Founded in 1830, Middlesbrough is an industrial town on the south bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England's north-east coast.
When I first reached this small town I was slightly disappointed as I was expecting to spend my months in a busy city in UK. Upon stepping out of the train station in Middlesbrough I could literally see no one on the road. At that particular moment I felt as if I was back in the village in Johor Bahru which was not a very good feeling as I had spent loads of money on visas, transportation and accommodation to get from one village to another.
On a bright side, at least the weather was cooling with chilly breeze which was to my liking. Being born and raised in tropical country like Malaysia, the temperature remained relatively constant (hot) throughout the year. That being said, I did not experience four seasons like those who are living in the UK as it was summer all year long.
Is Middlesbrough a good place to live?
Before heading to Middlesbrough I had checked a little bit about the town via the internet and I was not really contented by the remarks. Based on the statistics, it was one of the worst performing UK regions making it one of the worst place to move to for quality of life. After living for couple of months, I would likely beg to differ regarding the statement. The town was very quiet and the people was very friendly (at least the ones I have met).
How about the food in Middlesbrough?
It was undeniable that I missed Malaysian food a lot when I was there. The main reason was the lack of flavour in most, if not all of the British food (pardon). I realised there was something missing in most of the food I have tried, and that was spice and chilli. They were the essentials in all Asian food and thus I was kind of not used to the food here which was quite bland.
Having said that, there were of course local delicacies that I have discovered in Middlesbrough. Apart from the amazing fish and chips, the most popular local dish was the Parmo. Originating in Middlesbrough, the parmo or Teeside Parmesan consisted of chicken chops in egg and breadcrumb batter being deep fried and smothered in Bechamel sauce before grilled with Parmesan cheese. The dish often came in huge portion that can be shared by two people.
What is the cost of living in Middlesbrough?
Truthfully speaking, the living expenses in Middlesbrough was not very high to be compared to major cities such as London and Edinburgh. When I was doing my elective in the UK, I was living in the hostels under the James Cook University Hospital. It cost about 80 pounds per month (which I thought was quite affordable since after conversion the rent was about the same as living in city like Kuala Lumpur albeit I could use the same amount of money to get a whole condominium for myself instead of a tiny room).
As for the food expenses, it really based on how you spent. Generally speaking if you want to save money, the most ideal way was to cook your own food instead of dining in the restaurants. The main reason was that the raw ingredients in the supermarkets were filthy cheap compared to ready made food in the restaurants. Having said that, the best option for supermarkets in the UK would be hands down German based supermarkets Aldi and Lidl. The other local brand supermarkets would be Tesco and Asda. Marks and Spencer and Waitrose would be for the higher end shoppers.
There was a small Asian store in Middlesbrough. My friends and I were thrilled to discover the existence of this shop as we were craving for Asian food after staying for a couple of weeks. Despite the availability of Asian groceries, the items were quite expensive compared to local produced items.
For weekly grocery shopping wise, I normally would spend only about 20 pounds and with that I was able to purchase a variety of ingredients such as fresh vegetables, fruits, rice, noodles, meats, yogurts, ice creams and more! If I were to dine in restaurant, each visit would cost me at least 15 to 20 pounds per meal which was really pricey. There were neither hawker stalls nor food courts which sold affordable and nice food such as the ones in Malaysia or Singapore.
Instead, all the restaurants were quite fancy. Of course there were fast food chains such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Mc Donalds as well. The local fast food chain that was worth trying was definitely Eat4Less which served healthy (not quite) sandwiches. It was like Subway but with much more choices. More importantly the price for the items could be as low as 2 pounds! Now that was definitely a catch as it would be impossible to get such affordable local meal when you were outside.
What are the attractions in Middlesbrough?
It was a quaint countryside and the locals were actually friendly during daytime ( we avoided going out night time as we were told that punks would be out by that time so it would be slightly dangerous for us Asians). There was this beautiful Stewart Park which was an open parkland with lake and pet section for deer, highland cattle, llamas and goats.
In addition, there was also the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum. Who knew Captain Cook was actually born and bred in Marton-in-Cleveland, Middlesborugh. For those who were oblivious to Captain James Cook, he was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer and captain in the Royal Navy. He was also the one who had discovered Australia. Besides that, he had also discovered much of the South Pacific for England.
There were also some impressive arts that were displayed in Middlesbrough. One of them was the Bottle of Notes that was completed in 1993. Furthermore, there was this public art sculpture of Scales of Justice by Graham Ibbeson whereby it portrayed a bronze sculpture of a woman holding apart two children who were squabbling in front of the law courts.
One of the most famous attractions in Middlesbrough was undoubtedly the Tees Transporter Bridge. It was also known as the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. The transporter connected Middlesbrough and Port Clarence. I tried to get to the Transporter Bridge but the attempt proved to be fruitless as it was kind of restricted. However, I got to look at the bridge in near distance which was good enough for me.
Honestly speaking, there were not much to see in Middlesbrough but it was convenient to travel around to visit other places such as the Roseberry Topping, Redcar, Whitby, Yarm, Saltburn-by-the-Sea and the likes. Having said that, I would end the post here since it had been quite a lengthy post. I hope you find this post useful. Till then, cheers.
How about the food in Middlesbrough?
It was undeniable that I missed Malaysian food a lot when I was there. The main reason was the lack of flavour in most, if not all of the British food (pardon). I realised there was something missing in most of the food I have tried, and that was spice and chilli. They were the essentials in all Asian food and thus I was kind of not used to the food here which was quite bland.
Having said that, there were of course local delicacies that I have discovered in Middlesbrough. Apart from the amazing fish and chips, the most popular local dish was the Parmo. Originating in Middlesbrough, the parmo or Teeside Parmesan consisted of chicken chops in egg and breadcrumb batter being deep fried and smothered in Bechamel sauce before grilled with Parmesan cheese. The dish often came in huge portion that can be shared by two people.
What is the cost of living in Middlesbrough?
Truthfully speaking, the living expenses in Middlesbrough was not very high to be compared to major cities such as London and Edinburgh. When I was doing my elective in the UK, I was living in the hostels under the James Cook University Hospital. It cost about 80 pounds per month (which I thought was quite affordable since after conversion the rent was about the same as living in city like Kuala Lumpur albeit I could use the same amount of money to get a whole condominium for myself instead of a tiny room).
As for the food expenses, it really based on how you spent. Generally speaking if you want to save money, the most ideal way was to cook your own food instead of dining in the restaurants. The main reason was that the raw ingredients in the supermarkets were filthy cheap compared to ready made food in the restaurants. Having said that, the best option for supermarkets in the UK would be hands down German based supermarkets Aldi and Lidl. The other local brand supermarkets would be Tesco and Asda. Marks and Spencer and Waitrose would be for the higher end shoppers.
There was a small Asian store in Middlesbrough. My friends and I were thrilled to discover the existence of this shop as we were craving for Asian food after staying for a couple of weeks. Despite the availability of Asian groceries, the items were quite expensive compared to local produced items.
For weekly grocery shopping wise, I normally would spend only about 20 pounds and with that I was able to purchase a variety of ingredients such as fresh vegetables, fruits, rice, noodles, meats, yogurts, ice creams and more! If I were to dine in restaurant, each visit would cost me at least 15 to 20 pounds per meal which was really pricey. There were neither hawker stalls nor food courts which sold affordable and nice food such as the ones in Malaysia or Singapore.
Instead, all the restaurants were quite fancy. Of course there were fast food chains such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Mc Donalds as well. The local fast food chain that was worth trying was definitely Eat4Less which served healthy (not quite) sandwiches. It was like Subway but with much more choices. More importantly the price for the items could be as low as 2 pounds! Now that was definitely a catch as it would be impossible to get such affordable local meal when you were outside.
What are the attractions in Middlesbrough?
It was a quaint countryside and the locals were actually friendly during daytime ( we avoided going out night time as we were told that punks would be out by that time so it would be slightly dangerous for us Asians). There was this beautiful Stewart Park which was an open parkland with lake and pet section for deer, highland cattle, llamas and goats.
In addition, there was also the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum. Who knew Captain Cook was actually born and bred in Marton-in-Cleveland, Middlesborugh. For those who were oblivious to Captain James Cook, he was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer and captain in the Royal Navy. He was also the one who had discovered Australia. Besides that, he had also discovered much of the South Pacific for England.
There were also some impressive arts that were displayed in Middlesbrough. One of them was the Bottle of Notes that was completed in 1993. Furthermore, there was this public art sculpture of Scales of Justice by Graham Ibbeson whereby it portrayed a bronze sculpture of a woman holding apart two children who were squabbling in front of the law courts.
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| Image Source: enjoyteesvalley |
Honestly speaking, there were not much to see in Middlesbrough but it was convenient to travel around to visit other places such as the Roseberry Topping, Redcar, Whitby, Yarm, Saltburn-by-the-Sea and the likes. Having said that, I would end the post here since it had been quite a lengthy post. I hope you find this post useful. Till then, cheers.
- March 12, 2019
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