Newcastle upon Tyne: a vibrant city in England

Newcastle: a city based on Oldcastle. 

The Barbican of the castle

The ‘turning bridge’ could be raised or lowered quickly to allow or prevent to the Castle gate 

I told a Taiwanese student at Durham University that I didn’t see many students in Durham's street when I visited the city centre at weekends. She mentioned that most of the students like to go to Newcastle for shopping.

This motivates me to go to Newcastle to find out more about what is ‘CPI’ of the city for a student. And before my one-day trip there, I also wonder ‘will it lead to any difference if a student studies in a country area and in a big city?’ A York graduated PhD student answered me, ‘definitely, the countryside is better as there is less temptation.’

However, when it comes to job opportunities after graduation or life functions, an urban district, a multiplicity, is surely more convenient to provide great amenities and living support, even cheaper and competitive prices for life necessities. 

This is what we call ‘price–performance ratio’ or ‘cost–performance ratio’ which is an index used to measure the money we pay for the performance/function/service that a product can offer. High CPI normally refers to something which is worth more than its cost or has good value for money.

Although the history of Newcastle can be dated back almost 2,000 years, Newcastle Upon Tyne (known as Newcastle), compared to Durham and York featured by its traditional-styled and non-industrial, is a ‘great’ city.

The black gatehouse, the medieval Castle defence

The city wall: West walls

St. Nicholas Cathedral: Old castle where the story begins

The Response 1914 which Britain entered the first World War

Durham Tower in West Walls

Newcastle University has a vibrant city-centre campus with only few-minute walking distances to access to everything that students need. 

Orientation week 

Campus garden

Campus

Not to mention there is a China town providing various Chinese cuisines and traditional medical treatments.

There is an increasing number of students coming from China to study in the UK since the past decade, for them, is Newcastle a high CPI city for living, studying and seeking for future job markets? Should a city’s life functions set as the assessment index of the university ranking? 

Strolling in Newcastle, '4 peaches for 1 pound' in the high street or even '5 peaches for 1 pound' in the traditional market; ironically, I found that the price of fruit in this big city is really cheaper than that in York (average 50P for each peach in York City centre). 

In other words, living in the romantic beauty of York could mean enjoy the historical remains with a luxury way.

Newcastle: 一個以Oldcastle為基地的城市。

我告訴Durham大學的一名臺灣學生，我周末去城裡時沒有看到很多學生在Durham。她提到可能大多數在校學生喜歡去Newcastle購物。

這促使我想去Newcastle尋找更多關於學生的'CP值'的資料。在我去那裡的一日遊之前，我也想知道“如果1個學生在鄉村地區和大城市學習，結果會不會有什麼不同？”一位York畢業的博士生回答說，“當然，鄉村較好，因為那裡沒那麼多誘惑。“

然而，當談到畢業後的就業機會或生活機能時，城市較便於提供良好的設施和生活支援，甚至提供更便宜的生活必需品。這就是我們所說的“性價比”或“性價比”，這是一個用來衡量產品以所支付的資金可以提供多少性能/功能/服務的指數。高CP值通常指的是價值高於其成本或物超所值。

雖然Newcastle的歷史可以追溯到近2000年，但Newcastle與Durham和York相比—其更像是傳統風格和非工業區--,是一個“偉大的”城市。Newcastle大學擁有充滿活力的市中心校園，步行幾分鐘便可到達學生所需的一切。

更不用說有一個中國城鎮提供各種中國美食和傳統醫療。 自過去十年以來，越來越多的學生來自中國留學英國，對於他們來說，Newcastle是一個生活，學習和尋找未來就業市場的高CPI城市嗎？城市的生活功能是否應該作為大學排名的評估指標？

  

漫步在Newcastle，大街上的“4個桃子1磅”，甚至傳統市場上的“5個桃子1磅”; 諷刺的是，我發現這個大城市的水果價格確實比York便宜（約克市中心每個桃子的平均價格為50P）。

換句話說，生活在約克的浪漫之美可能意味著以奢華的方式享受歷史遺跡。