A better life in Norfolk... really?

[LittleRobin112]

We have so many family members who have moved to Norfolk in the last 10 years and a few friends too. They have mostly gone there for a better way of life. Away from the hustle and bustle of the south east where we are.

We're constantly being told how amazing Norfolk is - the countryside, the villages, the coast, Norwich, etc. And some family members are very keen to tell us how crap it is where we live in comparison, knowing that we are settled where we are and wouldn't want to move. Nowhere is perfect (about from Norfolk apparently) but we like where we are. These family members have moved from where we live which although busy and a London commuter area, it's also fairly affluent in parts, a coastal place and with countryside/woodland still accessible nearby.

What is the attraction to Norfolk? Is it the most ideal place to live? Are people happier there? Are there no down sides to it at all?

I don't doubt some aspects of life quality could be better in Norfolk but I've been on holidays there and many family visits over the years and I can't see how it's as incredible as some family members are making out. Maybe they're just showing off or justifying their reasons for moving there? But to be really negative about where we live is just becoming annoying. It's almost like they're now better than us for living in Norfolk, it's so odd.

Any thoughts?

I grew up in Norfolk and love it more than anywhere else. It is beautiful - the beaches, the countryside, the villages, Norwich. It is home, and I will move back there as soon as I am able to.
(Some) Norfolk people are accused of being insular but I think that is just a kind of shyness.

There’s an amazing smoke house in Cley Next the Sea, I’d move to Norfolk for their smoked prawns alone.

I'm expecting Alan Partridge to pop on here

I grew up in Suffolk and went to school in Norwich, my mum still lives in Norwich. I found it too small and slow, so went to Uni in London (where I still am). I don't mind visiting for the weekend, but wouldn't want to move back there, I like the hustle and bustle of London and just find everything there too laid back - but each to their own. My mum is very happy there.

It's great if you're white. A lot of my friends are not and would never move there after experiencing holidays in Norfolk.

I don't think there is an 'ideal' place to live - it's so dependent on your personal and family priorities and lifestyle. Great if some of your friends and family love it but doesn't mean you have to or will! There's pros and cons to any place

A particularly persistent one across cultures is that people from larger cities casting rural folk as backwards, insular and racist.

Yeah, I alway find this quite amusing. Because in my experience (I grew up on a farm then lived in big cities and towns) people in the country have no choice but to mix with all levels of society and all ages whereas in a city it is very easy to just stick to your tiny bubble of contemporaries. But shhhh, don't tell the city dwellers they are insular, it destroys their self image!

kiwiandcream · Today 13:10
Whereabouts are they? I'm from Norwich and it is my favourite city in the world, it's beautiful, artistic, historical. I also love other parts of Norfolk, particularly the North Norfolk coast, I haven't lived in Norwich since I was 18 though and wouldn't want to live anywhere other that Norwich - the rest is quite sleepy and a bit boring to live all the time. Maybe at a certain age it would suit someone better.

I agree, the North Norfolk coast is where we used to stay - beautiful skyline - and we'd pootle round villages and towns - Fakenham and Norwich are lovely. Sheringham, Burnham Overy Staithe, Holt, Holkam Beach, the Wells to Walsingham railway - marvellous. My husband stayed in Hingham and Wymondham whilst working there and I used to go up sometimes.

It is a different world but the insular (almost inbred) attitudes would bother me. So many Brexiteers :-). That was evident at my husband's funeral wake where so many colleagues from Norfolk came - they were nice people but that attitude reared its head. It upset my son at the time.

No,, as an 'older person' I would not like to live there. I would, however, like to visit again some time.

FlorettaB · Today 14:01

" Flat and inbred. Nice beaches though."

Oh Flo , at least this " inbreed " doesnt stereotype! . ( It is a bit flat though 😁)

I have never got the hype personally. Even the beaches which everybody raves about are not a patch on those in other parts of the UK!

Norwich is actually a lovely little city. Never lived there but friends who live there love it!

Whereabouts in Norfolk are they?
Some parts, particularly around the coast, are lovely. They're also very expensive.

Many of the cheaper towns, on the other hand, are really quite deprived with a lot of crime and high unemployment.

To put it into context, my family who moved to Norfolk, came from where we are in South Essex. My partner's family moved from north Kent.

Obviously these are both busier areas but we like seeing life. I personally love the diversity. I love being near London but not in London. But obviously our families did not like it.

The only thing I would say, is that my partner's family are about 40 mins from Norwich. So for older people with heart conditions, I just hope they don't need to get to hospital quickly!

This is so funny @LittleRobin112 I also think it's a bit over rated.

My first trip there was many years ago when my girlfriend at the time and I decided to book a b&b for a break from motorhoming holiday.

Ended up in a place called Hingham... We stayed at the b&b above the pub in the village.

Not sure if it was the same sex couple element that threw the locals but we sat down and perused the menu (lucky to get a seat for the random cats sitting on the couches and chairs) only for someone sitting at the bar to call across... You're not from around here... Entire bar goes quiet and everyone looks at us as if it was a question. We reply, no we are not, holidaying. And the locals just continue to stare... So uncomfortable!!

Did the broads years later which was nice but probably because there was much less interaction and you only stayed at the little villages for short spells when moored.

Whenever I hear of Norfolk now I just think it's one of those town you label under... "You can hear the banjos..."

@Apennyforthem56 and other PPs.

A bit odd - there are plenty of people living elsewhere where not living in the same area of a city means you've "moved out". My family in Cheshire is like that.

It's also a highly agricultural county and yes, the distances are large and yes, people tend to stay put more than they do in the south partly because of Norfolk's history and geography and transport

The transport links are odd and behind times. Norwich to London isn't a bad rail link, nor is Diss to London or Wymondham to Cambridge and then London or Thetford to Peterborough and the North. But there's nothing high speed and nothing cross country (a problem as most of us know with London being seen as a hub). Buses are surprisingly good but focus on Norwich. And don't expect to drive fast on rural roads when the tractors and combines are out.

North Norfolk is a typical incomer problem eg Cornwall, Dorset, Sussex, Kent and parts of Wales and anywhere with coastal villages. Buy up the houses for a holiday home and lo and behold young people can't afford to live there, schools close, it's hard to get doctors and nurses to stay let alone people to work in restaurants or pubs.

And yes, parts of Norfolk will flood and fall into the sea, from whence a lot was reclaimed by the Dutch and English engineers. But that's true of many coastal places on the north Sea and the English channel - anywhere with chalk or sandstone. And inland rivers (not just those that traditionally flood like the Severn and Thames) will get worse.

I wasn't born in the UK but Norfolk has become my home. There is less casual racism or sexism than I found in Hampshire.

I ran from Norfolk at 21 and never looked back. DH too.

Considering Brits are obsessed with the weather I'm surprised no-one has mentioned this as Norfolk's main selling point! It has incredibly low rainfall and high sunshine annually compared to the rest of the country.

The soil is magnificent too - generally speaking a sandy loam throughout the county which is the gardener's dream. If you get topsoil delivered to your garden it will probably have come from Norfolk.

So, if you like to garden, and spend time in that garden without it pissing down, its amongst the best places in the UK to live.

That’s a shame. I moved away at a similar age too but I certainly don’t think I’m above going back for the odd visit. They don’t trap you and make you stay in the castle dungeons if you show your face anywhere in the county after leaving, you know.

Lived in Norfolk for most of my life.

It is backwards. It is slow. There is hardly any crime. There is zero glamour or sophistication or much culture/diversity. It's beautiful, especially northern coastal areas.

Career prospects are bugger all. Lovely place to raise younger children though.

We have a very nice life, it's all very farmer's markets, and geese holding up the traffic at the end of our road.

Kings Lynn is a dump. As is Fakenham. Dereham, grim. Norwich, ok. However the worst of the worst is Gt Yarmouth. I worked there for 6-7yrs, and I have never met a community of more poorly educated, racist, violent, nasty people in all my life. The schools are horrific. There are no jobs. Everyone moves two doors down from their mum, almost too scared of what "foreigners" might be outside the Acle straight, so best never to leave.

When I dated someone from London, and my social circles changed, I can remember thinking how switched on everyone seemed compared to Norfolk folk. Just wittier, cleverer, more wordly.

We'll stay here for now as it's very much a "perfect childhood" kind of place, but I would never trap my children here as they got older.

Moved to Norfolk about 15 years ago for convenience and am now sort of stuck here (family, in-laws!) but it would not be my location of choice (having lived midlands, and north west). But I do have to say I think the hospital is excellent and we spend a lot of time there in various departments. Overall I’d say it’s no better or worse than other counties but there’s a surprising lack of National Trust and English Heritage in day trip distance from Norwich. Norwich is a good all round city. Now live south Norfolk. DH (mixed race) grew up in local seaside town and definitely experienced racism! There needs to be a big influx of minorities of all kinds, but I can see why people aren’t attracted.

Oh god no. I was forced to move there as a teenager and hated it. With the exception of a couple of places in Norwich, Norfolk as a whole is incredibly insular, it's VERY difficult to make friends if you don't have a connection. Public transport is none existent. The beaches are ok but there's nicer ones elsewhere in the country. Landscape is very flat and mainly just farmland (and landowners get very annoyed even if you're walking on public footpaths across it). My family live there so we visit a lot but I don't think they feel much connection to it - even after living there for 20+ years. It's also very difficult to get anywhere else from - roads out are awful and you're very isolated there.

There ain't half some smug and/or patronising fuckers on this thread

This sounds like my recent experience!! 100% agree.

I live north of London and have a holiday house on the coast in north Norfolk. It takes 2 and a half hours to get there. I work term time only so we’re there every school holiday/ half term/ bank holiday and at least once a month.
We’re going this weekend. It’s my happy place. Where we live it’s very dense with so many people, I just love that my house is by the coast and behind is a field with the occasional sheep grazing. We go to local farms to get meat, veg and eggs and source fresh crab and lobster from a fishmonger whose husband is the fisherman. I’ve not found anyone unfriendly, completely the opposite. Very welcoming and helpful.

I like Norfolk, holiday there a lot with the kids. I also spent a few years growing up in Norfolk and it’s very different. DH would love to live there but I refuse, would not move back or like my kids to.