This article was published on February 5th, 2017
A Geordie: A person from the larger Tyneside region of England, also refers to the accent associated with the area and people from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The United Kingdom, for such a small country, has an impressive plethora of strong local identities, perhaps none more so than that of the Geordie. With it’s own distinct accent, dialect and culture, and a reputation for being one of the friendliest and on trend places in England, it is fast becoming one of the most popular cities in the UK.
Newcastle is a city that has roots dating back to the 2nd Century AD, when it was founded as a Roman settlement. Located on the English/Scottish border it was of great strategic importance to England as a fortress town against raiding Scots. Eventually it went on to develop its own distinct identity, initially as a port and then as a hub for engineering and ship building (The famed RMS Carpathia, the first ship that responded to the Titanic, was built here).
The northern cities in England have historically always been the home of industry, Newcastle being no exception. Because of this many of them were almost flattened during the Blitz of the Second World War and spent subsequent decades struggling to recover. Recent years, along with a lot of investment, has seen these cities reinvent themselves as artistic hubs and homes of innovation.
Today, Newcastle is thriving. It is one of the most popular cities in the UK with people flocking to move there. The music and art industry is one of the strongest in the country, they are paving the way in environmental urban planning, the night-life is famed throughout the UK as being one of the greatest and the people are renowned for being the friendliest to be found in all of Old Blighty. This will come as a shock to those who have only visited London, but once you venture this far north, expect to have more casual chats and witty banter trades than ever before! Geordie’s are renowned for their conversational prowess and sense of humour.
Fashion lovers will simply adore Newcastle with its own fashion week. It is often overshadowed by the London fashion wheel, but those who take a moment to check it out will find a whole other world up north. The fashion here is not only on trend, it’s innovative, edgy, funky and rapidly changing. Newcastle is leading the way in urban fashion in the UK. And it’s not just the new and edgy that is ever prominent in Newcastle, Newcastle is a city with an incredible and broad ranging history, as well as significant contributions to modern society. It is the city that discovered Hendrix, the city of Newcastle Brown ale (it’s its own institution), the birthplace of Mr. Bean, and the home of Gregg’s (a famous nationwide bakery chain).
They also go a little bit mad for bridges here, with an incredible seven bridges built over the Tyne river running through the city, one of which was the inspiration behind the famous Sydney harbour bridge.
Newcastle is famed for its nightlife, considered to have one of the wildest, broadest and best night life in the country. It comes with high expectations. The LGBT scene, it lacks the central gay village you see in many other British cities, but by no means there is no gay scene here. The Newcastle ‘Pink Triangle’ is more of an area populated by gay venues than a dedicated gay village. It is thriving and growing. With less of a divide than you see in many cities, the LGBT scene is integrated with the straight scene with some exceptions. With a growing range of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and sauna’s you will not struggle to meet like-minded individuals in this wonderfully diverse, open and tolerant city.
While many will simply flock to London on visits to the UK, there is so much to be gained by broadening your outlook and heading north to Newcastle. The city is thriving, edgy, fresh, buzzing and has so much more to offer than you would initially expect. To experience raw British culture and the wonderful world of Geordie’s this is not a place to be missed!
