I've lived in Gateshead all my life and it's very dire indeed. Sure, there are works of art like the Angel of the North but a great rusty-coloured structure like that, in my opinion, does not enhance the image of Newcastle's forgotten partner in the 'NewcastleGateshead' city of culture bids. Gateshead High Street is virtually non-existant and is about to be consumed by a greater, bigger Tesco which could hamper businesses around that area even more. I have not been to The Sage or The Baltic so I can't comment on those, but they seem to be more representative of Newcastle's Quayside redevolpment schemes rather than Gatesheads. The Metrocentre does offer shoppers a great shopping experience but, like all shopping centres, it gets too overcrowded and hot. When Metrocentre is busy, it takes ages to park your car and waiting to get out of there is a problem too as the car-parks are poorly designed. Saltwell Park is a nice place to visit, I suppose, but a park is a park in my estimation - and once the aeroplane that used to be there was removed, it lost something that made it truly unique. Overall, Gateshead is just somewhere you pass through on your way to/from Newcastle and that's all it ever will be.