Pregnant and moving to Norwich

[takethatlady]

Hi! I'm hoping you can help me and DH think about where to live in Norwich :)

I'm 18+3 weeks pregnant and I work as a lecturer at UEA. DH is a secondary school teacher (history) and we currently live in Cambridge. I commute to UEA, which is knackering.

When the baby is born we want to move to Norwich, so that when I go back to work after maternity leave I am near campus. DH loves Norwich (he's been a lifelong Norwich fan even though he grew up in Kent, so he can't believe his luck that his wife works in Norwich ). He is looking for a new job in the area, though nothing has come up yet.

Anyway, we can't sell our house in Cambridge (£25k negative equity) so we're renting it out. We'll get about £800 a month in rent for our house and would like something comparable (2 bed house/garden flat) in Norwich for around £600 a month, maybe a little more.

Could you advise us on where are the good areas to live? I've only been working at UEA a short time and haven't got to know the city as well as I'd like. I'd like to live as close to UEA as possible (the baby will be going to nursery on campus 3 days a week). I've heard that Eaton and Cringleford are nice, though they're not on the bus route from UEA. The Golden Triangle looks great but expensive.

What about Three Score? Is it nice or horrible (it seems cheap and very convenient, which makes me wonder what the drawbacks are)? Is West Earlham okay? Is it worth looking at areas like Thorpe St Andrew/all the Victorian terraces just north of the city centre, or is it going to take me hours to schlep across the city to get to work each morning?

Any advice greatly appreciated! Thank you!

My DH also works at at UEA and we went through a similar house hunt a few months ago when we moved to Norwich.

We looked all over and in the end we chose to live in the Golden Triangle. At the moment, we don't drive so bus accessibility was important to us. There are at least 2 major bus routes that go straight through the GT (Golden Triangle) and right onto campus.

We live in a 2 bedroom terrace-with our 3 year old son-that is fine for us now. It's a little low on garden space but the GT has tons of great parks around.

We did look at Thorpe and it was a bit too suburban for us at the moment, and a bit out of the way for University accessibility.
Three Score looks nice in the listings, but something about the neighborhood did not sit well with me at all.

There were lots of 2 bd terraced homes listed in the £600-900 range when we were looking this summer. You have to move fast on the nice ones, though. They are often snapped up even before they hit Rightmove.

I'm glad we choose the neighborhood we did. It has a great community/village feel to it, has a decent variety of shops, is within walking distance of the city centre (and honestly even the University is walkable on a good day) and the schools are supposed to be fantastic if you're looking to stay long term.

Thanks BrigidC. In a way that's what I thought people might say - that the Golden Triangle is worth the extra cost. We could go up to £700 a month if necessary but would rather keep costs down, especially since we don't know what will be happening with interest rates once we come off our fixed deal mortgage (it's been at 6.79% for 3 1/2 years though, so it will have to go up a long way to cause us a massive issue).

That's interesting about Thorpe being too suburban. We're only 28 and it's important for us to still feel young, and to find nice pubs and cafes and things to be able to go to, especially when friends visit (baby friendly, obviously). It does seem the GT has the most to offer in that sense.

Other people on another thread have suggested Eaton and Bowthorpe/Three Score - I know exactly what you mean about Three Score though - rows and rows of houses on a big estate just aren't as nice as all the Victorian terraces and a more established community. But for convenience and price it might just tick the boxes, especially as we're only renting until we can sell our house.

Nobody has commented on the north city area (walkable to the city centre). The houses there look similar to those in the GT but a lot cheaper ... why? Are the schools terrible or something?

Thanks for the info! Everything gratefully received!

Hi,

I'm a postgraduate at UEA and have a DD. (The nursery is great!)

I would really recommend the Golden Triangle, it's lovely. Definitely a couple of nice cafes and pubs.

Three Score is better than Bowthorpe, there are some babygroups there I think, but the GT also has some great groups. For your price range you should be able to find a 2-bed terrace in the GT, even quite a nice one. They tend to start at about 550 (I'm looking to move to the GT myself at the moment). Quite a few lecturers from UEA live there as far as I'm aware.

West Earlham isn't great, it's very close to UEA, and that's about the only positive. The school isn't that good from what I've read; the primary schools in the GT are better. (Not sure you're planning that far ahead yet.)

I'd definitely say Thorpe is too far, especially if you think about getting to campus in the morning, dropping baby off at nursery etc.

Eaton seems quite nice, though very quiet, few shops (although there is a Waitrose). You didn't say whether you drive or not. Eaton is difficult to reach by public transport, as is Cringleford.

North city is cheaper, but I think that's because the area can be quite depressing. My friend who grew up in Norwich advised against the Silver Road area as apparently it can be a bit dodgy. Not sure if that's still the case.

Hope this helps, let us know what you decide to go for.

I live in Cringleford at the moment (have been here for 9 years) and before that lived in the Golden Triangle. Depending on where you live in the Golden Triangle you can walk into the City and there is a very good bus service. Cringleford and Eaton are a little further out of the City but quieter and you tend to have off road parking!
All three areas have easy access to the UEA.
You mentioned that you are pregnant. Congratulations! I am an antenatal teacher and am running a course in Cringleford 1-29th March for couples expecting their first baby in April/May so probably too soon for you but I also teach for the National Childbirth Trust so you could try contacting them. Both the courses that I run privately and those for the NCT cover the main aspects of pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenting and have a maximum of eight couples and are for fifteen hours + a two hour reunion.

The local branch is pretty active so organise nearly new sales, coffee mornings, etc which is a great way to meet people in the area.
Good luck with the move and the pregnancy!

Wow thank you so much for this ladies. This dropped off my watch list and I've only just found it again, so sorry for not getting back sooner.

Actually things have changed quite a bit. Our bank (C&G, part of Lloyds) has released a negative equity mortgage which may mean we can sell our home and buy something of equivalent value in Norfolk, yip yip :) The bad news is that teaching jobs for DH are few and far between at the moment and it looks unlikely anything is going to come up. So we're considering moving to Attleborough so that he can drive an hour to his current job and stay there until something better comes up in Norfolk, and we'll beg, borrow or steal a second car for me and the baby ...

Is Attleborough nice? We've been there a couple of times and driven about in the car, and it seems nice enough and the fact it's linked up to Norwich, Cambridge and London by train makes me feel a bit less scared about being isolated. What are the pros and cons?

Thank you so so much ladies!

Attleborough schools are not great. Although having said that my friend lives there and likes it, she moved because the houses are cheaper. But lets just say her dd has made some interesting friendships at school.

The A11 can be pretty snarled up for driving, especially in the summer months. But as you say Attleborough has a train station.

Wymondham has a station and is only about 15 minutes further

Thanks fimbo. How old is your friend's DD? I just posted another thread about schools. I like Wymondham better but I'm already worried about DH's commute ... it's 62 miles from Attleborough to his current school and routeplanner says it'll take 1hr 13 minutes. Worried that adding an extra 15 is just pushing it too far. Great info, thank you, - will keep looking into Wymondham too. Have just seen a really lovely house in Great Ellingham for £178k but that's even more isolated! (though prettier). Cheapness of housing is an issue ...

I already drive 60 miles from Cambridge to UEA (though I only do it 3/4 times a week) and I sit in that A11 snarl already, but it usually takes me 20-25 minutes from the Attleborough turn-off, so its massively better than my current commute.

Right, Wymondham property search on Rightmove here I come!!! (Can't hurt to look into all the options)

Great Ellingham will feed into Attleborough High School.

Morley St Boltoph and surrounds are practically next door to Wymondham College but as you can imagine it really is in the wilds of the country and trying to find a house there is nigh on impossible and something within a reasonable budget. You would be quite isolated out there.

Would Bury St Edmunds be an option?

Oooh sorry my friend's dd is 7 and in year 2.

Thanks fimbo. I looked at the primary schools in Attleborough and while the infant school has a good/outstanding Ofsted report the bigger primary school has a much less glowing report. My other question on the other thread was about secondary schools - can kids from Attleborough get into the Wymondham schools? More worried about secondary than primary, though it's obviously a long long way away!

Bury St. Edmunds is lovely but it wouldn't really be worth us moving there from where we are now. My commute is 1hr 10 and I'm going to have the baby with me as we want to use the nursery on campus. From Bury St Edmunds it would be 45 minutes for me and 45 minutes for DH so worst of both worlds in a way.

I saw a nice house in Morley St Botolph for £180k but it was snapped up immediately. And you're right, it looks like a couple of houses and a whole lot of field!

Oops x cross posts between both threads I think

You would not have a hope of getting into Wymondham High unless you are in the catchment, certainly not from Attleborough.

I am another UEA ite - and agree that Attleborough is not the nicest - although the villages about aren't too bad. There is also a senior school at Old Buckenham - so villages on that side might be an option - but that is quite different from city life.

Wymondham is better - another option might be Hethersett.

I don't think the extra drive would be too much - it is a fast stretch of road now it has been duelled - the bottle neck is the Elvedon bit still.

I think maybe worrying about senior schools is not too much of an issue - they will change a lot in the time between - better to pick a place that suits now and consider moving again in 10 years time to suit senior school then.

Hi throckenholt - we're talking across threads now :)

Absolutely agree that we don't know where we'll be or what schools will be doing in ten years' time. But (have put this on other thread too) I think it's worth thinking about. Our situation is quite complex as we're hoping to move by porting a negative equity mortgage. We've moved a lot in the last few years, at huge expense, and it's going to take a long time before we're out of negative equity. So we need to consider the very real possibility that this is somewhere we'll have to stay. And DH is a teacher and though you're right, schools can change, I think it's pretty unlikely that a school which gets 90% 5 A*-Cs is going to suddenly go on special measures in ten years' time. This is just 'worst case scenario, we move and don't move again, what are all the implications' kind of thinking.

Quite liked Old Buckenham though DH didn't for some reason. He's easily persuadable though

Hi again takethatlady, watching another of your useful threads..!

Hey MosEisley :)

Just an update: DH is now considerign going for two jobs which have just come up - one at Farlingaye High School in Woodbridge in Suffolk, and one at a girl's grammar school in Colchester. Obviously both of these are pretty far from Norwich, but the plan would be (if he got either of them):

1. Live in a village south of Norwich (Pulham Market?) and both of us drive (if he got the job at Farlingaye). This would mean about 30 mins drive for me and LO, and 45 for DH.

1. Live somewhere near the train station in Norwich and DH to get the train to Colchester. It takes an hour and the school is 2 miles from Colchester station so he'd probably have to take a foldaway bike and ride the other 2 miles. Can't see him doing this but it is a grammar school and he went to a grammar school and used to teach in one and hankers a bit after that kind of environment, so he might ...

Obviously all of this is hypothetical because we don't know if he'll get either of the jobs (and the odds are probably stacked against it...)

But if anyone has any advice on either of these plans I'd be glad to hear it! (i.e. you're mad, don't do it, etc :))

EEK - I think this latest development makes the situation worse (sorry to be so frank ). Pulham Market would take a long time to get into Norwich from I would have thought. Someone else might be able to advise on that though.

My dh works (in Norwich!) with lots of people who live in Ipswich but they get the train in everyday. Norwich train station is not that handy to get out to the UEA from especially with a wee one in tow.

If you were to stay near the train station in Norwich then I think Trowse might suit. Whitlingham Broad is that way and lovely for a walk round. You are not far from the station and you could get out on the A47 easily enough and drive in that way to the UEA.

I know someone who's partner works in Essex, she works in Norwich and they have recently moved to \linked{http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-13672218.html\Newton Flotman}.

\link{http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-13672218.html\Newton Flotman}

Diss could be the answer too. \link{http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-13239741.html\as long as you can see past the pub like decoration!}

Thanks fimbo - don't worry about being frank, it's what we need to hear! Why do you think it would make it worse? It seemed to me that DH travelling an hour each way by train each day was a lot better than us having to buy another car and him doing 1hr 15 each way in the car. At least he can rest/work on the train ...

We thought about Diss (I saw that pub decor house ha ha!) We can hopefully go up to about £180k and money goes further in Diss than Norwich, obviously. But then I read a lot about it being really horrible. Is it?

Arrrggh! All these conversations are revealing to me my total ignorance of the situation we are getting ourselves into!

PS - according to routeplanner, Pulham Market is 15 minutes closer to UEA than Diss in the car, which is why I started thinking of it.

And does matter about getting across town in a car with the LO from the train station area of town ... probably only as bad as coming from Attleborough. Like you say if we lived in Trowse/close-ish to the ring road it wouldn't be too bad?

Whoops, that should have said 'does it ...?'

I used to live in Thorpe St Andrew (we could see Trowse from our house). I worked at the UEA and got there on the bus daily when pg (otherwise I cycled). Public transport from the train station to the UEA is good (I got the 17 from Thorpe St Andrew to the train station and the 25 from the station to the UEA). The 25 goes very, very regularly. And it was cheap as the UEA did the travel deal then. Do they still do it? £100 a year I think for unlimited bus travel.

Thanks showofhands - good back-up options though I'd prefer to go in the car than on the bus with a 6-month-old.

Not sure now if DH is going to go for either job. Definitely not the one in Suffolk, but maybe the one in Colchester as it's an hour on the train with no changes and the school is pretty close to the station. Even then he agrees more with fimbo that it might make the situation worse, not better.

Where are all the history teaching jobs in Norfolk?!!!!

Really really appreciate all the help and advice I've had on this thread. Thank you so much :)