To move to Norfolk although I’ve never been

[mioz]

Been thinking about moving for ages and ages, was made redundant last year so deciding to just go for it. I’m gravitating towards Norfolk but need some help narrowing down potential areas. Needs to be suitable for a young family (2 boys under 3), with parks/cafes/shops and maybe a high st within walking distance. Good travel links also if possible. Anyone have good knowledge of Norfolk and can help me?

Schools are not 'abysmal' in Norfolk! How offensive!

@UserName9999, nope, nowhere near! I am 10 miles from anywhere in a very small village but we have still retained an hourly train service by some weird quirk. Properly in Fenland.

Go for it!! We moved from Bedfordshire to Beccles, Suffolk and have never looked back. Beautiful place to live.

@phlebasconsidered, not a very good guess then

@cloudysummerday

It depends what you mean by good transport links really.

We live in norwich and there are train and bus links and we have the a11 south and a47 east and west.

Public transport generally in Norfolk is probably not great though and getting anywhere from north Norfolk will take a while.

I don't think it's true that the schools aren't good. As anywhere you'd need to look at the specific schools where you decide to live. My dc are in an ofsted outstanding secondary and an ofsted good primary.

Norwich itself is a really lovely city and Norfolk is generally very lovely and relatively empty of people so probably fairly chilled compared to lots of places. It's also a very dry county!!

The transport links in and out of Norwich are quite good by rail and if we fly long distance, or rather used to fly long distance, we flew from Norwich to Amsterdam then onwards, one hour from touchdown to opening the front door on return. The lack of motorways and the small number of major trunk roads keep it feeling cut off, you either love that or hate it! It all comes down to how you want to live, you must spend some time here.

Norfolk is lovely, was there this week and I sometimes work in Norwich but as a county it really is the arse end of nowhere in terms of transport links.

Ely has excellent rail links but it is a bit dull and there are some rather gritty areas of the town (city). Ely's secondary school is also rather dire and the primary schools seem oversubscribed.

Transport links!!???? Arse end of nowhere?? Jesus. We are not the Outer Hebrides. Doesn’t take that long at all to get onto a motorway and many of the links are now dualled. Including the A11

Wow. People really do have a weird concept of Norfolk!

@notsohippychick

Transport links!!???? Arse end of nowhere?? Jesus. We are not the Outer Hebrides. Doesn’t take that long at all to get onto a motorway and many of the links are now dualled. Including the A11

Wow. People really do have a weird concept of Norfolk!

Not a concept, I work there and visit often.

Sorry if it offends you but I speak from experience.

Norfolk is lovely just not everyone's ideal place to live for various reasons.

It all Comes down to what you know and what you like and everybody is different,
As somebody has said, maybe worth renting for a while and seeing if the OP likes it.

@reannneeee

First of all, you definitely need to spend time there before deciding.

I wouldn’t. Have a look at the Fens instead. Similar terrain to Norfolk and some lovely little towns (Stamford in Lincs for example) but not as awkward.

Laughing so hard at the fens being "less awkward". 🤣🤣

Laughing so hard at the fens being "less awkward". 🤣🤣

Same

@GreenLeafTurnip

I grew up in Norfolk and moved 1000 miles away as soon as possible 😂 nice safe place but so boring and everyone knows each other. Transport links are atrocious as well!

That's because everyone is related to each other

@WhoWants2Know and @amission

Me three! And I am a fen dweller ;)

I’ve lived in (east) Suffolk all my life.

Those saying the transport non existent and schools awful, it obviously depends where you are, it’s not as remote and cut off in Norfolk and Suffolk as some here are saying.

As far as Norfolk goes, I would happily live on the outskirts of Norwich. There’s plenty for dc (teens) to do imo, though it is easier once they’re old enough to drive.

I lived very near the east coast Suffolk/Norfolk border for a long time, near the heritage coast (AONB). Much prettier than Norfolk or Cambridgeshire (IMO 😀), but definitely sleepier, state school choices not so good in that area. Good community spirit though and there are e.g., market towns with nice selections of shops and better sports facilities.

I now live further south in the county, still east, a bit north of Ipswich, which is a much better location in terms of getting to places and things to do . We are very rural but can be in Ipswich in 20 minutes with all the facilities and leisure there. There is a bus service, not great but there is some provision, though I would say driving is an essential.

Dd goes to one of the two outstanding secondary schools nearby. It takes an hour and 10 mins into Liverpool St from Ipswich or by road, 20 mins to get on to the A12, e.g., to London or just over an hour to Norwich which is fine now and again for shopping.

Ipswich is nicer than people think and handy to have fairly nearby, I absolutely wouldn’t live there but really like where we are. It’s beautiful, I’m within easy reach of the coast, nice towns within 15-35 mins for shopping, beautiful walks, low crime, good house prices. We live in a ‘nice’ area 😊 and got a lot for our money property wise.

It’s not vibrant, it’s a different way of life and doesn’t appeal to all, (though it appeals a lot to London second home owners.)

One dc is still at school, the others are young adults at Uni or working they have absolutely loved growing up here and haven’t been keen to leave.

@OhHeyItsSaturday

Schools are not 'abysmal' in Norfolk! How offensive!

I agree, schools are fantastic here. Generally smaller class sizes than across the rest of the country and we have some excellent high schools - Wymondham and Diss are very good and there are many other excellent ones. The complex needs schools we have are also very good - most are rated outstanding. The only issue with the complex needs schools is they are mostly in Norwich - if you live somewhere like Diss and have a child with sen who needs to attend one you’re looking at a 23/25 mile taxi journey (with an escort - this is normal for many children who live in this area, including my son).

I think like everyone says it depends what you want to get out of life and what you like. My Mum moved to Norfolk from London and never really felt happy here. She was very “arty” and missed all the art galleries / museums / poetry festivals and groups that London offered. We have an art gallery in Norwich (Sainsbury’s centre) and a few museums dotted about but there isn’t the variety and depth of choice that you find in a bigger city but that’s to be expected.

What you do have in Norfolk is lovely walks, great outdoor spaces, friendly people, a slower pace of life (I was shocked when I first moved here that unlike London everything seems to shut locally at 3.30/4pm and everywhere seems to have a half day on a Tuesday or Wednesday). Lots of family days out that are lovely for smaller children - Banham zoo, Bressingham steam gardens, Gressenhall museum and so many more. High lodge forest etc. It really is amazing for families.

Older teens struggle more … the buses and trains are so hit and Miss and the latest train back from Norwich to most smaller villages is about 11pm. Then they have a long dark walk home unless someone picks them up! It’s usual for teens to learn to drive as soon as they can simply because otherwise they can’t get anywhere and struggle to find part time work. Because of these issues - and this is me being very honest - there is a bit of a drug and petty crime issue in many of the towns, including Diss. It’s not all lovely and rosy but then that’s true of anywhere isn’t it? On the whole Norfolk is a lovely place but do visit before you make the jump and do your research.

Also from Ashford and now live just outside Ely. You do still get so much more for your money than in Kent property-wìse. Schools in East Anglia do shock me after the range in and around Ashford, and the countryside isn't a patch on the Downs (but quite like the Romney Marshes - open, flat and lacking in foliage). Journey back to Kent isn't bad for us - we just go A14 - M11 - M25 - M20. Will be longer if you're into Norfolk or Suffolk, but even still when I was in uni in Norwich it was only about 3 hours door to door. We live to the south of Ely, it is less "Fenny" than the north to my mind, and is on the right side for the train station if you want Cambridge or London. It's small and quiet, but frankly not too dissimilar from Ashford. We even have a nearly matching Cineworld complex! Shopping for anything other than food you would have to go to Bury St Edmunds or Cambridge. We're on the border to Norfolk and Suffolk and there are some pretty villages round there (with some decent primary schools, pubs and local shops) depending on how far out you want to look.

@OhHeyItsSaturday

Schools are not 'abysmal' in Norfolk! How offensive!

It's rubbish too! I live in Norwich. All the schools and preschools close to me are ofsted rated outstanding or good.

I love Norwich. Grew up here, moved away for 10 years and lived all over the country but came back as it's so fab. Coastline is beautiful for day trips. Do it!

It was the entire Norfolk education authority that was in Special Measures rather than all the schools but yes - an entire education authority was deemed that awful. Came out of SM in 2018 but in 2020 there was a report saying the same authority was failing a generation of children with its terrible SEN provision. So it isn’t great though there are schools that do well and there are plenty rated Outstanding or Good and were during the awful period too.

Try Attleborough or Wymondham

@Beachbabe1 oh hey neighbour!

No motorways in Norfolk

Have enjoyed lots of holidays there

Lived in Norwich and Ely.

Ely is grim, IMO. Apologies to Ely fans. Horrible town centre, no transport links, dowdy residents.

I escaped Norwich to live in London and never looked back, but I still love to visit and have a lot of places I still like to go. It's got its downsides but it's a lovely place. Recommend living either near the centre of the city, OR in one of the nicer surrounding towns and villages with decent train links. The bit in between those two is sadly choked up with miles of ugly estates.

Google Norwich's "Golden Triangle", considered (cheekily) to be "the Notting Hill of Norwich".

I lived in Ely for a few years and have recently moved. I would NOT recommend the fens. There is nothing to do there for miles around and it really is ugly. Stamford on the other hand is a fantastic place to live. Loads of stuff for families and not at all remote or cut off, beautiful villages all around.

We live on the Norfolk / Cambridgeshire border. If you were considering Ely (expensive), the Downham Market Area might appeal. It’s on the same train line as Ely/ Cambridge/London. It’s also a great location to access the North Norfolk Coast. Plenty of places for days out too. We live in a village called Upwell which we love - lots of people relocate here.

What a shame that some are describing the fens as ugly. I think the opposite - it’s beautiful in my opinion.