Please tell me about Suffolk!

[happytobemrsg]

We currently live in Essex (London suburb) but want to move further out into the country in the next few years. Where should I be looking?

Our long list of wants:

Location: as far south as possible so we can travel back to see family, would love a village feel, good primary/secondary schools. Doesn't need to be near a station as both DH and I work from home

House:4+ bedrooms, a bit of space around us to build a couple of outbuildings, my absolute dream would be a barn conversion but not sure if my budget goes far enough...

Budget: c. £750k - if this is totally unrealistic please tell me how much I need to sell my soul for

Do you want independent or state school? I’m in south Suffolk and have been here for 18 years or thereabouts. There are great places to live here, but do check about broadband if you are going to need it! Mine is good, but a colleague’s is terrible and do only lives 3 mikes away (in a much more prestigious village than mine).
If you want a village- what do you mean? I have a shop, a pub and a primary school with a good range of events at tie village hall. Other villages have many shops, beauty salons and a handful of pubs; others have nothing at all.
You could look at Bildeston,Lavenham, Clare, Bures, Stoke by Nayland.

@SpringFan love the pumping station, but I had no idea it was there. I drove past it every day for years, with no clue.

What @undercoveraessedai said. Manningtree and Wivenhoe are lovely little towns, Elmstead Market/Ardleigh/Bromley lovely little villages. Colchester 10 mins away and London just over an hour away.

Ooh Ardleigh and Bromley yes! Good call @chilledteacher - my studio is in Ardleigh so not sure how I missed it off

@QueenofLouisiana

Know what you mean. I go past it on the way to the Colnes and only spotted it when doing the Essex Bures walk.(as opposed to the Suffolk one-boundary runs through the village)
OP if you are going to look at Wivenhoe, look the other side of the river at Rowhedge. Friend of mine moved there recently and there is a lively community in the old part of the village. However, some MOD land nearby may be developed in the foreseeable future.