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Original poster

Moving to Norwich / Norfolk area

44 replies

maloney · 02/09/2005 11:06

HI, I'm likely to be moving to Norfolk in the next few months with my 3-year-old-daughter. I will be leaving my partner and setting up alone with dd. I decided to try to move out to Norfolk because my mother is quite close, in Mundesley. I can't drive however so need to be somewhere with decent-ish public transport. I don't know where to start, what kinds of areas. I'd like to be nearish to Norwich so I can try to find work. And of course I'd love to be near a nice primary school. And finally I'm going to have to go on benefits so will be broke for a couple of years.

This is my first post here. And this is a very tough time coming up for me. I'd really appreciate any help any of you can give me.

Thanks

OP posts:
fqueenzebra · 02/09/2005 13:00

DH's workmates (who all live in Norwich but work in NW) consider NW to be "chav city", mind.

Original poster
maloney · 02/09/2005 13:39

Thanks again everyone. fqueenzebra, is Sheringham like NW then do you think? Sheringham's a little bigger isn't it?

In terms of Norfolk being quiet after London well to be honest it's exactly what I need. I've been in SE London, fairly inner city area (15 mins on bus to Waterloo) and it's so ultra violent. The kids are more streetwise at 10 than I am at 35! I've been re-thinking my priorities for some time and for a while at least I'd like to be close to my mum and somewhere with fresher air than London and at least a nice school for dd. I wake in a cold sweat thinking of her going to school near me.

OP posts:
DissLocated · 02/09/2005 13:46

I can recommend Diss (though never thought I'd say that!) Good nurseries (Conkers for kids in particular) 2 good primary schools, high school is v v good, 20 mins train ride to Norwich and 90 mins to London.

Lovely place to bring up kids, gorgeous park in the centre of town, gypsy horses to feed on the common. Nice, crime free(ish) little town, small enough to be quaint and cute but big enough to have nice pubs, wine bar, restaurants, tons of tea shops, good little delis, quirky shops, fantastic market on Friday and Farmer's market once a month.

Have I sold it to you yet??

DissLocated · 02/09/2005 13:47

PS, property is cheaper here than Norwich.

spagblog · 02/09/2005 13:53

Diss is nice. Sheringham gets a thumbs up from me. Kings Lynn I have never liked though.

fqueenzebra · 02/09/2005 14:33

Sheringham is def. a social step above NW, that much closer to Holt, you see...

Being serious, I look at social deprivation statistics for a living, and Sheringham is pretty good on that front. NW is ok, Norwich extremely variable.

Teenagers around here say things like "EXcuse me", it's amazing! In Loughborough they were more likely to spit at you.

Would you mind me asking, are you in Council housing? Only I wouldn't even try it in Norwich, too much of the stock is in really dodgy parts of the city.

Original poster
maloney · 02/09/2005 16:15

Where's Diss in relation to Cromer / Mundesley? I'll keep that area in mind too!

I am in council housing. I'd like to avoid it this time round to be honest but will be living on benefits as will be on my own with dd so I'm not sure how easy it will be to get the council to pay my rent in private accommodation, it's virtually impossible in London.

OP posts:
fqueenzebra · 02/09/2005 16:17

Diss is 20-30 miles south of Norwich, Maloney, I iamgine it wouldn't suit you at all.

troutpout · 02/09/2005 16:35

I used to live in Norwich. I think it's a great city...still miss it loads. I used to think it had quite a few of the best bits about living in a city ....without most of the bad bits. We lived in the Golden triangle... and i taught in Earlham .Golden triangle is quite pricey now (wasn't when we lived there though) .
Yep some parts are a bit rough...but i would say not compared to other cities.
Ooh and the beach...you can get to the coast in about 40 mins!
Am now!

fqueenzebra · 02/09/2005 16:41

I feel that Golden Triangle has changed for the worse in last 10 years, a lot more muggings there now for instance.

katymac · 02/09/2005 22:13

We live over by Acle - and I wouldn't like to do it without a car.....

spagblog · 03/09/2005 10:52

From experience, Norwich city council are very good with paying rent in private rentals.
I don't know about the more rural communities.
The housing officer we met when applying for our council home was from Colchester and told us that what we considered rough areas in Norwich were "rather nice" in comparison with Colchester's rough areas...no burnt out cars etc etc.

Original poster
maloney · 03/09/2005 13:23

spagblog, I can't imagine any Norfolk council estates being like an inner city SE London one in terms of scariness. But what I might imagine is different is the lack of multi-cultural activity? We are at least 70% different ethnic backgrounds here. What also makes our area bearable is that amongst the violent folk there are also lots of really nice people who want to be in London but don't have much money, from lovely families who work for the underground to artists and writers.

OP posts:
DissLocated · 04/09/2005 08:28

Diss is 22 miles south of Norwich. About 30 mins drive to Norwich and trains run every half hour, journey takes 20 mins.

Original poster
maloney · 04/09/2005 14:20

But wouldn't it be a very tricky journey to Cromer / Mundesley?

OP posts:
fqueenzebra · 04/09/2005 20:00

Diss is on the trainline London-Norwich, so frequent trains. About 1/2 hour to Norwich. Then about 40min to Cromer. So over an hour evenif you have only a quick change in Norwich.

Norwich does have some of THE most deprived council estates in England+Wales. Not to be sneezed at, but probably not as crime-infested as parts of London, either.

Multi-cultural: hard to say. Norwich def. has more non-white faces in it now than 12 years ago, say. Norfolk as a whole is A LOT WHITER than many parts of country, def. true. An Indian friend laughingly refferred 2 where we live as "A Brownie-free Zone". I don't like it either, but there are some non-white kids in DS's class....

Dior · 04/09/2005 20:29

Message withdrawn

Luckie · 09/09/2005 21:04

Hi Maloney.
Having lived in Norfolk all my life I can thoroughly recommend it. I live in Aylsham which has a pretty good bus service into Norwich and is only 12 miles from Cromer.
We moved here from Thorpe St Andrew in Norwich 2 years ago - Thorpe is really nice. I wouldn't recommend Hellesdon though (although I was brought up there) unless you really like planes as it is right next to Norwich Airport which is getting rather busy these days.
Aylsham is a market town and has plenty of little shops and there are good schools here (so I am reliably informed).
Anyway that is my opinion on Norfolk - I hope it helps a bit.
Good luck with moving!!

Ken1958 · 26/08/2019 13:51

Hi I'm ken and am moving to norwich with work and was wondering if I can get housingg help

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