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?

Norfolk is much too flat for me I prefer a more interesting landscape with hiils.i wouldn't want to live for.
Nowhere is perfect it depends what you are looking for. It sounds as if though you are very happy where you are. I think often people have to justify a move by telling everyone how much better it is than where they used to live. It doesn't mean it is.

It’s Brexitland par excellence! 😱

Norwich was very proudly remain, actually.

I live in Norfolk. It suited our needs when we moved here - mainly to escape the overcrowded south east and high property prices. Before moving here, I had lived in London and the south east but had Suffolk/Norfolk connections and so knew what to expect. I don’t regret moving here, in that the good points outweigh the bad, but we’ll likely move once our children finish school, for a change if nothing else.

There often does seem to be a narrow view of Norfolk on here but it’s a big county that varies a lot between areas. Where we live has good train and road connections, so we don’t feel cut off and there are lots of incomers, to the point that hearing the Norfolk accents of my childhood is quite unusual nowadays and none of the school children seem to have them.

Norfolk is pretty. Nice beaches. Never been to Norwich but heard nice things about it. And yet... my only friend who moved there was out of her mind with boredom after a couple of years and deeply regretted leaving London which swiftly moved out of her price bracket. Theyt bought a massive Norfolk house which took all her energy to maintain. The friends she made were very ladies who lunch, not the arty diverse types she knew in London. She spent her days walking the canals alone and helping at a local gallery and getting very bitchy about the other helpers. It put me off.

Can't comment on Norfolk, but I've just returned from an Escape to the Country experience in Exmoor. After a lifetime in the city I thought I was done with it and wanted the quiet life. After a few years I found the isolation (one road in/one road out - an hour from a big town) and lack of connectivity (train an hour's drive away) grinding. The people there were either retired and very much wanting a quiet life or local and very much happy with the way things had always been. Fair play to them, but it wasn't right for me.

I missed the energy, culture, vibrancy, youth, change and multicultural community of city life. After big city life small town/coastal living seemed very workaday, repetitive and insular. I tried hard for three years - joining clubs, volunteering etc - to find like minded people and liberal views without success. A lot of time and energy is spent by the media persuading people that the country life is idyllic and something that we should all aspire to escape to. The reality is that there are many downsides and if you love the thrum of the city then you are going to miss it badly. For me, the benefit of being able to swim in the sea for three months of the year and hear owls at night was not enough compensation for the lack of buzz.

Aren't parts of Norfolk near the coast going to be allowed to fall into the sea? How far inland will this be?

I love Norfolk, we go there a fair bit and I find it friendly and accepting, I love the way people are up for passing the time of day with you.

Having lived in a coastal area I'd visited for decades as a holiday maker I would say that people are often more willing to pass the time of day with visitors than people who live there. Superficial conversations seem to come much easier than building real relationships with people you see every day. I found a wariness and resistance that I've never felt in the city.

It’s funny so many people you know have chosen that particular county. I know people who have gone all over. The main thing is the coast. The sea is the best thing in the world and where we live just can’t compare because there is no sea, apparently.

I don't know where you got the idea that I think I am 'above' Norfolk @Skinnermarink - I have a lot of trauma linked to my hometown and no desire to revisit it

@TwinsAndTiramisu hahaha your comment about Great Yarmouth is one I hear all the time !
i moved to GY four years ago and love it.
i moved from a large city area to be near the sea. It’s a ten minute walk from my house .
The people are friendly and I have a decent job and my kids school is better than where we were!
You shouldn’t knock somewhere unless you have actually tried it .

Whenever something xenophobic pops up on my Facebook feed it is always, always some person I went to school with in Norfolk who still lives in Norfolk.

There was no desire whatsoever from my high school cohort to push hard, succeed, see the world. 19% of my year group passed GCSE with 5 Cs and above. I wish I had made that up. I haven't.

I couldn't wait to get away from Norfolk on the two occasions I've been there. It has a weird eerie feeling, the people are unfriendly and the coastal towns are rammed at Bank Holidays and throughout summer. Wells Next The Sea is truly awful 🤢

Depends where in Norfolk - it’s a big place (one of the biggest counties in England)

I moved here 5 years ago after living in a lot of different places throughout the UK. I love the area, the pace of life, the natural beauty, the beaches, the broads, (some of) the towns…

Some parts of Norfolk suffer from some of the negative characteristics described by PP’s it’s true. But everywhere has its flaws.

CNN has just rated Norwich first in its list of underrated destinations in Europe (the only place in England listed), so it must have something.

edition.cnn.com/travel/article/europe-underrated-places/index.html

You need to go down the road to Aldeburgh.

Crap schools and crap roads.

Spent a few days in north Norfolk last spring on the recommendation of many friends. I was expecting to love it. It was pretty, but getting anywhere took forever! The beaches were striking but not particularly pleasant to walk on.
It felt very empty.
Normally, I come back from breaks away in the UK and immediately go on to rightmove to see what I could afford to buy there if I were to sell up in London and I have some lovely daydreams……….
I didn’t do that after Norfolk. Didn’t dislike it, but have no particulate desire to return.

only think i remember about visiting norfolk on holiday maybe 17 years ago was the dirty looks from everyone and a child pointing at my mother and i, then starting to cry in terror.

so not a fan, for reference im black

Doesn't surprise me and I'm so sorry you had that experience.

We moved to Norfolk from London 14 years ago and it’s lovely if- without wanting to sound like a smug arsehole- you already have money and are
downsizing. We moved here in our mid 30s, we we’re fortunate enough to downsize and buy somewhere mortgage free and we have a good quality of life. We live rurally and husband found a job where he can walk to work and I haven’t worked since we moved for various reasons. Both our dc have benefitted from living rurally, lovely country walks, nice days out etc. But - as our eldest got to university age she wanted to go and try living in a city and didn’t fancy staying here for the UEA so has gone elsewhere. The salaries here are very low really and you have to drive literally everywhere as transport is rubbish. And that makes it bad for a young person starting out. But people like us who just want a nice quiet life it’s fantastic and we love it! And I love that it’s flat. Easy driving!

I’m really sad for you reading that. We moved from a very diverse and multicultural area of south london and it did feel like stepping back in the dark ages a little when we moved here!

I'm black and grew up in Norfolk. I LOVE Norwich. It is a little haven in Norfolk. I love the beaches and countryside. Beautiful. Outside of Norwich though I meet A LOT of ignorant and racist people. People wanting to touch my hair, been called the n word a few times for doing absolutely nothing, people constantly asking where I'm originally from or trying to make conversation about how they once knew a black lass in a pathetic attempt to find something in common. So yes to Norwich, no to mostly everywhere else.

I've lived in Norfolk all my life. Grew up in a village full of suspicious old folk, although growing up there was OK. I have no idea why anyone would want to move here, unless you move to a city. Living in the arse end of nowhere means any help ( mental health etc) has to be traveled to and summer is a freaking nightmare because of all the tourists.

@Afterfire
And I love that it’s flat. Easy driving!
Afterfire, is your car pedal powered 😜