Moving to Norfolk next year - fingerscrossed

[Gonzo33]

Hubby and I have been abroad for the past few years due to his job (forces) and we are looking to buy our family home next year in Norfolk (assuming we sell our not so family home).

We are looking at Diss, Long Stratton and Downham Market.

Can anyone give us the heads up on these areas please

I live in Diss! Personally, I really like it. It's small enough to be friendly but big enough to have shops/pubs/restaurants/Corn Hall for theatre and v limited cinema etc. There are lots of independent shops, not so many chains. We're also on the Norwich to London trainline which is very handy, 20/25 mins to Norwich and Ipswich, 90 mins to Liverpool Street. My dd's go to an Outstanding school, but I dont' have any experience of the High School yet.

You do sometimes hear people say negative things about Diss which baffles me, I can only assume they're comparing us to somewhere poncy like Woodbridge or something.

I don't know Downham Market at all and haven't done much more than drive through Long Stratton so can't really comment on those places.

well i am in norwich and there are loads of mnetter from norfolk/norwich, etc and we have regular meet ups.

long stratton has the butterfly park, i think? which is lovely and a great day out with the kids. and you are close enough to norwich to get into the town/city easily.

good luck wiht the move :)

Thanks ladies. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. If you don't mind I may well ask to pick your brains again at some point, especially over house prices.

I live in Suffolk. (apparently where we live is poncey)like Diss but people are rude about it,partly because it is in the middle of nowhere and not easy to get anywhere.Know quite a few people who moved when their children got to secondary age.Have you thought about Wymondham ,similar size ,easy reach for Norwich and fantastic schools .

Not easy to get anywhere? Can't say that's my experience. Norfolk as a whole lacks motorways and dual carriageways (some would say that's part of it's charm!) so we're no better or worse than anywhere else but we do have the advantage of being on the trainline.

One of the advantages of Diss is that you can commute from here to a number of places, you can get to Norwich, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Great Yarmouth in less than an hour, Cambridge in an hour and 15 mins I know a few people who even commute to London every day.

You have definately given me food for thought. Will have a good look around when we get back to the UK.

Thank you.