Norwich - Friendly or Parochial?

[JollyTeaScroller]

Okay so we are a young family thinking of relocating from London to Norwich. We did initially look at Cambridge but then Norwich was affording us much nicer houses for our budget and we did like the idea of being closer to the beach.

I have asked many people for their opinion on Norwich (I have never been but planning an AirBnB stay soon) and some people say it's lovely and friendly and some others say it's parochial, isolated, and backward.

You are being unreasonable, would be Norwich is really pretty and worth raising children there
You are NOT being unreasonable would be Norwich is parochial and backward
Many thanks

Norwich is my local city...Im sure it has some not so nice areas but on the whole it is a lovely safe city.

I grew up near Norwich and still live within half an hour of the city. In my experience it is a lovely welcoming city with lots to offer young families - I certainly don’t consider it or its people ‘backward’ or ‘parochial’. Book your stay and see for yourself what you think. It is full of beautiful independent shops and fantastic restaurants if that’s something that would interest you. The Cathedral Quarter is very beautiful too and nice for a stroll. I believe Norwich School is well regarded if you’re looking at an independent education. I’m not sure on the state schools but I’m sure there will be good options available.

City centre is fine. The further out you travel, the more backwards / parochial it gets.

Well I lived in Suffolk before relocating to Norwich outskirts so in comparison it is welcoming and liberal! Norwich is a lovely city with a mix of quaint and old and modern and accessible by public transport with the broads and beaches in easy access.

It depends on where you live in London and what you lose and gain. Jobs, schools and housing. No point living in a big house if you can’t find work to fund it close by and the DC are at a worse school.

Moving meant my DS could go to an excellent 6th form in the city centre easily accessible by pubic transport.

some people say it's lovely and friendly and some others say it's parochial, isolated, and backward

I don’t think it’s any of those things. It’s just a bog-standard English city: some quaint and charming parts; some ugly parts; mixed population.

I like the airport which is tiny and closes at night, and the city-centre shopping. I don’t like the retail-park/new-housing-estate/car-dominated sprawl on the outskirts.

Wear an Ed Sheehan t-shirt I doubt will get a friendly response though. He sponsors Ipswich Town FC.

My DH lived in Norwich some years ago and we have been for a few holidays. The Royal arcade is worth visiting and has a lovely coffee shop .Plenty of places for coffee and fine restaurants. Culturally plenty going on. The market is a great market .I would say it is worth considering as a place to live.

Love norwich. Eldest at UEA. Such a nice city.

What's wrong with being parochial? Sometimes it's appropriate for an area.

Norwich is generally friendly and liberal. Further out in Norfolk it can be parochial. Certain parts of the North Norfolk coast are a bit snobby!

Norwich is a great place to bring up a family. It has 2 universities, so a fairly liberal mix of people. A large teaching hospital which attracts a mixture of staff from different countries. It's very safe, green and close to lovely places in Norfolk and Suffolk.
However it isn't well connected to the rest of the country. Cambridge is much more 'central' and so it may largely depend on how often you need to leave..where your family is etc.

Very good for a pub crawl

People are reserved but central Norwich is friendly. Can be racist. If you can stand to be further from the sea I’d choose Cambridge- more interesting culturally and a constant influx of people from elsewhere due to the uni makes it more dynamic

What can You give to the place that you are moving to? That makes a lot of difference. So many Londoners move elsewhere and don't get involved with anything local. Then try and turn the area into a mini London.

I'm not in Norwich but in a commuter town. The Londoners that have moved in and got involved with local stuff surely have a much better experience than those who just take train into London/ WFH and have sod all to do with the local community except for using our good schools to educate their kids.

Without doubt the BEST thing we ever did moving to Norwich, would recommend to anyone, Norwich is beautiful, lovely friendly, welcoming people. Traffic is so much easier than where we used to live on the South Coast. Half an hour drive you can be on a gorgeous beach. Love it, wouldn’t live anywhere else now. Sensible property prices too. No regrets whatsoever, it has been an amazing move for our family, we are all very happy & settled.

Forget to add, DH did lots of research before we relocated, crime stats, sunshine hours, local parishes, property prices. Norwich came out on top. We had visited before, but we stayed in an Airbnb for a few nights before we fully decided.

DS2 went to UEA 10yrs ago and never came home. He lives in a lovely village, with DDIL & DGS, about 15mins from Norwich. I love it there, l have done since the day I took him for his interview at university. We’ll probably move there, too, when DH retires.

Gorgeous city. Would absolutely recommend it to anyone wanting to move here. We live in a village attached to the city so get the best of the city and the countryside which is wonderful. Tons to go for families even just in my immediate local area but do your research to figure out where would be best for you to live.

We often talk about moving to Norwich when our DC leave home. Are there any particular areas that you can recommend please?

This is what my grandparents did after my mum studied at UEA! They visited her while she was at uni and liked it so much they all moved here when her dad retired.

I know of plenty of people who like your son never left Norwich (or at least Norfolk) after studying here.

I think we also plan to do this!

I moved to Norwich from Wymondham (market town about 12 miles away) last November. I live alone (widow) and have moved to the Earlham Road area (NR2) and it has been the best move I’ve ever made. Friendly, really friendly people from all walks of life, beautiful parks and gardens, a 10 minute walk into the city, which as cities go is fairly compact and has lots of independent shops and eateries, the main Theatre Royal and the smaller Playhouse, cinemas, art galleries, it’s really fab.

That's really good to hear! You have described so many of our reasons for moving to Norwich. I do worry about making friends in a new area! I've seen a few houses come up in that area so it's good to hear you like it.