Sunderland Travel Guide, United Kingdom

The city of Sunderland (pronounced sundaland) is a city in Tyne and Wear, located roughly 75 miles north of Leeds, on the north east coast of England. It's not a huge city, with a population of a little under 300,000 people. A person from Sunderland is sometimes referred to as a 'Mackem'.

Sunderland is known for the Wear (pronounced wee-er) River running straight through the middle of the city, and has been a port for coal and salt transport since the 14th century. Sunderland got its start as a shipbuilding city, and remained a large shipbuilder for many centuries.

The railway station of Sunderland was originally built back in 1879, and went under massive renovations in 1965 in preparation for the world cup to be held in 1966. Unfortunately, very little has been done to the station since then, and in the eyes of many, it is very unattractive. Renovation has recently begun, and should serve to make the station look bright and new again.

Sunderland is a surprisingly high-tech area. Reportedly, sixty-six percent of its residents have both digital television service and high-speed broadband internet service. This percentage is significantly higher than any other average UK city.

In the last twenty years, Sunderland has experienced a boom in building, due to the development of former shipbuilding sites that were no longer being used. Housing, retail shopping centers, and business complexes have all shot up in the recent years, leading to nicer areas that are all relatively new constructions.

Sunderland is known for its sporadic bursts of fog rolling in from the sea, disappearing just as fast as it appeared in the first place.

The economic employment statistics in Sunderland are quite interesting. Of the entire population that is at working age, only about 60% are employed in some way. 4.8% of the working age population is unemployed, and more than 10% are disabled or unable to work in some way.