rest of the UK and Europe, and direct flights to major connection hubs including Amsterdam Schipol and Dubai.
There are easy links to the rest of the country by road via the A1, the A19, the A66 and A69. The region also offers some of the lowest community times in the UK and a large and growing number of charging points for electric cars.
Lifestyle
The possibilities for your free time are endless.
The region has a thriving cultural scene with more theatres per head than anywhere else in the UK and a huge array of world class museums and galleries – including Gateshead’s Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, the biggest gallery of its kind in the World and the home of the 2011 Turner Prize.
The North East is globally known for its nightlife – with Newcastle alone named one of the World’s top 10 party cities and Conde Naste Traveller praising our “vibrant nightlife, cool bars and world-class restaurants”
When it comes to going out, you’ll find everything from laid-back wine bars and traditional pubs to clubs catering for all tastes, from intimate jazz and salsa venues to large-scale super clubs.
It’s the perfect place to get away from it all too: The North East is home to two Unesco World Heritage Sites (Durham Cathedral and Hadrian’s Wall), two areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the North Penines and the Northumberland Coast) and even Western Europe’s largest reservoir. With beautiful beaches, lakes and mountains a short drive from most towns and cities, making you’ll feel a million miles away from work.
When it comes to shopping , there’s everything from unique boutiques to rural farmers markets to the Metrocentre, Europe’s largest shopping centre with almost 400 stores.
For sports fans there’s top flight football, rugby, cricket, hockey, athletics and basketball, not to mention world class sporting facilities covering everything from over 90 golf courses to Europe’s biggest climbing wall.
Further information

