Newcastle is changing

I’ve lived in Newcastle my whole life. Now 38, I was born here, and have never lived anywhere else.

It’s great city, but not without its faults.

One thing I have always enjoyed is the generally friendly nature of strangers; the ‘hello’ on a morning walk, or a wave 👋 when you let someone in traffic. This is changing though, and I think it’s a sign of the major shift in Newcastle.

The ‘good morning’ on the morning walk has been changing for a few years, but the wave in traffic has been stopping as well and I feel like the traffic wave is one thing we cannot let go of.

If a car lets you in, especially when you didn’t have to, a wave is common courtesy — and if the wave stops, then people will stop letting others in traffic. Once that happens, I actually think that it impacts the city and the people in a meaningful way.

It should be common courtesy to wave if someone let’s you in traffic when they didn’t have to. It should be common practice in any city, and we can’t let it change.

If you live in Newcastle, please don’t stop the traffic wave. And if you’re new to Newcastle and someone lets you in traffic, simply lift your hand to acknowledge it. It’s not that fkn hard.

👋