1. Teessiders - the friendliest people in the country. 2. Celebrating multi-cultural Middlesbrough at its best at the annual Mela Festival. 3. Relaxing and shopping in picturesque Yarm. . 4. Cleveland College of Art inspiring leading artists from cinema's Ridley Scott to numerous designers, artists and craftsmen. 5. The world famous Transporter Bridge - a symbol of Teesside engineering at its best (and better than the Tyne Bridge). 6. Shopping for designer clothes at Psyche, recently voted the UK's top retailer in the Drapers Awards and FHM Awards and budding young designers such as Kate Fearnley continuing the Teesside fashion trend. 7. Teesside humour keeping the nation laughing. From Stockton-born Will Hay and Vic and Bob and Roy 'Chubby' Brown to Hartlepool's Andy Capp. 8. Keeping the nation supplied with its favourite cuppa from Tetley's factory in Eaglescliffe. 9. Catching up with the latest news, sport and business with Britain's finest local paper, The Evening Gazette. 10. Teesside showing its steel by successfully fighting to save Corus's Teesside operation and landing a 10-year deal to supply steel firms across the globe. 11. Our potential - leading international property developer Emaar, the firm behind the amazing transformation of Dubai, cast its eye over Teesside in a recent visit. 12. Eating a lemon top while walking along Redcar beach. 13. Teeing off at the Seve Trophy golf tournament at Wynyard next summer - the biggest golf event staged in the region will see Britain take on the Rest of Europe. 14. Captain Cook - the world's greatest explorer. 15. The future - Tees Valley Regeneration's multi-million pound plans for Middlehaven, Hartlepool, Darlington, Stockton and Durham Tees Valley Airport are set to transform the region. 16. A Century in Stone - Teesside filmmaker Craig Hornby's stunning history of Eston ironstone mining -outselling Hollywood blockbusters at the cinema. 17. Producing an endless stream of top-flight footballers from Brian Clough, Wilf Manion and George Hardwick to Stewart Downing and Jonathan Woodgate. 18. Boro ending 128 years of hurt by winning the Carling Cup and marching into Europe. 19. Rush hours that last barely half of that. 20. Setting up home in the most affordable houses and flats in England despite the recent surge in property prices. 21. Beating the world's best - Redcar's golden girl Dame Tanni Grey Thompson becoming the UK's finest ever paralympian. 22. Surfing - Saltburn is one of the UK's top spots to catch a wave. 23. The Angel of the North - it may be on Tyneside but it was built in Hartlepool. 24. Getting away from it all - The Cleveland Way trail offers 110 miles of some of the finest walking in the north of England. 25. "I get very emotional when I think of Teesside. It's the most beautiful place" - quote from to US billionaire chemical tycoon Jon Huntsman whose firm is investing £200m to build a new plastics plant at Wilton guaranteeing thousands of jobs. 26. Teesdale - one of the UK's most modern office developments and home to major companies including law firms, banks and surveyors. 27. Connecting every community to broadband - the North-east is the only English region with broadband in every telephone exchange. 28. Spending in the night in splendour at one of the country's top hotels - Judges in Yarm and Crathorne Hall are both named in the AA List of the Top 200 Hotels in the Country. 29. Taking a trip along the coast to eat Whitby fish and chips at the Magpie Cafe. 30. Building for the future - a £21m biofuels plant at Seal Sands will be the world's largest facility producing the eco-friendly fuel. 31. The Parmo. 32. Sampling fine local produce from the increasingly popular Farmers Markets at Pinchinthorpe, Stokesley, Darlington, Hartlepool and Northallerton. 33. Having the expertise to deal with the biggest of industrial tasks - the Ghost Ships - let the ships come in. 34. Stockton International Riverside Festival - one of the country's most popular arts festivals. 35. Teesside firm MPI leading the new energy revolution as a major installer of offshore wind farms - which recently landed a £20m contract. 36. Hobnobbing with the boating crowd at Hartlepool Marina and visiting the award-winning Hartlepool Maritime Experience. 37. Catching a breath of air striding up Rosberry Topping and across the Cleveland Hills. 38. Having a picturesque national park - North Yorkshire Moors - on our doorstep. 39. Stockton to Darlington - the birth of the railways providing the basis for the industrial age. 40. Middlesbrough Music Live annually attracting the best new bands - this year The Thrills and Estelle followed previous big names including Keane, The Darkness, Razorlight and Bloc Party. 41. Sydney Harbour Bridge - one of the world's finest landmarks and built with Teesside steel and expertise. 42. Driving the coolest cars - Preston Hall, in Stockton sells more used Minis than almost any other dealership in the country. 43. Having a flutter on the horses at Redcar and Sedgefield racecourses. 44. Being only two and a half hours from the capital by train... 45. ...Or just 40 minutes direct to Heathrow from Durham Tees Valley Airport. 46. Jetting off to Rome or Paris from Durham Tees Valley Airport - which this year added the cities to its list of destinations. 47. US President George W Bush flying into Teesside and enjoying fish and chips in a Sedgefield pub. The first visit by a current US President to the North-east for 26 years. 48. Creating one of the UK's most popular children's TV shows - Teesside designer Curtis Jobling is the man behind Bob The Builder. 49. Learning more with the 23m people who use the North's museums and libraries every year - including the revamped Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough. 50. Hanging pictures - North-easterners spend more on art for their home per head of the population than anywhere else in the UK. 51. The construction of MIMA - Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art - which is set to be one of the country's finest modern art venues on its completion. 52. Hartlepool FC enjoying their most successful spell ever and Darlington FC bouncing back from the brink. 53. Having a kickabout - The Teesside Junior Football Alliance is the county's biggest junior football league with over more than 400 teams competing. 54. Worshipping at Hartlepool's historic 12th century St Hilda's Church. 55. Catching a chill in the North Sea with the hundreds of hardy souls at Redcar and Seaton Carew Boxing Day Dips - which annually raise thousands of pounds for charity. 56. Dancing the night away at Sugar Shack at The Empire - one of the country's most acclaimed dance music nights. 57. Buying a Petch's Pie from the Great Ayton butcher - the shop attracts customers from across the country to sample the famous pork pies. 58. Never having to suffer a hosepipe ban thanks to 200,000,000,000 litres of water at Kielder Reservoir. 59. Having a drink in the country's best student union bar - Teesside University student union has been voted the nation's finest for two years running by the Bar Entertainment and Dance Association. 60. Attracting the world's finest animators - from The Simpsons to The Incredibles - to Teesside University's Animex, one of the country's top animation festivals. 61. Our brains - Wilton Research and Technical Centre has the highest concentration of scientists and engineers with PhDs in the United Kingdom. 62. Schools - all four Tees Valley areas and North Yorkshire achieving primary school results above the national average in recent Government tables. 63. ...with ten Tees Valley schools and colleges recognised by David Bell, chief inspector of schools, in his annual report after receiving outstanding Ofsted reports. 64. Tees Barrage - an international standard water sports venue which has attracted top events and competitors from Teesside and further afield. 65. Angling at the numerous sea and freshwater fishing spots across Teesside. 66. Tucking into posh nosh at top-rated restaurant McCoys at the Tontine. 67. Teesmouth - one of Europe's most important wildlife habitats and a haven for rare and protected bird species and, of course, seals. 68. Developing into a centre for innovative - and controversial - public art. From Darlington's Brick Train to Middlesbrough's Bottle of Notes and Spectra-Txt 69. Supping a pint of Hartlepool-brewed Camerons Strongarm - now being exported to the USA. 70. ...Or a drop of organic ale brewed by the North Yorkshire Brewing Company in Pinchinthorpe. 71. Fighting for our heritage - battling the bulldozers to rescue at least part of the North Riding Infirmary building amidst supermarket plans and the successful protest to save listed Billingham Forum - the country's first leisure centre. 72. Winning - the North-east enjoys more lottery jackpots than anywhere else in Britain - such as Redcar engineer John Ellis who scooped £2m last year 73. The growth of Teesport to become the second largest port in the country - with even bigger plans on the horizon - such as cruise liners docking on Teesside and a deep sea terminal creating 7,000 jobs. 74. Making money - successful Teesside tycoons Duncan Bannatyne, Steven Gibson and Alastair and Michael Powell are regularly named in UK Rich Lists. 75. Our accents. 76. The innovation of Wilton-based Centre for Process Innovation which is using its expertise to develop paper thin fold-up TV screens. 77. The £140m transformation of James Cook University Hospital creating the biggest hospital in Europe and a regional centre for heart, spinal and neuro conditions. 78. Striking a light - Stockton pharmacist John Walker invented the friction match. 79. Enterprise - homegrown firm Garlands Call Centres has blossomed over 20 years from a Teesside attic to become one of Britain's top call centre companies, led by UK business woman of the year, Chey Garland. 80. Dalby Forest - not only a natural beauty but also named by music magazine Q as the location for one of the greatest gigs of all time by Britpop band Pulp. 81. Darlington Civic Theatre attracting the finest regional theatrical productions. 82. Racing - Teesside lass Mary Reveley has trained more than 2,000 winners while last year's Grand National champion Graham Lee now lives in Ingleby Barwick. 83. Playing the numerous successful console games designed by Middlesbrough firm Atomic Plant Entertainment. 84. Strolling round the newly-revamped civic parks Albert Park, in Middlesbrough, Ward Jackson Park, Hartlepool, and South Park, in Darlington. 85. Driving across Newport Bridge - Britain's first ever vertical lift bridge. 86. Food innovation - grateful chocolate lovers can give thanks to Billingham-based Johnson Matthey for its development of the catalyst which makes chocolate melt in your mouth and not in your hand. 87. Munching on a sandwich made by Mark Arnold of Middlesbrough firm Brambles Foods - who beat off competition to become British Sandwich Designer of the Year at the British Sandwich Awards. 88. Teesside University - which has grown to become a leader in IT and digital technology education and is now the top new university in England for the percentage of full-time graduates getting graduate jobs or going on to further training. 89. Eating candy floss on the rides at Stokesley fair. 90. The renaissance of Arc - the Stockton arts centre has shrugged off financial problems to become a leading location for cinema, theatre and music. 91. Getting an alternative view of Tees Valley by sailing along the Tees on the Teesside Princess. 92. Pushing back the boundaries of medical science - Teesside woman Vanessa Fields was the first in the world had a spinal disc replaced using new technology pioneered by Tai Friesem at the University Hospital of North Tees. 93. Playing with toys - Thornaby auction house Vectis held the world's largest toy auction and sold £6m of toys worldwide last year. 94. Building the first oil rig to explore North Sea oil fields. 95. Ayresome Industries - the successful window manufacturer provides employment for disabled people from across the area. 96. The riot of colour in Saltburn in the town's annual battle in the Britain in Bloom contest, in which it has won several awards. 97. The Green Howards - Teesside and North Yorkshire regiment which has a proud 316-year history right up to present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. 98. Changing the world - Middlesbrough's Green Tyre Company makes equipment which can boost crop growth in areas where water is scarce which has been hailed as "potentially the biggest leap forward in agriculture in the last 50 years" by US Government scientists. 99. Photographer Joe Cornish's pictures reminding us of the beauty of Teesside's landscape. 100. Durham University's Queen's campus in Stockton becoming a world class centre for medical research. 101. Watching the sun set over Teesside's magnificent industrial skyline. ********** Help us compile the Top Ten Great Reasons Now we've unveiled the 101 Great Reasons to Live in the Tees Valley, we want to hear what you think is the best. Our list is in no particular order but we will shortly be publishing the Top Ten Great Reasons To Live In Tees Valley. You may be a die-hard footy fan who thinks the continued success of the Boro is the best thing about our area. Or you could be a shopaholic with a passion for the region's designer stores. Maybe a walk in our beautiful countryside is what you believe marks us out as the best. Whatever it is, and it doesn't have to be confined to this list, we want to hear from you. Send your reason to Top Ten, Editorial, Evening Gazette, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3AZ or email 101reasons@eveninggazette.co.uk or... Have your say on our messageboard, and let us know why you think it's "Great to live in the Tees Valley". | 
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101 Great Reasons...
Welcome to the 101 Great Reasons