Once an independent village in County Durham, it became incorporated into Tyne and Wear in 1974 and then the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1986.

Greenside is in the outer west of Gateshead, between the villages of Crawcrook and High Spen and not far from the small town of Ryton.

One of the least deprived of Gateshead's wards, it is used increasingly as a commuter village for professionals travelling into the more urban areas of Tyneside.

Although it has not suffered the decline that many provincial villages have nationally in terms of local services, Greenside offers only a small selection of shops and business.

Residents wishing to travel west, past the county border into Northumberland and its towns such as Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Corbridge and Hexham can do so on one of a number of Go North East buses that depart from Crawcrook.