I'm planning to spend a year studying in the UK on the University of Sunderland starting this autumn.

So, if you guys can brief me regarding the Tyne and Wear area (or the North East) I would appreciate it. :)

Like places of interest nearby (what to see etc), cost of living relative to the UK average (cheap or expensive), what is the general opinion of the area and the university in question in the UK...stuff like that.

I have heard rumors that the local dialect is rather strange, how bad is it?

Basically I'm interested in anything you can tell me related to the situation.

Thanks in advance!

People from the north east are known as Geordies, some areas the accent is stronger than others, people from Sunderland that I have met it has never been too hard to understand. This site might be of use and has a handy translator from English to geordie too :) http://www.geordie.org.uk/

Never been to Sunderland so dont know what there is of local interest http://www.thenortheast.com/ may help. As for cost of living, as a general rule the further north you go in the UK the cheaper it is, always will be exceptions of course.

hth