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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

LIVING IN NORFOLK

108 replies

reddevilchris2018 · 26/08/2021 13:45

dear all,

im looking at moving by the coast in norfolk, have never been there before myself but have friends who have and loved it, for me this is a relocation permantley.

i'm looking to be near the coast and has to be near some kind of shopping facilities and medical facilities etc....

any recommendations would be very welcome and info on the surrounding area's?

thanks , chris

OP posts:
Roselilly36 · 27/08/2021 07:49

@SkylarFerris

Sea Palling is lovely
It is one of my favourite places! ❤️ Wells next the Sea is also wonderful.

Norfolk is just a wonderful place to live, we have recently moved from Sussex to Norwich. Love it, people are fab, it’s so laid back, no one seems to be in a rush or stress, traffic is much easier, you don’t get the beeping that always happened on the Sussex Coast.

Norfolk coast covers a huge area, with very different property prices, OP. Where does your friend live? Are you looking to move near them? I live in Norwich as we wanted the convenience of the city, but the coast is a short drive away.

Come and view some areas, do your research first and narrow it down.

Good luck.

GemmaRuby · 27/08/2021 07:51

YABU to post in AIBU and not even try to shoehorn in an “AIBU to ask about living in Norfolk”, or the obligatory “posting for traffic”.

DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 27/08/2021 08:10

I've lived in Norwich, the countryside near Swaffham and just south of the border in Halesworth. It's a lovely part of the world, and my parents chose it to end their days.

Pros: views, food, attitude, Norwich.

Cons: sparse and remote hospitals, racism, usual tourist traffic, mental house prices in Wells, King's Lynn.

Book yourself a week out of season and have a poke around.

vegas888 · 27/08/2021 08:49

Gt. Yarmouth is awful in my opinion, the nice areas are blakeney, holt, Sheringham etc. If you need any further information you can message me, I live in Norwich so know Norwich and Norfolk very well.

TheRebelle · 27/08/2021 08:59

I like Norfolk for a holiday but I’m not sure I’d want to live there, what’s made you think it’s the place for you if you’ve never even been? Are you just a huge Alan Partridge fan?

ShingleBeach · 27/08/2021 09:01

I grew up in Norfolk, all my family live there, I go often.

Make extended visits and stays before you make a decision. Stay in February (not half term) and August.

I love it for its beauty, skies and beaches.

The coastal areas are generally remote from infrastructure, towns etc.

Things to consider: public transport is sparse. Access to a hospital from the N Norfolk coast , for example, is an hour. And much more difficult by public transport. GP surgeries can be a long way away, dentists further.

Cinemas: Few and far between. Teens will need a lift. Theatre: Norwich or Kings Lynn.

Shops: many villages no longer have a shop, supermarkets are only in the bigger towns.

Phone / 4g signal still terrible in big swathes of the N Norfolk coast.

General insularity: coastal and rural deprivation is real. Poverty due to many seasonal workers, loss of employment opportunities etc exists. Lack of access to cultural opportunities and multi cultural life, much conservative thinking. My sister is a teacher in a North Norfolk secondary and is very aware of the restricted horizons of the kids. And yes racism. She sees and hears it all the time. I have mixed race kids and when we have been up there in ‘non tourist’ situations have seen it. Not necessarily full on EDL stuff, but sheer ignorance borne of insularity and lack of experience. But not liveable with, for my family.

Swaffham is not a place to live if you want to be near the sea. Confused

Visiting, spending every summer there in hol, is a very different experience to living in a sparsely populated area with a bitter Easterly wind from October to March.

hocusspocuss · 27/08/2021 09:21

The pass rate for 5 GCSEs at C and above for my year group at W Norfolk school was 19%.

19%!

Honestly, I ran away as soon as I was old enough.

ImFree2doasiwant · 27/08/2021 09:34

Norfolk is a large county. I like it here, but there are downsides. Puic transport is bad. Terrible. I have to get in the car to go anywhere. If I run out of milk in the evening it's it's 12 Mile round trip to get some. Same with petrol actually.

That said, I love being close to the coast 20/25 minutes (or much much longer if you go at the wrong time!)

Heacham is nice big village with a small tesco, and Lidl. Gp surgery, and bus routes.

Once you go past Hunstanton, around the coast, places like Thornham and Brancaster are very expensive. Lots of second homes too. Burnham market has the nickname Chelsea on Sea.

It really isn't very diverse. Plentiful people from Eastern Europe I the King's Lynn area. Its incredibly rare to see a person of colour.

Bagelsandbrie · 27/08/2021 10:35

I am really shocked by some of the comments about schools. There are good schools and bad schools like anywhere else! My dd now aged 18 went to our local state school in South Norfolk and has got AAB at A level - like most of her friends - and is off to university next month. She’s grown up with everyone from the infant school when she joined aged 4 and we know everyone really well and I can’t think of one person that isn’t either off to university or is starting an apprenticeship.

People are really quick to have a moan.

stilltiredinthemorning · 27/08/2021 10:52

Why do these posts always seem to be about Norfolk??? There was one a while ago where somebody said that 'all schools in Norfolk are in special measures'! Ridiculous! Norfolk is a large and fairly diverse county. There are areas of significant deprivation such as in Great Yarmouth, but that is also true of Cornwall for example. I imagine that the villages are not particularly culturally diverse, but that is likely the case in most rural areas? There is actually large immigrant populations in several areas of Norfolk and many languages are spoken. I would say that Norfolk is fairly balanced in general, with small rural communities, places like Wells and Southwold that are very naice and full of second homers, areas of deprivation and run down seaside towns and a fairly large city that has a very well regarded University and an Art College and lots of shopping, trendy bars and hipster tattoo parlours a plenty.... So, something for everyone 🤣

thereisonlyoneofme · 27/08/2021 14:52

My family came from a small village in Norfolk, one Front Street one Back Street! There was a privately owned bus service once or twice a week , and think that generally the public transport is sparse.
I come from Kent and found Norfolk terribly flat! I could listen to a proper Norfolk accent all day though

ShingleBeach · 27/08/2021 18:36

@stilltiredinthemorning

Why do these posts always seem to be about Norfolk??? There was one a while ago where somebody said that 'all schools in Norfolk are in special measures'! Ridiculous! Norfolk is a large and fairly diverse county. There are areas of significant deprivation such as in Great Yarmouth, but that is also true of Cornwall for example. I imagine that the villages are not particularly culturally diverse, but that is likely the case in most rural areas? There is actually large immigrant populations in several areas of Norfolk and many languages are spoken. I would say that Norfolk is fairly balanced in general, with small rural communities, places like Wells and Southwold that are very naice and full of second homers, areas of deprivation and run down seaside towns and a fairly large city that has a very well regarded University and an Art College and lots of shopping, trendy bars and hipster tattoo parlours a plenty.... So, something for everyone 🤣
Yes, but the OP wants to live by the coast.

Fakenham has 24% A-C passes at GCSE against a national average of 43%. Cromer has 34%.
Cliff Park GY Academy 27%,
These are all Ofsted ‘good’ schools, so presumably reflect the cohort.

At one stage it was the LA’s whole Children’s Services that was in special measures, rather than the schools per se. Now it is just one part of that service, I believe.

You are right: it is a big county. But the naice areas of second homes? So what if they all go back home at the end of the summer hols, leaving shops and seasonal activities closed and their kids don’t go to school there.

And yes, all this really does affect other rural coastal areas that are fairly remote. There are regularly threads cautioning about lack of infrastructure and summer crowding in Cornwall.

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime · 28/08/2021 07:47

The GCSE scores reflect the cohort, I work in a "Good" Norfolk school, we are based in a very disadvantaged area, many students are young carers, many student have families where MH issues for themselves or their parents are a constant challenge, we have lots of children that take home stale bagels from breakfast club to feed their siblings and many local primary schools have set up their own food banks. We aren't an area where lots of parents are high achieving or been to university themselves, although you often find most of the children in our top sets that achieve 9-7 have parents that work off shore or at the nearby hospital. We have a low 9-5 GCSE grade but we have a very good Value Added score. Large numbers of students come to us with significant learning difficulties, it is not unusual to have around 50/180 cohort arrive with a reading age under 9 years often many students have a reading age lower than 7 and we work incredibly hard to help our students achieve the grades 1-3 that they get. Those students probably work harder than those who achieve 9-7 and we have those too.

Saying the above, I live near my school, crime is low, I have a beautiful beach within walking distance, we have a sixth form nearby that is popular and many students do go off to University. If I want to go into the big tourist town then there is plenty for my Dd and her friends to do and lots of seasonal work which is brilliant for students where they can focus on study during term time and earn lots of money during the holidays and are often asked back year after year. There are several big employers in the area, schools, hospital, engineering and offshore. You might need to travel if you work in a different sector but travel into Norwich is relatively easy and much easier than a London commute. In my town public transport is good although I know that is not true of many areas.

reddevilchris2018 · 31/08/2021 13:38

thank to everyone who posted ,it was all so very helpful.

I have to say I dont have the biggest of budget considring where im looking which is upto about £300k

somewhere near the coast would be great, not to far tot the hospital, as i dont drive and do have medical issues, work isnt an issue an im on my firms medical insurance and dont have children....

its more of a relocation to escape london, never been to norfolk, but family enough my family tree states alot of my relatives came from that way...ive seen all the programs about norfolk and it looks a great relaxed place to live.

transport links are important

OP posts:
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 31/08/2021 13:39

Forgot Norfolk if you can't drive, seriously.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 31/08/2021 13:39

**forget

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 31/08/2021 14:13

And if you come from London, visit first as you will have no idea how badly some parts of the country are served by public transport. I still can't get over the fact where I live there are no buses on a Sunday at all! Public transport to a lot of places might be one bus an hour. That's a hard adjustment after London.

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime · 31/08/2021 16:43

I would move to the East Coast, the public transport tends to be better. I wouldn't move to Great Yarmouth town but nearby areas such as Gorleston (a large hospital, cinema and lovely beach here), Hopton, Bradwell and Belton all have reasonably good bus systems. Slightly further North you have Caister and further South you have Lowestoft. Lowestoft is similar to Great Yarmouth in that the very centre of town is run down but the outskirts are fine. It takes about 45 mins to drive to Norwich and the train to London is about 2.5 hrs from Gt Yarmouth to London and £300k will get a good size house in any of the areas I mentioned. Gorleston £270, 000, Caister £300, 000, Lowestoft £270,000

ExchangedCat · 31/08/2021 17:02

You're probably looking at somewhere like Gorleston: (above budget but on foot a while) www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88128022

(Within budget) www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/112002413

Or just into Suffolk at Gunton: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108919376

exexpat · 31/08/2021 17:15

Living somewhere rural in Norfolk and not being able to drive would make life very difficult, if you want to actually enjoy what the rural life has to offer. As previous posters have said, the bus service is very limited. Would you be able to learn to drive, or would your medical issues prevent you?

Spaceiswaiting2021 · 31/08/2021 17:58

I live in a very rural part of Norfolk, where the nearest town just to go to a supermarket is 11 miles away. Norwich and the hospital (N&N) are an hour away and if you can't drive it will take at least two buses and longer than an hour to get there. Unless you walk about a mile on narrow country lanes with no pavement to the main road there is no bus stop in the village that will take you to Norwich. There is also no bus that will take you to the nearest town. If you want to visit the coast you might struggle to do that without a car at least part of the way.

If you are heavily reliant on public transport, I would say that most of rural Norfolk is honestly not the place to move to.

ShingleBeach · 31/08/2021 18:00

WHERE in Norfolk did your friends visit and love?

If you want coast and hospital, your only option is the area around Yarmouth, as advised by PP. which bears no resemblance to the N Norfolk coast, for example.

Plumtree391 · 31/08/2021 19:21

North Norfolk is lovely. North Walsham is apparently a very nice place to live. There are many beautiful coastal areas with good shopping nearby.

QueenBee52 · 31/08/2021 19:26

Norfolk is beautiful .... I envy you OP 🎉

Funnylittlefloozie · 31/08/2021 19:29

Is there any reason you can't just go for a visit and see whether or not you like it?